Get ready to suffer a heart attack from the cuteness that you will experience in this listicle. Not literally, of course.

You can wager how excited people get when they adopt and rescue a puppy or a kitten or any other floof of floofiness, but it seems to go double—nae, triple—for the floofs themselves. And when it hits the internet, the joy spreads.

Speaking of which, guess what’s hiding just a few scrolls away? Yep, the joy we just talked about.

#1 The Time I Rescued A Crying Kitten Outside My Cat Cuddled Her

Image credits: zozozkittykat

#2 We Adopted An 11-Year Old Cat From A Chicago Shelter. He And My 13-Yo Daughter Fell In Love. This Is Them After She Got Back From A Week At Camp

Image credits: tiffanymcclure

#3 My Friend Just Texted “Adopted A Dog Yesterday”…. With This Pic

Image credits: slabcobot

It goes without saying these days that pet adoption and rescue is the way to go if you’re in the market for an animal companion who would nibble on your couch but would in turn love you more than any human could.

We won’t dive into why shopping for pets is less than ideal but rather will focus on the 920,000+ reasons why there ought to be more adoption.

#4 On Our Way Home From Adopting Her. Like Father Like Daughter

Image credits: Noxcaelum_

#5 My Cat Had Anxiety Issues, So We Adopted A Little Sister For Him

Image credits: lackingdaisiez

#6 Adopted Him Last Week From A Shelter. I Think He’s Happy About It

Image credits: itosssalads123

The aforementioned 920,000 number was actually how many dogs and cats were euthanized annually in the past several years. This is actually an improvement on the 2.6 million who were euthanized back in 2011. Luckily, the number declined.

And it’s statistically more likely that this number included a bigger proportion of cats than it did dogs.

#7 We Rescued A Terrified Australian Shepherd As A Friend For Our Dog. Now He Doesn’t Leave His Side

Image credits: tiffanysonreddit

#8 Meet Lucy. Our 5 Year Old, Recently Adopted Spaz With A Zest For Life And A Need For Constant Belly Rubs. I Hope She Makes Someone Smile

Image credits: sammy_sweets

#9 Girlfriend And I Adopted A Puppy, Meet Scarlet Batdog 🙂

Image credits: cato11087

In context, the U.S. is estimated to have roughly 90.5 million homes, or 70% of the total number of households that own a pet. Among these, there are more dog owners than there are cat owners.

The good news is that there are about 4.1 million animals that end up adopted from shelters each year, with more stray dogs than cats returning to their actual owners per year. So, the ball is definitely rolling.

#10 My Husband Couldn’t Have Pets Growing Up. When We Bought Our First House I Got Him A Little Surprise

Image credits: MaggieTheMoggy

#11 The Way Our New Puppy Looked At Me The Whole Ride To Her New Home Melted My Heart

Image credits: just-a-redditor-

#12 My Wife And I Were Warned About Adopting A Second Cat. Within A Few Days, The Older One (Brown) Was Snuggling, Grooming, And Spending Every Minute With Her

Image credits: s_dandylion

However, the fact that there are still around a million dogs and cats who get euthanized annually means that there isn’t enough adoption and population control happening.

It’s not to say that things aren’t happening. The leap from 2010 to 2022 of the number of households that owned pets was 14 million—73 to 87 million. But more has to be done.

#13 Adopted Her Today! Finally Peeking Out Of The Couch

Image credits: lipglosssed

#14 My Mom Meeting Her Dream Kitten For The First Time Today!

Image credits: crazyt123

#15 My Rescue Cat Assuring My Recently Adopted Pup That She Will Be All Right And Is Now In A Home Full Of Love

Image credits: logannicole_xo

Folks consider the decline in euthanizing shelter animals to be a hopeful sign. One of the main factors for this decline is adoption and stray animal-owner reunions. However, when the minimum required period to keep an animal in a shelter is as low as 48 hours, with the typical being 5 to 7 days, time is of the essence. Also, just 5 states—California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina—alone are responsible for half of the euthanasia.

#16 Karen And Kevin. Adopt, Don’t Shop. 🙂

Image credits: reddit.com

#17 My Dog, Who Has Never Liked Cats, Adopted My Bottle Baby Foster Kitten. She Adopted Him Too, I Think

Image credits: reddit.com

#18 After Adopting Our First Cat Everyone Prepared Us For A Nervous And Timid First Few Weeks, This Was Our Sweet Boy 30 Minutes Later

Image credits: juliacodes

There are, of course, no-kill shelters who keep animals around indefinitely, with the exception of the ones who are terminally ill or suffer from poor quality of life. However, they do go out of their way to make sure every animal finds a forever home and the no-kill shelter count has actually increased over the years, which is another hopeful sign on the matter.

#19 Rescued Good Girl Wants All The Love

Image credits: UnlikelyFix

#20 Today, I Adopted Two 8 Week Old Kittens Who Are Brothers. I Originally Applied For One But When I Got The Call About Being Accepted To Adopt, I Was Asked If I Wanted To Adopt The Brothers Together Because The People Adopting His Brother Backed Out. Meet Kingston And Derby!

Image credits: lukas120

#21 This Is Ruger. We Rescued Him In August. He Was Found In A Box On The Side Of The Road. No Fault Of His Own. This Poor Boy Would Have Died. I Can’t Even Think Of It Without Crying. He Is Now One Of Our Children And Will Never Go Anywhere Else

Image credits: Blendedmom520

In just 6 years, the number of no-kill shelters in the U.S. has more than doubled, jumping from 24% to 57% between 2016 and 2022.

This in turn means that 42% of counties in the U.S. are officially no-kill zones for pets, and 93% of all no-kill shelters have managed to sustain their goals of not euthanizing animals in 2021.

#22 Adopted This Guy A Week Ago. Was Scared Of Everything, But Decided To Trust Me. Four Days Later, And He Is A Very Good Boy With His Very First Own Squeaky Toy ❤️

Image credits: wild_northerner

#23 We Rescued This Little Guy From The Streets. His Face Can Melt Hearts

Image credits: MisterOrang

#24 The Love Of A Rescue Dog

Image credits: HunterSaysWhat

A huge chunk of cases of adoption are attributed to the need for companionship. 47% of families who adopted pets reported that they wanted a pet and so they got one, with 25% specifying that they wanted a friend. 47% said that it was just the right time and circumstance to finally adopt as they were spending more time indoors.

#25 Couldn’t Decide A Name So I Just Kept Calling Her Little. So Meet Little!

Image credits: vinsomm

#26 Harvey’s Skinny Body Was Found Abandoned In A Ditch, Soaking Wet, And Dotted With Cigarette Burns. He Was Infested With Fleas, Anemic, And Starving. One Look At His Little Face And I Knew Had To Adopt Him. Fast Forward 5 Years, He’s Now A Confident, Happy, Healthy Boi With A Career In Modelling

Image credits: olivealexander

#27 Adopted This Sweet Baby Boy Today. His Name Is Pickles!

Image credits: hamhars

One of the bigger reasons why folks don’t opt for having pets at all is the amount of responsibility it entails. And much of it leans on the cost of having a pet. Luckily, there’s a thing called pet insurance (no, it’s not like volcano insurance), which can have reimbursements of up to 90%. So, no more oopsie daisies off the shelf when making that impossible jump, Mr. Whiskers.

#28 This Cat Was Abandoned And This Is His Photo Minutes After Being Rescued

Image credits: beccilouise96

#29 The Day I Adopted Her

Image credits: cheshirechris28

#30 I Didn’t Know Cats Could Have Such A Wide Range Of Emotion Until I Adopted Leonardo Dicatprio

Image credits: averygillisart

So, if you need more goodness of the animal adoption variety, you’re welcome. But if it’s time to go offline and maybe enjoy your own pets for now, then why not share some of your takes and stories in the comment section below!

#31 I Think I Adopted A Vampire

Image credits: rachar2187

#32 My Girlfriend Has This Rescued Cat, And I Think She’s Cute

Image credits: ahmedzei

#33 Just Adopted This Dude. His Name Is Tucker And He Is Good Boye

Image credits: TheBelowIsFalse

#34 I Adopted The Saddest Looking Cat At The Shelter Three Years Ago

Image credits: Tiffix

#35 Khemjira Klongsanun Found An Abandoned Puppy On The Road Side In Thailand Whilst Running A Marathon, Carrying It For 19 Miles To The Finish Line And Adopting It. That Puppy Is Now All Grown Up!

Image credits: elch3w

#36 These Two Were Adopted 3 Years Apart From Different Cities. A Dna Test Revealed That They Are Long Lost Siblings!

Image credits: Sparklesandfur

#37 Rescued Him From The Streets. Vet Visit Was Great Despite Skin Issues

Image credits: Kep23

#38 Jubilee Got Adopted!!!

Image credits: critterwalk

#39 We Just Adopted This Little Guy Today! Say Hi To Nugget! (Or As I Like To Call Him: Dr. Robotnug)

Image credits: JokerOfGotham

#40 Wife Wanted A Cat. I Said No, So We Compromised And Got A One Eyed Cat

Image credits: capnfatpants

#41 The Two Puppies Who Visited The Georgia Aquarium Were Adopted Together Today!

Image credits: Megabyte7

#42 Lolita’s First Night At Home!

Image credits: jela_03

#43 As A Single Dad, I Had To Put My Foot Down And Tell My Seven Year Old Daughter That There Was No Way She Was Getting A Dog For Chanukah, No Matter How Much She Asked. Anyway, Meet Waffle

Image credits: skydivinghuman

#44 This Cat Adopted A Puppy

Image credits: reddit.com

#45 A Dog And His Best Friend. They Are Purrfect For Each Other. We Adopted The Dog, Then He Begged And Pleaded Till We Took In A Stray That Hangs Out Around Our Home. They Are Inseparable

Image credits: rage1978

#46 Lots Of Strange Things Happening In The World Lately. Adopted This Rescue Kitty Today To Help Make Both Our Lives Better

Image credits: TheWhiteBobbyJindal

#47 My Mom Adopted An Outdoor Cat After It Gave Birth To Some Kittens And Wanted To Give It Some Shelter

Image credits: jhenderson_90

#48 This Good Boi Showed Up One Year Ago Tonight. He Rescued Us As Much As He Was Rescued

Image credits: MHiddy

#49 I Saved Him, But Actually He’s Saving Me

Image credits: matgravel

#50 My Friend Adopted A Senior Dog That Had Been Shot In The Leg And Left To Die. These Pictures Are A Day Apart

Image credits: jkot84

#51 Adopted Her 3 Hours Ago And She’s Already So Comfortable And Happy To Have A Home, I Laid Down Next To Her And She Just Climbed Onto Me Anybody Who Hates On Pitbulls Has Never Owned One Of These Big Babies

Image credits: FentanylFather

#52 This Is Louie, Our Adopted 16-Year Old Pupper! He Makes This Face When He Is About To Get Treats

Image credits: PoopyDiScoopDiddy

#53 Had To Say Goodbye To Becker. Adopted Him At 18 Because He Needed A Final Home And He Surprised Us By Being The Most Loving Cat That Ever Lived. Never Missed An Opportunity To Get Pets And Would Always Greet You At The Door. I Don’t Think He Ever Stopped Purring. #adoptdontshop

Image credits: abstoler

#54 Colby = Biggest Love Muffin Ever. ? All He Wants Is Pets. …but People Are Usually Afraid Of Him. So, He’ll Just Stare At You In Adoration Until You Pet Him. Rescue Doggo

Image credits: KarinaJean

#55 Charlie Before And After His Adoption

Image credits: russev

#56 1 Month Of Being Adopted, Already My Best Bud!

Image credits: Xaq009

#57 Frankie Was Born With Four Ears And An Eye Deformity But He’s Still Purrfect

Image credits: Missy-Andry

#58 Just Look At This Little Tripod I Adopted

Image credits: mushmashy

#59 I Adopted A Senior Cat. He’s 11 Years Old And 19 Lbs. The Shelter Told Me He Is Skittish And It Would Be A Slow Intro. His Last Family Returned Him After 6 Months. He Is My Shadow- Woke Up At 4am To All 19 Lbs Sleeping On My Chest, Face An Inch Away From Mine. Goose Was Always Meant To Be Mine

Image credits: besweeeeet

#60 My GF Wanted To Adopt A Kitten, I Said Not Now. As Compromise Here’s The Kitten

Image credits: Folsky

#61 Just Adopted This Handsome Boy Yesterday

Image credits: cantspellinator

#62 I Adopted 2 Kittens Last Week. After Many Days Of Not Seeing Them, I Woke Up To This Today

Image credits: Ollos12345

#63 Found Him On A Beach In Russia. Brought Him Back Home To The States. He Adopted Me

Image credits: exaggeratedmodesty

#64 The Neighbours Wanted To Put Down This Dog Due To Being Very Aggressive. Instead, My Dad Adopted Him Into Our Family. Shadow Was Very Aggressive When We First Brought Him Home But Now He Is Filled With So Much Love. He Is With His Two Best Friends Everyday Playing And Sleeping Together

Image credits: hockeyfan132

#65 Sebastien Recently Gained A New Little Sister

Image credits: Beaugeek

#66 Abbi Learned How To Walk Upstairs Alone & She’s Very Proud Of Herself

Image credits: marble69

#67 My Son, 8, Who Happens To Have Autism Got A Bunny. He Sits Outside With The Bunny For Hours. His Echolalia Stops. His Stimming Stops. He Is Calm, Focused And Most Of All Happy. We Love Bunny

Image credits: siggycassidy

#68 Hi Everyone. My Name Is Joey. I Am Excited Because I Am Being Adopted Today!

Image credits: ProfCNX

#69 First Time Being Carried After Being Rescued

Image credits: MakeItRain654

#70 I Adopted Her When I Was 15 And Living In California. We Loved Traveling Together, Even Living In A Campervan. Now I’m 25 And She’s 11, And We’re Still Adventuring. Now Living In Europe. People Say, “It’s Awesome That You Brought Your Dog When You Moved!”…but Not Bringing Her Was Never An Option

Image credits: PhotographyByAdri

#71 Charlie! He Was My Sober Gift To Myself. 130 Days Alcohol Free Today 🙂

Image credits: jreynol5

#72 My Friend Adopted This Cutie

Image credits: Beerus1995

#73 Lia On Day 1, Looking At My Husband. Already So Much Love!

Image credits: Smittenwife

#74 We Adopted This 11 Year Old Senior, Shayshay, Today From A Woman Who Couldn’t Keep Her Anymore. Her First Photo Matches Her Personality. We Are So Happy To Have You, Beautiful Girl

Image credits: Sxilla

#75 Just Adopted Cotton! Her Favourite Hobbies Are Cosplaying As Plants And Taking Naps In Random Places

Image credits: im2quicc2thicc

#76 This Is My Quarantine Cat, Ahsoka, I Adopted Her To Help Manage Her Anxiety And Prevent Her Going To The Humane Society. I Was Told She Would Hide All Day And Generally Avoid People. After About 3 Hours Of Being At My Place I Felt A Tapping On My Arm

Image credits: reddit.com

#77 We Adopted A Puppy Today. He’s Terrified Of The Car Because He Thinks We’re Taking Him Back To The Shelter. But He Loved Bedtime

Image credits: PhilboShaggins

#78 When We Got Them The Shelter Said They *had* To Be Adopted Together. They Demonstrate Why On A Daily Basis

Image credits: Shuuk

#79 My Dog The Night We Adopted Him

Image credits: Dk-79

#80 She Was Somehow The Last Of Her Litter To Be Adopted

Image credits: Acanadianeh

#81 My Rescue Cat Just Had Six Kittens On My Six Month Sober Anniversary. I Am Taking This As A Sign That I Will Be Able To Do This

Image credits: Uk1066

#82 After Rescuing A Puppy From Across The Country, We Found Out That One Of His Brothers Also Got Adopted Near Us. We Set Up A Play Date For The Two, Here’s A Picture Of Them Together

Image credits: johgodwhy

#83 Meet The Newest Member Of The Family, Dutch!

Image credits: GovSchwarzenegger

#84 The Cat I Adopted While Thru Hiking The Appalachian Trail In 2017, “Odie”. He Rode On My Pack Like This All Day And Napped, Or When He Wanted Down To Hike Or Use The Bathroom He’d Get Up And Meow In My Ear

Image credits: danichisAT17

#85 This Was My Endgame When I Decided To Adopt A Pair Of Kittens

Image credits: Kinetik09

#86 Meet Amy! She’s 12 And I Rescued Her Yesterday. I Love Her

Image credits: whare-am-i

#87 I Rarely Adopt (I Always Rescue Then Adopt Lol) But This Little Cutie That Was Born With A Facial Birth Defect Stole My Heart The Second I Saw Her Adoption Post On Reddit. Please Say Hi To My New Adopted Kitten, Nala! ❤❤❤

Image credits: zaghrioui

#88 My Newly Adopted Friend. I Think He Likes Me

Image credits: scandalous_snail

#89 Our Son’s Dream Of Becoming A K-9 Officer Got One Step Closer Today. We Adopted Him At 2.5 After His Parents Passed Away. His New Best Friend, A Little Girl Named Jovi, Was Born On His Biological Mother’s Birthday. Meant To Be! ?

Image credits: m-616

#90 We Adopted Nova 12 Weeks Ago Today And I Wanted To Share With You All How Much He Has Changed Since He Arrived!

Image credits: SomeGayGamer

#91 Shelter Dog Cannot Contain Her Excitement About Getting Adopted

Image credits: Arthur9808

#92 My Grandmother (87) With Her Newly Adopted Senior Peanut (14) On Their Way Home From Foster Care Today ?

Image credits: reddit.com

#93 3 Years Ago I Adopted This Old Guy. Today He’s 14 And Doing Better Than Ever!

Image credits: fiercepug

#94 This Is Little Arietty, Patiently Waiting For Me To Throw Her Toy. I Am Starting To Suspect That We May Have Adopted A Doggo!

Image credits: ik3gdvip

#95 I Adopted This Cat When He Was 18, Thinking We Would Have A Few Months To Give Him A Good Retirement. He’s Going Strong At 20

Image credits: LizagnaG

#96 Today I Adopted A Stray Kitten. Meet Astrid

Image credits: CloudPink

#97 I Rescued The Cat Off The Street. Photos Before And After. One Year Difference. 🙂

Image credits: alinaesther

#98 Albert’s Reaction To Being Broken Out Of The Shelter….. He Could Not Stop Smiling

Image credits: nkp123451

#99 He Was A Rescue. A Runt. Probably Blind, Deaf, Won’t Make It Very Long, They Told Me. Well, Happy 10th Birthday, Buddy

Image credits: JohnRalphEmery

#100 Dandy Had Part Of Her Face Shot Off (Before I Adopted Her). I Love Her Two Derpy Top Teeth

Image credits: CatocalypseWOW

#101 Against My Better Judgment, We Have Adopted A Pair Of One-Eyed Chaos Kittens

Image credits: jajducurat

#102 Rescued This Very Good Boy, Arnold!! He Looks So Handsome In His Sweater!!

Image credits: Dinklemcfinkle

#103 Been Telling Myself The Only Way To Keep Them Together Is To Just Adopt Them Myself. It’s Not My Fault. I Have No Choice

Image credits: embarrassedofyou

#104 Just Adopted Both Of These Little Monsters

Image credits: DaxMan12

#105 Everyone Meet My Tripawd Buddy!! All Healed Up And Living His Best Life!!

Image credits: LastDeadEYEZ

#106 Disco Is 2 Months Old And Just Woke Up From A Nap!

Image credits: larinascente

#107 Yesterday I Adopted A Kitten But I Think They Gave Me A Meerkat

Image credits: GMRpt

#108 We Adopted A Pair Of Kittens Today. My Husband Was A Little Worried About How They’d Do With Our Dog.. He’s No Longer Concerned

Image credits: melllis

#109 Rescued This Little Guy A Week Or So Ago And He Keeps Peaking Over The Couch At Me Like This

Image credits: Zanyroad

#110 Lucia Was Skinny And Mangy And Naked And Itchy And Scared When Rescued From A Hoarder. Now She’s Fluffy And Happy And Dare I Say It A Bit Plump. Rescued By Good Karma In Florida

Image credits: gkpetrescue

#111 Sugar The Kitten Loved Spca Staff Member Glenn So Much And She Would Always Cry For His Attention. So, He Had To Take Her Home!

Image credits: mac_is_crack

#112 This Is My First Ever Pet That’s All Mine! Not My Brothers. Not My Parents. Not My Kids. Now My (Now Ex) Husband. All Mine! Y’all Meet Cordelia Rose. A Rescue That’s Stolen My Heart!

Image credits: jamberlouie

#113 Always Wanted A Cat Growing Up But Wasn’t Allowed. Today At 30 I Adopted This 4 Year Old Kitty Named Draco!

Image credits: NotAFridge

#114 I Just Adopted Atticus This Weekend. He Was A Stray And They Told Me He’s A Very Fearful Cat. I Slowly Introduced Him To My Closet With Some Food, A Bed I Warmed Up In The Dryer, And Some Pets When He Allowed. Just This Morning He Sat In My Lap And Purred

Image credits: Kass1207

#115 Found This Cat Crying Outside My House So I Decided To Adopt It

Image credits: Ullah7986

#116 I Just Got Jim And He Is Ridiculously Small

Image credits: pat4prez

#117 This Is Amy We Rescued Her On Valentine’s Day. She’s Been Living At The Shelter For Over A Year And No One Wanted Her Because She Has Weight Issues. But I Do As Well So We’re On A Diet Together. I’ll Post Updates Of Her Weight Loss Journey

Image credits: capri-sunnn

#118 My Ancient Rescue Pupper In His Trailer. He Is 13 And Goes Everywhere With Me, Even Out On The Bike

Image credits: minigal83

#119 Everyone Meet Jake (7 Years Old)! My Wife (Pictured) And I Adopted Him Yesterday From A Local Shelter. Jake Has Been In 4 Different Homes In The Last Year And Deals With A Ton Of Anxiety. But With Lots Of Love And His New Big Sister, Gigi, He’s Going To Be Just Fine!

Image credits: sderosa90

#120 We Adopted This Cute Boy And For The Past Couple Weeks He Has Been Super Shy. Today For The First Time He Plopped In My Lap An Did This ?

Image credits: SAMxxxFISHER

Source: boredpanda.com