Host: What should I bring to a shelter or rescue visit?

Bridget Speiser: Well, first of all, bring an open mind because I think it's really important, a lot of people do walk into shelters, specifically again with cats with a particular idea of a cat that they want, whether they had an orange cat growing up or their friend had this great black and white cat, they may walk in really thinking that is exactly what they want and not have any kind of notion to look at any other kind of qualities in a cat.

So it is important to keep your mindset open, though obviously personal preferences do play a role. If you are prepared to spend a morning there, maybe visiting the cats, if your shelter does allow that, you might want to bring a small feather toy, a Catnip mouse. Something that maybe you can sit and play with the cat with and really start to begin to explore their personality.