The wrong reason for adopting a cat?

I've just been reading a letter in one of the cat magazines I get - a lady was saying that her cat wasn't being as friendly as she wanted and was thinking about returning her to the rescue centre she came from. I was amazed that she thought that this was a good thing to write in about, and didn't realise that many people might have a strong view on this.

Now, I don't ever like to get angry, but this really does do it for me. It also happens now and again at Animals in Distress that the pets that people adopt don't fit their ideas of what they should be like, or sometimes their lifestyles.

I really don't think I can be the only person who believes that when you offer a home to an animal you do it for the animal's sake, not for yours. Sure, it's great if it's a lovely 2-way relationship and you both get something from it, but animals will be animals.

In this letter the lady was complaining that the cat only comes in to eat, and otherwise spends the day wandering. Well, to my mind that's a happy cat. She knows where to come for her food, and does return. But she's also a cat, and it's in the nature of cats to wander. Some more than others, and of course there are cats that don't ever want to go out. Obviously she wanted a snuggly lap cat, and this one isn't.

But really, to be thinking about returning her because of that, to me is cruel. She should be glad that the cat chooses to be with her, and enjoys the territory around her. She should be happy for the cat who has found the perfect life for her.

What do you think?