Pet adoption

[aleria]

Well, I recently had to re-home my two cats. One of which I'd had for over 5 years since he was around 2 years old, the other I adopted as a kitten 2 years ago.
Now I am not a social person, have no family near by, basically spend every single day home completely alone. That means that my animals have all adjusted to being around me, and me alone for all these years.
Cats of course are almost always a bit skittish to begin with when it comes to strangers and need an obviously much longer time to adjust when entering a new home than most other animals. And so begins my rant.

I adopted out the younger of the 2 cats last Saturday night. By Monday morning I had an email from the new parents saying she was still skittish and didn't want to be held a lot...... barely over 2 days and they are expecting this cat to be cuddling right up in their lap.
I adopted out the older cat late last Sunday night. Last night I get an email saying nearly the same thing and telling me that he is a cat that really should be in a home with only one person and no other animals and that she wants to return him!
First of all, during the few month period that I didn't have another cat in the house he went crazy. It wasn't until I adopted the other cat that he finally calmed back down. And on top of that I've also had 2 dogs along with the cats and he has never had a problem with them and actually made it a point to cuddle with the dogs.
The first couple just emailed stating the issue with the cat not being calm yet, but that was it. This woman actually emailed saying she wants to give him back to me. 4 days she has had him and she wants to just send him back.
Now normally this wouldn't be that big of an issue, I would just take him back and put him back up for adoption.
Problem is, not even 2 weeks prior to her adopting him from me she took in a stray and told me all about it. When I asked her if she had any vet records showing that this stray she has been housing my cat with is actually healthy and could not have spread anything to him she said no she didn't think taking them to the vet was necessary.
Sorry, but there is no way at this point that I am taking that cat back, no matter how much I loved him, now that he has been housed with an animal with absolutely no proof of medical history and was out on the streets barely a week prior to their introduction to each other.
I do not bring absolutely any animals I've adopted into my house without first taking them straight to the vet for an exam.
I told her I am out of town for the next week so I can deal with this and the million other things that are eating at me right now. But at this point I'm basically going to give her a couple options, I've re-listed him for adoption as she "suggested" and told her she will have to handle adopting him out to someone if they contact me. Or if by week's end he still has not been adopted out I'm going to tell her she can either take him to a shelter, start a listing to adopt him out herself, or pay to have a full vet exam done prior to returning him to me.


So that is my rant. Questions, comments, opinions?
I just personally think it is ridiculous for so many people that claim to have had tons of cats before to not realize that it takes more than a couple days for a cat to adjust to an entirely new life. I mean seriously.

 

[Dawn Zimmerman]

I had lived with my 1 yr old cat at my parent's house for a year when I left to move out to New York to attend grad school. Even though Jinx was very used to me and normally affectionate, he spent every day and night as a lump under my sleeping bag on my bed for the first two weeks or more. If I gently brought him out, he would just go right back in there. I have moved twice since then with similar results. I have only had one cat, Jinx who's 13 now, but from my experience with him, I would say that cats really need to get comfortable with their new place before they will be affectionate with anyone. These people you wrote about have very unrealistic expectations of both the cats they have adopted and what you are required to do about it.

 

[aleria]

I think too many people are used to the reactions they get from dogs or puppies, or at least 99% of them.
It doesn't matter if a cat is the most aloof cat with everyone all the time or the most cuddly, when it comes to adjusting to strangers or a new environment even it takes them quite a while.
It's just a real disappointment when I have some "sweet old lady" telling me about how she lost her cat to a brain tumor last christmas and he looked just like my cat and just has to have him and within 4 days wants to toss him out without even trying. Really disheartening.

 

[Southern Wolf]

I adopted my cat from the shelter.... she spent almost 2 months hiding behind my hanging clothes in the closet. Who knows what she went thru before I found her... but now she trusts me completely. Ive had her for over a year now.

 

[aleria]

Yep, both of mine were shelter kitties too. I got my Pima when he was around 2 years old back in 2005 from a shelter in Mississippi and fell in love the second I saw him. And I got my Tabu from a shelter here locally 2 years ago when she was just a kitten.
I really hated to even give up these cats to begin with, but apparently not only am I just getting more and more random illnesses as I get older, but am also suddenly becoming allergic to things that I have never been allergic to in my life. In the last 2-5 years I've become lactose intolerant, get major headaches from even minor amounts of sugar, and could barely be within a few feet of my cats without my throat starting to swell up. And I mean you can only take so many different kinds of allergy pills to combat these kinds of things until you just have to give up. My parents bought me a puppy and a kitten the day I was born and I always had at least one of each my whole life. Suddenly not being able to have cats really sucks.
Maybe some day I'll invest in a sphynx, no hair, see if that helps. But I guess for now I'll just stick with more snakes since I'm not allergic to them yet if I need more pets to cuddle

 

[Southern Wolf]

That sucks Jessica... My last GF was severly allergic to cats.... I feel your pain from an "outside of the box" kinda way. I know what she went thru when she tried to come to my house.

 

[aleria]

That's one thing I've always had to put out there when it comes to looking for a date too haha. MUST LOVE ANIMALS OF ALL KINDS AND NOT BE ALLERGIC. Between the pomeranians and the cats the amount of hair I was vacuuming up on a weekly basis was ridiculous. Someone with severe allergies to all furry critters would probably suffocate the second they walked in the door.
Gotta love the breeds that shed year round no matter how much brushing, bathing and trimming you do

 

[Southern Wolf]

yep... I only have the one furry on the inside.... but I have two furry hoodlums on the outside.

 

[Dawn Zimmerman]

Hey Jessica,
That completely sucks that you are allergic to cats, now! I couldn't even imagine parting with Jinx. I remember when I became lactose intolerant about 5 years ago. Living in WI where cheese is served with almost everything, I was pretty much screwed until I found Lactaid.

 

[AbsoluteApril]

well if the cat you adopted was all current on it's shots, then being around the other stray for a short time shouldn't cause any harm besides maybe fleas and worms which are pretty easy to treat. I was going to suggest agreeing to take the cat back and adopt it our yourself (since the lady is so quick to want to give him back, she'll probably just dump him at the pound if you ask her to find him a new home herself), but if you really are that badly alergic, I don't know what to advise, that sucks. I hope the adopters come around... so many people just want instant gratification and don't have patience or want to put in any effort, it's sad.

(Dawn, one of my cats is named Jinx too! Well she's Hyjinx, Jinxy or Jinx.. or stink butt depending on my mood lol)

 

[Shadera]

People suck. Wish I could make it all fluffy and pretty, but there it is. I hope the kitties find themselves a furever home soon, with people who are willing to put in the effort to let them settle in.

Our ragdoll was the one in a million. No exaggeration, on day one he waltzed right in like he'd been here all 9 years of his life. He jumped up on our couch, plopped down and rolled over for bellyrubs, and promptly went to sleep. He's been that way since.

 

[Dawn Zimmerman]

(Dawn, one of my cats is named Jinx too! Well she's Hyjinx, Jinxy or Jinx.. or stink butt depending on my mood lol)

lol April, you're the second person I have heard of that has a cat named Jinx. Apparently someone in the building where my husband works has a Jinx, also, saw him on the guy's website.

 

[Iguanachic]

Our ragdoll was the one in a million. No exaggeration, on day one he waltzed right in like he'd been here all 9 years of his life. He jumped up on our couch, plopped down and rolled over for bellyrubs, and promptly went to sleep. He's been that way since.

I raise TICA Ragdolls. They are the dog of the cat world! I've never met an Ragdoll who didn't do the exact same thing. I've adopted out raggies to homes that were all about dogs and every one of them has come back for a second Ragdoll!

 

[Southern Wolf]

post a pic of a ragdoll?

 

[Melinda]

My husband is severley allergic to cats. We have 7 and I'm fostering 9 bottle baby orphans. It has taken years to figure out a allergy medicine cocktail that works for him. Now that he's on the meds, his allergies symptoms are almost non-existant.

I can check what he's taking if you want. I know he's taking daily Allegra/fexofenadine, Advair inhaler for the asthma and something he snorts up his nose.

I believe these meds saved his life, his asthma was so bad even without any allergy causing animals in the house, he's allergic to everything else I.E. dust, pollen etc.... Some nights he could barely breath even with a rescue inhaler.

 

[Shadera]

post a pic of a ragdoll?

Our darling Vinnie. 40 pounds of love in a 20 pound sack.

 

[aleria]

Here are some pictures of the cat I was adopting out. He was listed as a flamepoint siamese at the adoption shelter, but obviously only because they assume anything with color points is a siamese. To me seems very much a ragdoll. He also had the hugest, most gorgeous blue eyes. Most of the time his pupils showed red, so in the fluorescent lights in the kitchen the red and blue would mix to give his eyes an almost purple hue, always loved that. He also had orange freckles on the pink part of his nose

I got an email a short while ago stating that the woman I spoke to earlier in the day went out to take him from the previous adopter. I made sure to mention that if she was not willing to give him well over a week to adjust then it might be best for her to look elsewhere as I'd really rather not have him be tossed from home to home just because he doesn't adjust and become totally comfortable within a couple of days. She agreed and said she totally understood how cats are in that respect. So hopefully that means he has landed in a better home this time around.

Also to the earlier comments on allergy med cocktails, that was actually my issue. Over the last decade I have been on upwards of 25+ pills per day due to all of my illnesses. And I've been on every possible otc and prescription allergy med there was. At some point you just have to set a limit as to how far you are willing to go into debt due to medical issues that can be resolved in other ways. This was just one more of the sacrifices I've had to make to resolve or tame some of my medical issues.

 

[aleria]

Also, Shadera, quick question about your ragdoll. When it comes to grooming, and them having such insane amounts of hair, have you had to invest a lot into brushing, trimming, etc. to keep him nice and mat free?
I know most people with long hair cats complain about that being such a terrible issue. But seriously during the 5+ years I had my Pima, not once did I run a brush through his hair. He groomed himself meticulously, used his back claws to brush his neck and ear area thoroughly, and used his teeth to detangle the hair between the pads on his feet. I was amazed the first time I sat there and watched him go to work not just licking off the loose hair, but actually brushing himself with his back claws and teeth.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Our darling Vinnie. 40 pounds of love in a 20 pound sack.

OMG... are those eyes for real? That is the first thing that caught my attention.... WOW

 

[Southern Wolf]

Wish my kitty played well with others... ya'll are making me want another one.

When I adopted Taylor...that is the one thing they asked me... did I have other cats... and she didn't play well with others. I truely believe they wouldnt have let me adopt her if I had said yes.