Good morning r/legaladvice!

I recently moved into my own place and have been looking to adopt a cat. The public shelter in my county in Florida has zero cats available, and while that's a good thing because it means there aren't any abandoned cats in the area, it also means I have to try private shelters as I don't want to buy from a breeder.

So far, this has been challenging for many reasons. One shelter in particular, after filling out their application, e-mailed me to ask what my gender is and if I had a wife. I explained to them that I am male and single. They replied by informing me that they will not be accepting my application, and will be sharing my name with other shelters in the area to prevent me from adopting one.

Is it legal for a private animal shelter that solicits donations and funding from the community to discriminate against who they will adopt out to because of gender and marital status if there is a woman in the home? There is, as far as I can tell, no other reason why my application was denied and I was only denied after they found out I am a single man.

EDIT:

Thank you all for the help.

I'm not looking to sue. I just want to adopt a cat. I will follow the advice below and file a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, as this does appear to be illegal discrimination. Not just gender, but Florida apparently does actually protect marital status as well.

Many of you suggested that I check Craigslist, which I did about an hour ago. There are six posts today of people in my city desperate to get rid of healthy kittens because it was an unexpected litter. I've reached out to several of them and will wait for a response rather than continue to try and jump through hoops to please these private shelters. Shame about the cats stuck in them, but if they won't adopt them out, nothing I can do. I don't care what kind of cat I get, so picking up any regular kitten is fine with me.

To those suggesting there was something else odd about my application or that I "left something out": I haven't. I filled out their application which does not ask for gender and I told the truth on all questions. Afterwards, they e-mailed me to check my gender, and after finding out I was male, then they denied me. If you don't see why that certainly comes across as discriminatory, I don't know what to tell you.

Regardless, thanks all!

EDIT 2:

I have received over 15 PMs informing me that I should really adopt two kittens rather than one cat. If possible I will be doing that, but it really isn't up to me; it's whatever is available on Craigslist.