Have you really thought about this

 *a post by the mom

Among the other things I do for the rescue, I process applications and contracts. Recently a juvenile (about 7 months old) male kitten was adopted, returned, adopted and returned. All no fault of his own - the first adopter was over 70 years old and after having him for a couple of weeks decided he had too much energy. The other couple own a restaurant and decided after a few days they didn't have enough time for a pet. 

It's hard not to be judgmental. I get that people want pets. I think pets enrich our lives. But I really wish more people would do a little research and put some thought into it. 

Thankfully we do not do same day adoptions, so we have taken the "spontaneous" adoption issue out of the picture. 

I honestly think that the whole "cats are an easy pet" myth is part of the issue. People seem to think that they adopt a cat and it will lay around their house all day and not be much work. We work very hard to mitigate that myth but yet it persists.

For whatever reason as well, people seem to think that the volunteers with our rescue don't seem to know what we are talking about. We will try to give them advice and point them in a direction and yet they will insist that they know best. If we truly believe the cat will be in danger, we can refuse the adoption, but sometimes we have to let them fail.

The best advice I give people coming in to adopt is to take your time and let the cat pick you. Have a seat and see who comes over and wants attention. See who catches your eye or who asks for pets. Don't base it on the picture on the website. Prepare to be surprised. 

The thing that I don't think people really take into consideration is that it takes time to adjust to change for these animals. It can take a few days up to a few months for ANY pet to adjust to a new home and new schedules. Plus it is can be so hard for cats to be adopted and then returned. They don't understand why their world has been turned upside down so many times. 

Things to consider:

1. Pets are a lifetime commitment.  This can be 15 to 20 years. Through weddings and dating and kids and moving....you make a commitment to that pet.

2. Kittens are nuts. There is just no way to get around that. Getting a pair can help and we will suggest that - at least they have each other to play and wear each other out. But they will get into things. They will test gravity. They will wake up in the middle of the night. 

3. All pets need work. Cats will need daily care. They need mental stimulation. They need annual medical care and vaccines.They get sick and may need emergency care and that can be expensive. 

4. They need love and affection. Life doesn't exist in a vacuum. The more you put into the relationship, the more you get out of it. 

That said, I certainly understand that life can be hard and pets need to be returned. All we ask is that you try to make it work, try to find that pet friendly apartment, try to take an allergy medication. And don't lie to us about why you are returning a pet....we've been doing this long enough to know better.

Before even sending in the application, think about these things: cost of supplies, cost of medical care, time during the day you have to commit to a pet. If you rent, have you checked with your landlord to be sure you can have a pet. Are the pets in your home up to date on wellness care and vaccines per your vet?

Before you bring them home: do you have supplies? Do you have a carrier? Do you have a safe space set up for them in your house with their things where they can spend at least the first few days? 

There is no rush. There are plenty of adoptable cats out there. Make sure you have your life and priorities ready and in place before adding to your family. Then reach out to your local rescue and be prepared to bring home some love.

adoption news

If you didn't see it on social media, Gargoyle and Selkie went home TOGETHER on Friday. Another volunteer shared a picture of Gargoyle with a friend who showed another friend who was interested. They have a 16 year old calico girl cat at their house so there was a conversation about single kittens and Gargoyle being a bit of a big personality.

They decided to take both kittens and we know it will go great. They went home Friday night and we got an update on Saturday already. They had decided to let the kittens out into the house. Zeta (the resident old lady cat) was a little growly but nothing serious. Gargoyle was out and about and curious. Selkie was a little more reserved but we have no doubt he will come around in a couple of days.

Weekend report

Selkie went back to the rescue on Saturday. He wasn't happy about his new roommates but seemed to adjust fairly quickly.

Gargoyle will be going today to be spayed.

Mom met with a nice couple on Sunday to introduce them to Gargoyle. They had expressed some interest after seeing a picture from a friend of a friend. They have a very senior girl cat and mom expressed some concerns about sending home a single kitten with an older cat. After talking to them, they had been discussed taking a pair as well. Mom suggested Selkie since he had been with Gargoyle already here with us. Mom kitten-napped Selkie back from the rescue on Sunday to meet his potential new family.

Gargoyle and Chanel had an adventure on Saturday and went to meet Santa and have pictures taken. Since it was easier for mom, they went in the same carrier. They were fine on the way TO Santa but decided to curse each other on the way home. We will share pictures as soon as we have them.

In other news, ROOMBA GOT ADOPTED.

Mom wasn't there for the whole thing, but she got to see Roo on Wednesday and Friday which was great for mom. Despite what seemed like forever in our medical department for URI and ringworm, she came back to the adoption center her friendly and outgoing self.

Random Fridays

 Guess what?? Our boy Cipher was adopted on Wednesday. His new dad saw his picture and description online and put in his application. He was approved and met Cipher for the first time on Wednesday. After some time in our medical department, Cipher has become quite the chunky monkey. Mom handed him over and Cipher was immediately was rubbing on Z and gave him a kiss. It was love at first sight.

Selkie is becoming quite the friendly playful boy. He loves to play with Gargoyle though she is definitely still the boss.

Dragon is still a little snotty and felt the need to share with Wyvern.

Selkie and Gargoyle are be enough to be almost ready to go. The other two need to gain some weight so they will be here a little bit.

fun and games

Oh hey - all four kittens (Hoover, Dyson, Enigma and Puzzle) that went up to the adoption center have been....ADOPTED!! Hoover went home with another kitten, Puzzle has an older cat in his new home and the others went home as singles (though mom did Enigma's adoption and let them know if he gets lonely that we still have his brother).

the danger nugget

Miss Fate was tested on Saturday and is negative for FeLV/FIV so she is now in the foster kitten room with Roomba and Cipher. Roomba isn't too sure about her and Cipher was thrilled that mom brought him a new toy.

ok - mostly thrilled - haha

Roomba

They are actually all getting along fairly well. Mom heard some baby howling Saturday afternoon. She can check the web cams on her phone (since they stop screwing around if she comes up to the door). She was expecting maybe it was Fate. Nope - it was Roomba getting chewed on BY Fate. Oh well. Cipher thinks it is all fun and games until the new toy bites back. That doesn't stop either one of them from running after each other and banging around the room. It is a good thing kittens are mostly rubber and fluff considering that Cipher is sometimes none too gentle with Fate. Roomba will play with them but seems more content to watch them screw around.

meet the newbie

Happy Memorial Day (in the US). Thank you to all our service members and their families.

First, some news: mom dropped off the 4 kittens to the adoption center on Friday. She did some paperwork and left. She got a text about an hour later and....

PUZZLE GOT ADOPTED

Nice couple that also have a 2 year cat at home so he will have company. YAY!!
~~~~~~~~~~~

While mom was doing paperwork at the center, a mom and daughter came in with a tiny black kitten. Turns out the daughter was driving down a major road near the adoption center and saw a tiny fuzzy thing in the MIDDLE of the road. Several cars went right over but she stopped and got out and grabbed the kitten. However, they have a dog at home so they needed a place for the kitten. Since mom was there, she offered to take the kitten home that night. She grabbed the Sturdi crate from the car and set it up in the living room.

Chanel was a little fascinated. The kitten hissed at her a few times but Chanel stared at her for quite a while.

Daiquiri was not nearly as amused by this new development.

Since she was rescued and ended up with us, mom has decided to name her Miss Fate. She is probably about 5 weeks old. Eyes still a little blue but starting to change. She is eating kibble (thank heavens) and canned food. She can't be in with Cipher and Roomba as she hasn't been tested yet and the other 2 are a little sneezy. Since mom was worried about her, she now as a stuffed bunny for a friend. After just 24 hours, she is purring and is very friendly. She will still hiss if she is startled but otherwise is great. The assumption is she must have been in the back of a truck or under a car and when the vehicle stopped on the road, she fell out. She is in really good shape - nice weight and no injuries no she got very lucky.

adoption news

Guess what???

Well three things:

 

 Carling got ADOPTED

her new dad is a second year vet student 

with no other pets (yet)

  

Kilkenny got ADOPTED

his new mom plans to spoil him rotten

The third thing - mom is sure she is cursed. The new floors were supposed to go in yesterday. Mom got all the cats locked in the back bedroom using canned food as a treat. She had everything moved into her room and the kitchen and the hall. And the installer had some issues....it is a long story and mom got pissed and they will get done, but the company couldn't get anyone out until today. Cross your fingers and paws.

Dear applicant

*a post from the mom

Dear snippy denied applicant:

When you fill out the application, I ask for just one thing - be complete and honest with all of your answers.

I should not have to chase you to get your landlord's phone number if you rent (as an aside, I am amazed by the number of people who put that they own when in fact they don't). I shouldn't have to chase you to get a vet name and phone number if you currently have pets in the house.

But more importantly, please remember that as volunteers with a rescue organization, we feel like we are the last line of defense for these animals. We care about them and try to do everything in our power to make sure that they get loving FOREVER homes. Not "bring them back when they scratch the sofa homes" or "kick them out when we move homes". So, yes, we are going to ask questions and we expect answers.

That said, we don't reject many applications. But when they are rejected, we have done the work and have good reasons for our decisions. For the record, I just email applicants and let them know they have been denied. My thought is that if I give them an in depth explanation, I am just giving them a better tool to lie to the next group. (our organization has a database that does have our denied applications saved and we do search in case people try to come back again and change their answers)

If I think it is about education, I will certainly go that route.

But....if you have a cat and a dog and the dog sees the vet every year and the cat hasn't been to the vet in over 4 years, you don't get to be all ticked off when I reject your application for failure to provide vet care to your animal.

If you have a pet in the home that is not neutered (unless it is a medical issue I can verify with the vet), don't get ticked off when I tell you that you can't have another pet. Yes - all of OUR animals are already spayed and neutered. But we are trying to reduce the population and I am not going to encourage you to have an animal that isn't fixed.

I am tired of people not being able to accept "no" as an answer. I am tired of people sending back emails after they are denied telling me that I am a terrible person for "denying that cat a good loving home". I am tired of being told that I don't care. I am tired of people having to have the last word and being mean.

And FYI - yelling at me, emailing me hurtful things and being mean - it isn't going to change my mind. I am STILL not going to approve you. Just accept the answer and move on with your life.

I have said it before and I will say it again here: if you give a damn about animals and feel you can do a better job, PUT UP OR SHUT UP!! Every organization needs volunteers....go do something and stop criticizing those of us that are doing the hard work.

so there

misc stuff

On Sunday, after waiting patiently, Marzen was adopted and went home!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was seriously chilly here and it SNOWED!! Chanel spent a better part of Saturday evening watching the local snow plow clearing out our condo driveways. Mom went out Saturday morning but then came home and spent the rest of the day here.

Sunday she ran out, got to kiss Marzen and Kilkenny (who is still at the store and waiting for his time to come), cleaned at another partner store and then came home to watch basketball and yell at the TV. Nothing too exciting, but that is OK.

However, mom was out on Friday night at a fundraiser to help with TNR efforts. A local artists location opens up and they sell art and allow the rescue to sell cat stuff and the money goes to TNR funds. Mom was upstairs with the adoptable cats they brought. In face, the orange and white kitten named Hero was adopted by someone who met him that night.

good news

We reported on Friday that we had 4 cats/kittens still available for adoption. While we want all of them to get homes, it really is the momma cats that we cross our paws for sometimes.

Well.....Friday we got good news. Someone had applied to adopt Delphi - momma cat to the Greek Kittens. And they came in Friday to pick her up and take her home. They do have a dog so hopefully she will be OK with that, but we are all thrilled that she has been picked!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday when mom stopped at the adoption center, she and another volunteer were putting up a sign about a January adoption special. As they were working, a mid-sized orange and white tabby kept running around the floor, skidding into cats and other objects. After scanning him, they realized his name is Hemingway (though he is NOT polydactyl) and is about 6 months old. To amuse themselves, they got him on the cat wheel at the adoption center.....

~~~~~~~~~~~
Mom also did a rescue on New Year's Eve. She got a text from a lady she knows that they were hearing a neighbor abuse a cat. Arrangements were made and mom went out in the rain and picked up the cat. She is now safe with the rescue and mom is calling her Hope. She is pretty freaked out by all the other cats and the change of environment, but at least she is safe. The vet will get a good look at her once she calms down a little more. Mom did stop to see Hope on Friday and was allowed to scratch her head a little bit which is progress. Before you ask, we did think about fostering her and bringing her here, but she was pretty angry when mom tried to get her out of her carrier. She is actually better off at the center where she can be kept in a space where she is a little more contained.

wrap up

Mike would come up and just ASK to get his butt kicked

but he is certainly adorable

Did you see the news on Facebook?? Mike was adopted on Monday!! He went to a family with 4 (!!) kids who are going to spoil him rotten and he will love it! We already got a brief update and he is fitting in like he has been there the entire time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading and commenting on our year end reviews. It takes a while for it to be put together but we like going back and seeing everything from a year end perspective.

For those keeping count, we had 3 momma cats this year, 23 fosters total for the year - 8 female, 15 male. Which brought our total foster count to 321. We have 4 still available for adoption: Kilkenny and Marzen, along with Carling and Delphi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since we are headed into winter here in the mid-west, it may be a while until we have kittens again. Mom needs to clean up the foster room and get everything reset anyhow. And then again, sometimes you just never know what will pop up along the way.

weekend report

Mom wanted to do something for the rescue for December. She thought about it and decided maybe a treat bag for each adopted cat would be a nice touch. She got some decorations as well. Luckily for the cats, our Aunt Dee and Miss Patty came to the rescue and with their help mom and a couple of other volunteers were able to put together 150 bags with toys and treats for each adopted cat. THANK YOU ladies!!!

Mom was talking last week to another volunteer about kittens. This other volunteer is in charge of one of the partner stores - one that is actually closer to our house. She cleared it with the director of the rescue and mom took Marzen and Kilkenny to the store on Friday night. They were kind of scared and hid right away. Sadly, mom checked on them on Saturday and they were still hiding. Hopefully a couple more days and they will come out and let people see them more.

This is one of Goldfish's favorite places to sleep. Though if you look closely, her tail is still curled under some. Mom says it takes everything she has some times not to sneak over and touch Goldfish's tail.

While Goldfish is getting better at coming up at night while mom is in bed, she hasn't come back up on to mom's lap since that last time. Goldfish is still skittish but doing much better. As opposed to Junior, she doesn't run if mom gets up and walks through the living room. Of course, if mom HAD to catch her, that would take some serious effort, but for now mom is focusing on their bond while mom is in bed.

Random Fridays

In case you missed the announcement on social media on Tuesday,

this little booger went home with his new mom. Concats Annatto!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

places to go, things to do

OK - so it LOOKS like he is coming right toward you

In fact, he was backing away from the camera 

killing it with the cute

So....names. This gets harder all the time as mom keeps trying to be creative. However, she wandered around the internets and decided on beer from around the world. Meet the #worldbeerkittens

Mom will be Carling (England)

Our girl kitten will be Peroni (Italy)

Tuxedo boys will be Harp and Kilkenny (Ireland)

Brown tabby boy will be Marzen (Germany)

Orange tabby boys will be Sapporo and Kiri (Japan)

The kittens are all pretty friendly. Marzen is a little shyer than the rest. And Miss Peroni took herself on a tour of the condo the other night when mom opened the door to go into the foster room. Just marched down the hall right past Daiquiri and Chanel - tail straight up in the air all self confident. Mom is going to try to remember to break out the scale this weekend to get some weights. She is curious how much the little girl weighs and the differences between the boys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a safe weekend and be sure to get in an extra nap. 

Random Fridays

Mom has been using canned/pate food to bribe Goldfish. Mom sits on the floor and puts the dish right near her lap. When Goldfish comes up to eat, mom slowly pets her and talks to her. She is a little jumpy at first and then relaxes and keeps eating. Unfortunately, Goldfish is still pretty scared when mom tries to reach out and grab her while mom is standing. We have an experiment lined up for the weekend and hopefully that will help.

Soda is still here. Mom still isn't sure he is the exact fit she wants for a kitten raiser, but the FIV room had an outbreak of ringworm, so he is here for a while until that clears up and we can switch him out. There is another FIV boy that mom would like to interview, but he has to be cleared from the FIV room before that can happen. It may turn out that the right fit is in fact Soda, but mom would like to interview a couple more candidates just to be sure.

Oh - and that picture? Mom was feeding the kittens the pate above and Daiquiri started banging on the doors while sitting on a shelf outside the room. Soda heard and then SAW her and was fascinated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

picture thanks to @Emily K

In other news....we have been holding on you all just a little bit. Cardamom went home a couple of weeks ago. YAY!! However, we held off posting just in case it didn't work out. See...she didn't exactly want to go INTO the carrier. And she was going to be at one house for a couple of days before her final home (she was adopted by a retired couple by the husband as a gift for his wife - not something we normally do, but in this case made an exception since they are an older couple and have a great pet history). She was staying with their son until the party. However, since we haven't heard back and she is still with them, we think it is safe to announce she has been ADOPTED!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of Daiquiri, if you missed it on social media, she turned 4 years old on Wednesday. And in an apparent effort to give mom a stroke, was missing when mom got home on Wednesday night.

See, on Wednesdays, mom works all day and then has a 2 hour shift at the rescue. Which means she doesn't get home until usually after 7:30 pm. This week hasn't exactly been quiet around here either - trash pickup was Tuesday morning and mom got home Tuesday afternoon to find guys hired by the condo association power washing the siding. The recycling truck came Wednesday after mom left and the more mom thinks about it, it was probably just too much for poor Daiq to deal with in 2 days.

Anyhow, Daiquiri didn't come out when mom got home. Didn't make a sound when mom called her name. Didn't come out for treats. After 40 minutes and turning the condo upside down, mom is freaking out. Then a paw comes out from under the sofa. Keep in mind, mom didn't think any of us could actually FIT under the sofa. Daiq wasn't coming out either - mom finally had to move the sofa and tip it up. Mom also got a new soccer ball out and they played a little fetch and Daiquiri seemed to be her normal self. Still no idea what exactly freaked her out....and why she didn't pick any of the hundreds of beds or cubes in the house for her hiding spot.

more adoption news

 

Yep, Veria has figured out the containers

 

Argos after the trackball

 

Delphi and her kid

 

Olympia showing off her belly

Well, we thought we had an adopter for Olympia. However, she ended up rescuing a tiny kitten with some medical issues and felt she needed to focus on that kitten. She was heartbroken to give up Olympia. We assured her that the new baby needs her and Olympia is in a good place to be adopted. The rescue doesn't have many kittens on the adoption floor.

At the adoption event on Sunday, we got an emailed application for Olympia. However, that was denied by mom on Monday. Veria has a pending application as well, but the vet check is up in the air and that may not go through either.

Sunday after the event mom dropped Argos off at the adoption center. With pending applications, she didn't want to leave the girls and have arguments start. However, if the applications we have bust, the girls will go to the center this evening.

Delphi will actually be spayed tomorrow so she will be ready to go then as well.

With it being mid-May, we suspect the kitten room won't be empty very long however.

Sparta

 

photo (c)Sarah

A few weeks ago we were contacted online about a possible family for Sparta. Mom actually took him and Argos over to meet the family. They have a small dog and an older female cat. And 2 kids. The new kitten was to be a gift for the younger daughter.

For her birthday this past week, her mom and dad put a note in a box with his picture and gave it to her letting her know that the final decision had been made and they were getting the kitten this weekend. (they had previously told her that the decision was up to our mom)

Arrangements were made and Sparta was handed off to his new family this past Saturday. The daughter apparently was up at 4:30am she was so excited. Mom has gotten several pictures - including the one above - over the weekend and it looks like he has settled right in to his new home. No report on the dog situation, but the older cat is giving him a wide berth so far. MOL

Random Fridays

We have good news!!!!

Sigourney was adopted and went home on Tuesday!!! Mom checked her email on Monday morning and there were TWO applications for our girl. Sig's new mom is a single lady with adult kids who recently lost her husband. Mom talked to her for a while on Monday and we know this will be a great fit. We hope Sig brings her lots of joy and comfort. (the second application was approved as well and we hope that lady decides to take another of the cats from that location)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This weekend is supposed to be chilly with possible snow, but mom hopes to get Chanel out to a new store we haven't been to before.

Otherwise mom says it is a weekend of laundry, the evil dyson and basketball.

TBT and good news

Do you recognize this face?

What about now?

Yep - that is Panache. She came to us from a hoarding case with her 3 kittens. Panache went from our house to a partner store but her eyes were runny and so one of the volunteers took her for a couple of weeks. After determining that basic meds aren't going to clear up her eyes, Panache came to the partner store where mom cleans. Mom hadn't seen her in a couple of months and Panache had filled out and grown out a lovely long coat.

Then this past weekend there was an application for Panache. Mom spent some time talking to the lady and they met on Sunday and sent Panache home. Mom explained about hoarding situations and everything...turns out that the lady previously owned a dog that had come from a puppy mill. Mom told her to think about them as being very similar when it comes to people interactions.

Mom did get a text on Sunday afternoon and Panache was out and checking out her new space and seemed very comfortable.

Year in Review - Part 2

July
Miss Julie gave us a camper at Blog Paws and the rat pack kittens put it to the test. We got to know Panache and her kittens better. We talked about cat guys. It was not only the summer of tuxedo kittens, it was the summer of one eyed tuxedo kittens as Romero and Rooney lost one eye each to infection. The rat pack kittens got new collars so mom had a better chance of telling them apart in pictures. We got close up pictures of the #littlekittens Mallard, Foxy and Fish. Chanel went up to the adoption center but wasn't adopted.

August
We did a Q and A about FIV in cats. Bogart, Flynn and Romero went up to the adoption center. Panache and the kittens got new housing arrangements. We posted about the rat pack girls. It was our 9th year blogoversary. Romero got adopted. Mom took Rooney and Harlow to an adoption event - upon their return to the house they got free run and Panache and the kittens got moved to the foster room. Flynn and Bogart were adopted together. Bacall stuck around the house getting over a cold. There was a minor mystery in the foster room.

September
Bacall went up to the adoption center and got adopted the next day. Mom took Lark and the songbird kittens - unfortunately they were all pretty sick and after going back to the rescue, they passed away. We posted some pictures showing how remarkable how much like Panache that Mallard looks. Foxy got adopted. Mom played musical cats and Rooney got adopted. Fish got adopted as well. We picked up the #berrykittens as well. Mozart turned 11 years old.

October
Mom took a long weekend to visit family and they all took out a pontoon boat for a day. When she got home she picked up 4 kittens rescued from Houston after Hurricane Harvey (Bristol, Shiner, Amarillo and Marfa). Mom went to visit Chanel...and ended up bringing her home. On the 6th, our elder statesman Tommy passed away with mom's help at the vet. Unfortunately later that week, Cranberry of the berry kittens passed away as well. The Texas kittens got their names and continued to charm mom. Chanel got a harness and started making trips out in public with mom. Harlow got adopted. On the 25th mom had to make the decision to take Mozart to the vet to euthanize him after a cancer diagnosis.

November
We kicked off the month with some VERY good news - Millie, mom to the design kittens, was adopted. Blueberry and the Texas kittens got a cold so there was snot in the foster room.The Texas gangsters decided Blueberry was fun to pick fights with on a regular basis. Chanel continued to go out and about with mom and got to meet someone interesting one day. Blueberry was finally ready to go up to the adoption center. There was a Texas kitten update and mom posted about our new log cabin house. And after several weeks, the Texas kittens were packed off for surgery.

 

December
Mom had pictures taken of Chanel for Christmas at a fundraiser for a local rescue. We got more back story on the Texas kittens before they came up here after Hurricane Harvey. After surgery and a weekend of adoption events, the Texas kittens were supposed to head up to the adoption center to find their forever homes. Blueberry was adopted on the 6th. On the day the Texas kittens were to get set up at the adoption center, Amarillo started to drool and there was random sneezing, so back to the house. They went back into the foster room but managed to pull a Houdini and escaped....gaining them access to the house full time. However, after a few days Chanel wasn't very happy about all 4 kittens being out, so they headed back up to the adoption center since no one was acting sick. Sigourney and Weaver came to us as new fosters for the end of the year. All four Texas kittens were adopted pretty quickly. Weaver continued to charm mom and Ivy had a vet check for her ear. We got our Secret Paws box. Unfortunately the year ended on a sad note when mom got a call from the pet sitter that Weaver had passed away while mom was out of town.