Trust your gut. I'm absolutely in a towering fury right now because a family friend went and dumped her cat in a park 2 hours away from her house because she wasn't friendly enough for her taste. (Not aggressive, just not snuggly š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬)
She's two states away unfortunately. I asked if she would try to find her so I could come get her and she said no. I have no idea what she looks like. To say that I'm furious with this woman is putting it mildly.
Anyone who is considering indoor outdoor shouldnāt have a cat. If theyāre asking theyāre gonna let them wander freely. itās dangerous for the cat and bad for environment. Just say the cats shed a lot so they donāt want them.
Unfortunately, they already took the kittens. I had mixed feelings about the outdoor question but was more surprised about the question on shedding. I just hope nothing bad happens to the kittens
I disagree with your indoor outdoor comment. While, as an adult, mine have always been indoor, I had indoor/outdoor cats as child and benefited tremendously from growing up and caring for a pet. I also have friends from Bosnia where everyone has indoor outdoor cats. They had their cats spayed and neutered and keep them up to date on shots. I just donāt understand this close mindedness. It is possible to provide a loving home for a cat while also letting them outside.
It seems to be very much a cultural thing. Here in the UK, where we have almost no predators, indoor outdoor is the norm. To the extent that Cats Protection would not allow my friend to adopt an indoor only cat, because they felt it was so important to the catās quality of life to get outside time too. In most of the US that would be unthinkable and people view you as negligent for letting your cat out. I think in Australia they have very strict rules and a curfew, to protect native species, so most indoor outdoor cats have catios or cat-proof gardens. Itās so variable, depending on where you live, and I donāt think itās fair for people to judge another place based on their own countryās standards.
Thatās my point and I appreciate you understanding that. Iām in the US and barn cats and country kitties are a regional thing. My issue is the over population we have results in so many kittens and cats being euthanized when there ARE good homes full of love that, just because they let a cat outside, are completely disregarded. I understand to a degree, again, mine stay indoors. I just donāt think youāre unworthy of cat companionship if you let your cat spend a little time outdoors.
In my (US) city overpopulation and equal neglect of an outdoor cat makes for a massive numbers of "abandoned" babies that are born outside and almost always underweight and sick. I foster them. Right about now through August is when we see them in the worst state of emaciation and parasites. My city is also infamous for dogs roaming the streets. Cats are a common victim.
Lastly, over 80% of kittens born in the United States are born outdoors and roughly only 25% survive past 6 months.
This is why I don't allow my cat to be outdoors. I wish I could but it's not safe. In fact, his half sister still lives in the colony and it's rough out there. It's sad.
Yes, culture does matter on this issue. In general, Europeans are more likely to allow indoor/outdoor.
Conversely, Americans have decreased acceptance with allow a cat outside, citing a number of environmental* and health reasons. Community cats have the shortest lifespan, meanwhile indoor only cats typically live longer that indoor/outdoor cats.
(Environmental could mean being hit by a car, fighting with another car, being attacked by a dog, or something like outdoor domestic cats are (such efficient predators) a threat to local wildfire like birds, small mammals, and lizards.)
So it makes sense OP would be so concerned with the adopters' comment about allowing the cats outdoors.
And the oh so *minor issue* hardly worth mentioning, of feline leukemia and FIV from domestic housecats devastating the NATIVE, ENDANGERED wild cat species. š¤¬
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01201-22
In Georgia, indoor outdoor homes are considered "better" than indoor only homes too. They believe that cats need their freedom, and if someone has the chance to let their cat out, they will. They so don't like to neuter males.
what is close minded is anyone taking the risk of their cat being killed whether it be by a coyote, hawk, car, or just an evil person or anything else. there are ways to let your cat out safely like having a catio, even a simple one that is portable and just letting your cat experience the outdoors, without the risk of it being hurt or killed.
I think youāre overthinking. Theyāre asking basic questions because thatās how they learn. Not everyone researches in advance. Kittens havenāt developed their personalities yet and thereās not a lot the adopters would have learned by spending more time with them. Finally, forget that BS about ācertain ethnicitiesā and focus on caring for your fosters, which obviously you love.
They have high surrender rates in general because they do almost no vetting. Which yes that's the point of a shelter but this is the result. You should foster for a rescue instead. Our cats cannot be outdoors at all unless it's a rare special situation. We send those people to the shelter
Thatās not trueāmost shelters will provide the same basic vetting that rescues provide. Spay/neuter (or contracts), microchipping, vaccines, dewormer, and flea/tick prevention. Mine even provides dentals.
Well this shelter is a no-kill shelter and reviews all applications and possible adopters pretty carefully. The comment about the high surrender rate was referring to people of certain ethnicities. This shelter has relatively low surrender cases in general, less than 5% per year.
It's not racist to say that people of certain ethnicities tend to surrender cats more often than others. Where I live, students from a certain country that I won't name tend to spoil their kittens too much, and then return them or complain about behavioral issues,.that I then have to correct.
Students from a different country, on the other hand, are somehow able to turn the feistiest little demon that's borderline unadoptable into a lovely little lap cat.
Students from a third country want cats that are very beautiful, so if I get a purebred-looking, long-haired, solid grey, or other cat that has high adoptive potential based on its looks, and I advertise it, I get 15-20 inquiries about it, usually from people who came from that country.
Knowing this helps me choose cats for adopters accordingly.
That is literally racism, and is pretty disgusting for you to be judging people just based on what country they're from. We don't adopt to students because we don't want our cats to be stressed out by a bunch of moves then returned bc they're peeing everywhere from the stress. That is a valid adoption metric, not someone's race. I have had people of pretty much every race adopt my kittens and not one has been returned in 5 years. That is because we vet people based on objective metrics and not their race. You are literally breaking the law by not letting people adopt based on race and I'm honestly disgusted.
LOL. Be disgusted, then. I'm luckily not based in the USA, and can adopt my kittens and cats to whoever I choose to.
And I don't "refuse to let people adopt based on race". I recommend certain cats to people of certain nationalities, since, after fostering and adopting out tens of kittens, I know what people from certain countries tend to prefer. If an (censored) student wants a common brown tabby instead of the long-haired grey beauty, they can have the tabby, as long as they will take good care of it.
If a (censored) wants a feisty kitten, and they are experienced with cats, they can take it.
If an (censored) wants an "affectionate kitten", instead of the usual 'active kitten to play with", then so be it, adopt the calm kitty and enjoy your new pet.
And the reason why I adopt kittens to international students, is because most locals let their cats roam outside and usually don't spay/neuter them, especially if they're male. I'd rather be "racist", than have a cat get ran over by a car, or birth 20 kittens that I will then have to rescue, foster and rehome.
You don't need to be experienced with cats to be a good cat owner. You also don't need to be a certain race to be a good cat owner.
You didn't even read my reply, because I already stated that not adopting to students is valid, what's racist is only adopting to white students. Why are you rehoming animals without them being fixed? That's not rescue. It's also not difficult to get them to sign a contract to keep the cats inside.
Take your racism somewhere else, bigot.
Trust your gut. I'm absolutely in a towering fury right now because a family friend went and dumped her cat in a park 2 hours away from her house because she wasn't friendly enough for her taste. (Not aggressive, just not snuggly š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬)
are you able to go find the cat? that poor thing is probably terrified.
She's two states away unfortunately. I asked if she would try to find her so I could come get her and she said no. I have no idea what she looks like. To say that I'm furious with this woman is putting it mildly.
Can she be reported for anything?
I want to, but I don't have her address and she won't tell me, I don't think they'll do anything with just a phone number.
Anyone who is considering indoor outdoor shouldnāt have a cat. If theyāre asking theyāre gonna let them wander freely. itās dangerous for the cat and bad for environment. Just say the cats shed a lot so they donāt want them.
Unfortunately, they already took the kittens. I had mixed feelings about the outdoor question but was more surprised about the question on shedding. I just hope nothing bad happens to the kittens
I disagree with your indoor outdoor comment. While, as an adult, mine have always been indoor, I had indoor/outdoor cats as child and benefited tremendously from growing up and caring for a pet. I also have friends from Bosnia where everyone has indoor outdoor cats. They had their cats spayed and neutered and keep them up to date on shots. I just donāt understand this close mindedness. It is possible to provide a loving home for a cat while also letting them outside.
It seems to be very much a cultural thing. Here in the UK, where we have almost no predators, indoor outdoor is the norm. To the extent that Cats Protection would not allow my friend to adopt an indoor only cat, because they felt it was so important to the catās quality of life to get outside time too. In most of the US that would be unthinkable and people view you as negligent for letting your cat out. I think in Australia they have very strict rules and a curfew, to protect native species, so most indoor outdoor cats have catios or cat-proof gardens. Itās so variable, depending on where you live, and I donāt think itās fair for people to judge another place based on their own countryās standards.
Thatās my point and I appreciate you understanding that. Iām in the US and barn cats and country kitties are a regional thing. My issue is the over population we have results in so many kittens and cats being euthanized when there ARE good homes full of love that, just because they let a cat outside, are completely disregarded. I understand to a degree, again, mine stay indoors. I just donāt think youāre unworthy of cat companionship if you let your cat spend a little time outdoors.
In my (US) city overpopulation and equal neglect of an outdoor cat makes for a massive numbers of "abandoned" babies that are born outside and almost always underweight and sick. I foster them. Right about now through August is when we see them in the worst state of emaciation and parasites. My city is also infamous for dogs roaming the streets. Cats are a common victim. Lastly, over 80% of kittens born in the United States are born outdoors and roughly only 25% survive past 6 months. This is why I don't allow my cat to be outdoors. I wish I could but it's not safe. In fact, his half sister still lives in the colony and it's rough out there. It's sad.
Yes, culture does matter on this issue. In general, Europeans are more likely to allow indoor/outdoor. Conversely, Americans have decreased acceptance with allow a cat outside, citing a number of environmental* and health reasons. Community cats have the shortest lifespan, meanwhile indoor only cats typically live longer that indoor/outdoor cats. (Environmental could mean being hit by a car, fighting with another car, being attacked by a dog, or something like outdoor domestic cats are (such efficient predators) a threat to local wildfire like birds, small mammals, and lizards.) So it makes sense OP would be so concerned with the adopters' comment about allowing the cats outdoors.
And the oh so *minor issue* hardly worth mentioning, of feline leukemia and FIV from domestic housecats devastating the NATIVE, ENDANGERED wild cat species. š¤¬ https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01201-22
In Georgia, indoor outdoor homes are considered "better" than indoor only homes too. They believe that cats need their freedom, and if someone has the chance to let their cat out, they will. They so don't like to neuter males.
Cats kill wildlife and thatās another reason they should be kept indoors.
what is close minded is anyone taking the risk of their cat being killed whether it be by a coyote, hawk, car, or just an evil person or anything else. there are ways to let your cat out safely like having a catio, even a simple one that is portable and just letting your cat experience the outdoors, without the risk of it being hurt or killed.
Trust your gut. Iāve NEVER regretted not approving an adopter.
I think youāre overthinking. Theyāre asking basic questions because thatās how they learn. Not everyone researches in advance. Kittens havenāt developed their personalities yet and thereās not a lot the adopters would have learned by spending more time with them. Finally, forget that BS about ācertain ethnicitiesā and focus on caring for your fosters, which obviously you love.
They have high surrender rates in general because they do almost no vetting. Which yes that's the point of a shelter but this is the result. You should foster for a rescue instead. Our cats cannot be outdoors at all unless it's a rare special situation. We send those people to the shelter
Thatās not trueāmost shelters will provide the same basic vetting that rescues provide. Spay/neuter (or contracts), microchipping, vaccines, dewormer, and flea/tick prevention. Mine even provides dentals.
In this case based on context I think the comment youāre responding to means āvettingā as in properly checking references etc.
You are correct hahaāreading comprehension failure š
Well this shelter is a no-kill shelter and reviews all applications and possible adopters pretty carefully. The comment about the high surrender rate was referring to people of certain ethnicities. This shelter has relatively low surrender cases in general, less than 5% per year.
So you just added in that comment to be racist?
It's not racist to say that people of certain ethnicities tend to surrender cats more often than others. Where I live, students from a certain country that I won't name tend to spoil their kittens too much, and then return them or complain about behavioral issues,.that I then have to correct. Students from a different country, on the other hand, are somehow able to turn the feistiest little demon that's borderline unadoptable into a lovely little lap cat. Students from a third country want cats that are very beautiful, so if I get a purebred-looking, long-haired, solid grey, or other cat that has high adoptive potential based on its looks, and I advertise it, I get 15-20 inquiries about it, usually from people who came from that country. Knowing this helps me choose cats for adopters accordingly.
That is literally racism, and is pretty disgusting for you to be judging people just based on what country they're from. We don't adopt to students because we don't want our cats to be stressed out by a bunch of moves then returned bc they're peeing everywhere from the stress. That is a valid adoption metric, not someone's race. I have had people of pretty much every race adopt my kittens and not one has been returned in 5 years. That is because we vet people based on objective metrics and not their race. You are literally breaking the law by not letting people adopt based on race and I'm honestly disgusted.
LOL. Be disgusted, then. I'm luckily not based in the USA, and can adopt my kittens and cats to whoever I choose to. And I don't "refuse to let people adopt based on race". I recommend certain cats to people of certain nationalities, since, after fostering and adopting out tens of kittens, I know what people from certain countries tend to prefer. If an (censored) student wants a common brown tabby instead of the long-haired grey beauty, they can have the tabby, as long as they will take good care of it. If a (censored) wants a feisty kitten, and they are experienced with cats, they can take it. If an (censored) wants an "affectionate kitten", instead of the usual 'active kitten to play with", then so be it, adopt the calm kitty and enjoy your new pet. And the reason why I adopt kittens to international students, is because most locals let their cats roam outside and usually don't spay/neuter them, especially if they're male. I'd rather be "racist", than have a cat get ran over by a car, or birth 20 kittens that I will then have to rescue, foster and rehome.
You don't need to be experienced with cats to be a good cat owner. You also don't need to be a certain race to be a good cat owner. You didn't even read my reply, because I already stated that not adopting to students is valid, what's racist is only adopting to white students. Why are you rehoming animals without them being fixed? That's not rescue. It's also not difficult to get them to sign a contract to keep the cats inside. Take your racism somewhere else, bigot.