Tentative adoption decision

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  • #53381
    Leeny
    Participant

    Today at the pound, I held and pet the adult male cat I was looking at yesterday; his kennel is right below Greta’s. He snuggled and purred like a regular love bug. He’s a cream color, darker across his back than on the rest of him, and has gorgeous light blue eyes. He is the closest I could find in either the shelter or the pound to the cat I wanted, an adult male, even though at 2 or 3 years old he’s a bit younger than I would have preferred. I filled out an adoption application today but told the staff that it is tentative. I still have to get my landlord’s letter and I want to spend some time with him in the interaction room (someone else was in there today). My adoption appointment is Wednesday; he’d be neutered before coming home.

    I spent more time snuggling with little Greta. When I tried to put her on the floor, she climbed over my shoulder onto my back. I then knelt on the floor and she jumped off. She explored the room some more, scratched the door frame, chased her tail, passed through the “tunnel” formed by two chairs several times, chased her tail some more, and pretty much acted like a kitten.

    I had to acknowledge, though, that Greta is just too frail to join a household of adult cats yet, particularly if one is going to be added who has a history of fighting, though I expect the neutering to take care of that problem. I don’t even feel comfortable bringing Greta in her present state around Buttercup. Greta doesn’t even weigh 2 pounds yet. I intend to go back and visit her until either I or (sigh) someone else takes her home. They can’t reserve cats for people, of course.

    I’m wondering, too, if this is the best time to add any cat to the family. Things are still in disarray concerning H’s possessions. I feel sad, and the sadness started after I completed the application. I had to list present and recent past cats, which included Gabie. I thought that putting his death and its cause on the form was what made me sad, but I’m not sure. The form asked if I’d be willing to have someone from animal control visit my house to check on the cat’s welfare. My first mental response was resentment; I don’t need the animal police checking up on me. I also thought about the dust and dirt still on the floor and furniture, and I really don’t want my home inspected in that condition.

    I’ll see if I can find any of my name-meaning books and start looking at boy names. Maybe that will help.

    #754230
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    (((((Leeny)))))

    I agree with you about the cat police; I know they want to guarantee good homes, but I think they go overboard.

    I still think that you will know when the time is right. You have a lot of upheaval in your life right now, and it might be smart to wait. But again, I believe you will know when it’s right.

    #754231
    SoxsMom
    Participant

    I agree with Kilroy, I think you will know when it is time. There is nothing wrong with waiting and putting yourself together first. You have certainly been through a lot in the past few months. You are getting stronger and you will know when it is time!

    #754232
    Leeny
    Participant

    Tomorrow I’m going to go by the pound and ask them to withdraw my application for the adoption of the adult male. Now that I have more of a timeline for the settlement of my home and the property in it, I know that I will not be able to take another cat into my home until around the middle of November. I will continue to visit and take the pound things they need for the cats; I’ll cuddle and play with Greta and the big boy, and I’m even going to see if they’ll let him be neutered at the shelter’s clinic on my dime and returned to the pound even though someone else may be the one to benefit from that. Cats need a stable territory, and things are going to be quite unstable for several weeks.

    #754233
    Leeny
    Participant

    Update:

    The pound did not discard my application on the adult male, whom the volunteers have named Bryson. Instead, they made a note on it about the delay in the timing of the adoption.

    The volunteers have given Greta a name, too. It’s two letters different–the last two letters–from my last name. If (when) she comes home with me, her name is going to be Greta. She’s not going to have a funny-sounding name in which the first and last are almost identical.

    One of the staff advised me to have them make a note about Bryson not to euthanize him. I’d finished my visit with him and was cuddling Greta at the time. I went to the employee at the desk and said I thought they went to the humane society shelter. Turns out the humane society comes over and gets cats they think can be adopted. Ferals and cats with negative histories usually aren’t taken. I told her to put notes in the binder of applications NOT to kill Bryson or Greta.

    When Bryson was in the interaction room with me today, he almost turned over on his back, the ultimate expression of kitty trust. I think he even meowed in his kennel when he heard my voice. Greta was having a good time batting at the reflections in the lenses of my eyeglasses.

    About four cats had paperwork filled out on them today to be adopted.

    H’s things are scheduled to be removed from the second bedroom on Nov. 24. I told the employee staffing the desk that, if no one else adopts Bryson before that, I will complete the paperwork/pay the fee on the 25th and Bryson can go to the spay/neuter clinic on the 26th. His seclusion room will be ready for him.

    Will ask the neighbors to remind the landlord about the letter, and also to ask him if there’s any means of contacting him that he’s willing to let me have.

    If it were cleaner in here and I had the letter, I’d probably bring Greta home next week.

    I wonder if I’m trying to fill the void that the end of my marriage created by stocking up the house with cats. Choosing a successor for Gabie isn’t unusual, but I’ve always said my limit is three cats. I’m in love with Bryson and Greta. I was in love with H, too, and you know how that turned out.

    God doesn’t seem to be telling me anything one way or the other about this like he did when I was engaged to H. I just ask him for his will to be done. Shelters can’t reserve cats for people, so if I should not have Bryson or Greta, have someone else adopt them before I’m prepared to take them into my home.

    #754234
    Kiplings_cat
    Participant

    You know, we got Catkin a few months after I was diagnosed with cancer and started chemotherapy…people would say that that is not the right time to get a new cat, but I found he was a good antidepressant. (And my husband is backup for care.) And now that the cancer has relapsed and I am not working, some days the cats are my only reason to get out of bed. If I lived alone and had to give up my cats, I think I would be a lot worse off emotionally. Sometimes being responsible for a pet can really help a person, especially one who lives alone. And three cats is not unreasonable if you have the resources to care for them.

    BTW, we had a post once about the extremes some shelters/rescues go to in screening adopters. When I adopted my 1st cat Polly, there were places that would not adopt to me because I had never had a pet- that’s a good way to limit homes!

    #754235
    Leeny
    Participant

    I’m sorry about your recurrence, KC, and I hope your treatment is effective and sends you into remission. I know what you mean about the cats being the only reason to keep going sometimes. If Buttercup and Penny weren’t here, I think I’d be out of my mind right now. At least once so far, I’ve restrained myself “because of the cats” from doing something stupid.

    If you couldn’t adopt because you never had a pet, how did they expect you to get a pet so you could adopt?

    I think I’ve seen little Greta for the last time. She was getting quite a bit of attention today, with people holding her, taking her picture on their cell phones, and playing with her in the interaction room. Before I left, I made sure to give her some cuddle time and tell her how wonderful it will be to go to a new home. It wouldn’t surprise me if, after I left, someone put in an application for her.

    Today I sat on the floor in front of Bryson’s kennel with the door open because the interaction room was being used. He was allowed to stay in his kennel or get into my lap, although he wanted to do some more extensive exploration. He gave me a head bonk, right in the middle of my face! He also gave me a love bite on my thumb that was a bit harder than it should have been, but if he becomes mine, I know how to handle that.

    #754236
    krazikat
    Participant

    The timing may not be right Leeny, but kitties like you and I think it is therapeutic for them to recieve love and visits from you. The adoption will happen when the time is right. I think you should keep on building your relationships with the shelter kitties and let destiny run it’s course. You will be adopting again soon!

    #754237
    krazikat
    Participant

    KC, I am sorry to hear about your relapse. My prayers that your treatments go well and you return to total health. It is good to see you posting here.

    #754238
    CheetahBoysmommy
    Participant

    KC, I didn’t realize you had a relapse. What can we do for you besides pray and keep good thoughts? Do you need blood or bone marrow? Or books to keep you occupied?

    Leeny, would you have been directed to a shelter with a cat(s) you felt you could bond with, if it wasn’t meant to be? Bryson may have already been reserved for you by Gabie and higher powers, even if the shelter can’t reserve him for you.

    #754239
    Leeny
    Participant

    I’m just praying that God will regulate the timing. If it isn’t his will for these particular kitties to be mine, I’ve asked him to send them home with other loving humans before Nov. 25. One thing we know, there will never be a shortage of kitties needing homes.

    The thing about Bryson, though, is that, according to animal shelter standards, he is considered less adoptable. (The staff told me that the owners who surrendered him couldn’t even make up their minds whether he should be euthanized straightaway or whether the pound should “give him a chance”.) For one thing, he is an adult. For another, he was surrendered for aggressing against other cats, even though being a non-neutered male is enough to account for that. When he arrived at the shelter–and I believe it’s still there–there was a sign on his kennel that said “Go Slow”, not exactly a testament to a sociable personality. The first time I took the poor boy to the interaction room, following several sessions of petting only, then cuddling only, he was trembling in my arms. Although the staff told me he had two visitors today, I didn’t hear anything about their expressing interest in taking him home.

    It may be that Bryson needs me. One thing is sure, though, unless God does something to change it: This cat will not be euthanized. If no one takes him before the 25th, I will. If the pound somehow gets crowded before then and they select Bryson for euthanasia, there is a note on his record with my initial application saying that I am to be called. If that happens, I’m going to finalize the adoption immediately–“ready or not, house, here we come.”

    #754240
    KYKAT 12 23
    Participant

    Praying that it will all work out for you and Bryson. It sounds like you need each other!

    #754241
    Jeankit
    Participant

    Keeping paws crossed all will work out for purry furry’s best!

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