1. Share a favorite view.
I took a break from fostering cats through our local humane society because they made me mad last October when I fostered this crew:
What happened was that I agreed to foster the litter and let my friends and family know they were available for adoption. Typically if I can find an adopter, they can put a hold on the kitten and will be notified when the kitten is ready for adoption. I have found many kittens homes doing this. But this time I found an adopter for a kitten, they went to place a hold on the kitten and the shelter said they could not place a hold because they decided at the last minute to add this litter of kittens to an adoption event. This was news to me, so I contacted the shelter and asked if this one kitten could be saved for the family that wanted it since we did not know it was going to be part of an event. Afterall, the point of an adoption event is to find an adopter, right? I already did that!
In short, the shelter told me no. The family could go to the adoption event and if they were first in line for that kitten they could adopt it, but they could not place a hold on it. To say this bothered me would be an understatement. We are in the business of finding animals homes correct? What difference does it make if this ONE kitten gets adopted before the event? If the family is not first in line, they could potentially lose out on the kitten they wanted. Why were they making the family jump through extra hoops?
Not only that, but I have fostered DOZENS of animals for this shelter. I have destroyed and replaced carpet in a bedroom due to a horrible bout of diarhea in a litter of 6 kittens, I have spent many sleepless night bottle feeding motherless kittens, I bundle them up for all of their different vaccination appointments and I do it all for free. They could not do me a solid this one time and allow a family to place a hold on a kitten? Not to mention they profit on every $225 kitten (not profit exactly since they do need to pay to have the kittens spayed/neutered and vaccinated) that leaves their shelter when people like me have finished raising them.
I felt very used…like I had been supporting them for years and here was an opportunity for them to return the support after a goof on their part but they were unwilling to budge. I wrote back that I would like to be removed from the foster list.
They responded the next day apologetically. The “team” had a chance to discuss and they decided it would be okay for the family to place a hold on the kitten in question. They appreciate my support and would like to keep me on the foster list. Turns out they actually wanted to use the kittens as part of the event because for every kitten adopted at the event, the event host was matching the adoption cost. So instead of receing $225 for the kitten, if it was adopted at the event the shelter would receive $450. Turns out they’re in the business of making money.
Long story short, the family DID place a hold on the kitten and were told to complete the adoption at the event. This way my side was happy to get the kitten and their side was happy to still get all the money. And I did not foster again until this past May when Squeaks came into the picture:
What can I say? I am weak with my grudges. I needed a kitten fix and he was a teensy bottle fed baby that needed some love. I fostered Squeaks for about 6 weeks and when he left I decided I needed another cat.
So I adopted Betty…from somebody ELSE not my shelter.
And she is darling!! We have two big boys that we adopted as kittens during the pandemic and they are kind of bossy. I wanted a kitty that would be snuggly and sweet and sleep with me at night. And I found her. It’s really a gamble with cats because you just can’t predict if they’re going to be assholes or if they are going to be soulmates. So far, Betty is perfect! She snuggles in a tiny container next to my computer while I work and she purrs nonstop. Definitely my favorite view as of late:
Just don’t tell Pat because he thinks Betty is a foster kitten and I’m just going to let him think that until he catches on.
Now it’s your turn!
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The Prompts:
1. Share a favorite view.
2. List your top 6 favorite summer moments so far.
3. Tell us about something you have been working on.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: mystery
5. What are you watching? Share your favorite summer programming so far.
6. Write a blog post in exactly 9 lines.
Patty says
Boy, did this strike a cord with me!
While not all animal shelters operate in a less than satisfactory manner, there are far too many who pull punches similar to what you experienced. In fact, our local shelter is/has been, beyond questionable as to their procedures.
The goal is to definitely do the absolute best for the animals but, as with the shelter here, there is too often no support for the lost or abandoned animals who come their way. Residents are told there’s no room at the facility but our shelter pulls animals from out of state constantly and turns many animals in need away. Some dogs who are sadly, forever unadoptable, live out their years in cages due to severe aggression which contributes to the lack of space for animals who could be placed with loving adopters. There are constant reports of animals left tied to the shelter gates or left in boxes outside the facility. It’s been a nightmare for years and, unless the state gets up off its rear end and clamps down on this mismanaged operation, it will never change.
I applaud you for doing the best for these precious kittens. Sweet Betty is definitely a keeper!
Mama Kat says
I agree, on one hand I get that they need to fundraise to make money that will pay for these animals to be rehabilitated, spay/neutered, and vaccinated…but in this case it was like, “we can make one exception right??” And when the first reponse was no I was beyond irritated.
John Holton says
That little orange guy with the blue eyes is adorable! Was he the one your friends had their eyes on?
Your little Betty is another cutie!
Mama Kat says
They adopted the little calico tortie one! I was tempted to adopt the orange one, but was glad I didn’t even attempt after the loopholes they made the friend jump through.