I'm going to be upfront and admit that I have adopted two cats and a turtle from Craigslist. Also an iguana from a local breeder I found through Craigslist. I don't really support the unregulated way Craigslist pets is...But I keep finding myself using it anyways. I've also gotten one cat from a shelter and one turtle from a pet store.

I think there's a legitimate argument to be made for getting reptiles and other such animals through Craigslist if your local shelter does not handle adoptions for them. However I'm really conflicted when it comes to cats and dogs.

I've gone to adoption events and while it's great getting to interact with the pets at adoption events, I like connectioning to pet owners I meet through Craigslist. Even though they are giving up a pet that I'm looking to adopt, I often connect with their story and feel a deeper connection with the pet and previous owner. One of our cats previous owners was a collage student who adopted the cat as a stray kitten. When he and his girlfriend moved in together their cats did not get along. After struggling for 6 months, he finally made the decision to give up his cat for adoption. He ended up following me on Instagram where I always post lots of photos of my pets and we kept in touch for years.

Ofc I've heard the Craigslist horror stories. I know theres a lot of sketchy, possibly illegal, stuff that happens. On principle, I object to how maybe it's encouraging less than morally upright people to do bad things. But I've also met wonderful people and wonderful pets though Craigslist that I wouldn't have otherwise.