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I am wanting to reevaluate/update my adoption/screening process, and I really need some help. I rescue completely privately and largely only work with other private rescuers, just for reference.
Some of you may have seen I have a ridiculous number of animals in my house right now. A big part of that has been the number of animals returned to me this year.
I usually work with special needs (including ex-ferals) and seniors. My adopters generally know what they’re getting into when they get into it. I’ve had only two returns on these cats - both for genuinely understandable reasons (one was the unexpected death of an owner, for instance).
Now, I normally steer clear from puppies and kittens, usually only providing very temporary fostering until a longer term foster can be found, or otherwise helping with transport, resources, trapping, etc.
This year however, I was forced to step up a bit more.
I do have past experience with actual rescues so I’m aware of the higher rate of returns on puppies/kittens, but I did not anticipate as many issues as I’m having.
I had a 4 month old puppy returned to me for playing too rough and jumping on kids (about 10-13 years old), for instance.
And I had a formerly feral kitten I took in, who was slightly special needs (tripod). I spoke thoroughly with the adopters that given her VERY close bond to her mother (who we kept), her feral beginnings, and whatever lasting emotional trauma from the attack that claimed her leg, she might need a lot of time to adjust. We spoke about this specifically for over an hour.
Yet she was essentially returned to me for still hiding and crying after not even two weeks.
Then, the several kittens I have now all had adopters lined up. I knew one of the adopters and had a ton of trust in her. She was very serious about adopting a particular kitten, and kept checking in on their socialization, even coming over several times to help socialize. She is the only adopter I had essentially already made a (verbal) agreement with. The kitten was hers.
But once the kittens were nearing being ready for adoption, this woman went radio silent for almost 3 weeks. When she finally did get back to me, she told me someone had seen parts of our initial conversation on Nextdoor, contacted her about a kitten they had, and she adopted it.
This was really frustrating because I said publicly at the time (and again to her privately) that having adopters lined up for the kittens before trapping them was the only way I could feasibly foster them and take them in in the first place. Most people would have released them and done regular TNR at their age.
So I’ve concluded that I need to step up my screening process.
My current process -
1. Email a questionnaire.
2. Check vet reference, and landlord approval if applicable.
3. Invite them over to meet the animal(s) to ensure it’s a good match. Then we speak more in depth about the questionnaire and what they can expect.
4. When they leave, I give them a copy of the adoption papers so they can go over it and come to me with any questions.
5. Once both of us are satisfied with the terms, I deliver the animal to their house (sounds less threatening than “home visit”...).
I send all my guys already neutered, vaccinated (including being DONE with kitten/puppy shots), microchipped (stays in my name), 1 year city license if applicable, dewormed/deflead with 1 months worth of Revolution sent home with them, along with some bedding, toys, and food and litter to help them slowly transition to whatever their new owners would like to switch them to. I also send a binder with basic cat/kitten care and common issues, and they know they can contact me about absolutely anything, even if it’s years after adoption.
For puppies/kittens, I send them with A LOT of extra toys, even a play tunnel, to encourage adopters to play with their pet to avoid potential unwanted and destructive kitten/puppy behaviors.
I’ve given adopters the best start I possibly can, so at this point I think I need to re-evaluate my screening process.
It’s something I’ve been wanting to do anyway for over a year now, but I just haven’t sat down to actually do it. My questionnaire and adoption form are both a lot more basic than I’d prefer.
I would really appreciate if you guys would send me examples of your questionnaires and/or adoption papers, or perhaps those of a rescue that you know has a pretty thorough vetting process.
I was also wondering if anyone has experience (with a rescue or privately) going about adoptions a little differently - I’m thinking foster-to-adopt as a blanket rule rather than adopting outright.
I say this because usually, as one goes out, I have another foster taking their spot within days. But with these returns, I feel it would be beneficial to leave their “spot” open in my home for 1-2 months in case of a quick return. Instead of fostering, I can just focus more on TNR, so I’ll still be doing some good with the vacancy during that time.
I feel like it also allows the adopters hands on experience to have a better idea of what they’re getting into before “truly” committing.
I don’t hear of fostering-to-adopt much in rescue, so I wanted to see if anyone has experience. I’m also not sure how I would go about writing the terms for that exactly either.
Any other suggestions are also appreciated! Thank you, from me, Oreo, Salem, and Binx!
Some of you may have seen I have a ridiculous number of animals in my house right now. A big part of that has been the number of animals returned to me this year.
I usually work with special needs (including ex-ferals) and seniors. My adopters generally know what they’re getting into when they get into it. I’ve had only two returns on these cats - both for genuinely understandable reasons (one was the unexpected death of an owner, for instance).
Now, I normally steer clear from puppies and kittens, usually only providing very temporary fostering until a longer term foster can be found, or otherwise helping with transport, resources, trapping, etc.
This year however, I was forced to step up a bit more.
I do have past experience with actual rescues so I’m aware of the higher rate of returns on puppies/kittens, but I did not anticipate as many issues as I’m having.
I had a 4 month old puppy returned to me for playing too rough and jumping on kids (about 10-13 years old), for instance.
And I had a formerly feral kitten I took in, who was slightly special needs (tripod). I spoke thoroughly with the adopters that given her VERY close bond to her mother (who we kept), her feral beginnings, and whatever lasting emotional trauma from the attack that claimed her leg, she might need a lot of time to adjust. We spoke about this specifically for over an hour.
Yet she was essentially returned to me for still hiding and crying after not even two weeks.
Then, the several kittens I have now all had adopters lined up. I knew one of the adopters and had a ton of trust in her. She was very serious about adopting a particular kitten, and kept checking in on their socialization, even coming over several times to help socialize. She is the only adopter I had essentially already made a (verbal) agreement with. The kitten was hers.
But once the kittens were nearing being ready for adoption, this woman went radio silent for almost 3 weeks. When she finally did get back to me, she told me someone had seen parts of our initial conversation on Nextdoor, contacted her about a kitten they had, and she adopted it.
This was really frustrating because I said publicly at the time (and again to her privately) that having adopters lined up for the kittens before trapping them was the only way I could feasibly foster them and take them in in the first place. Most people would have released them and done regular TNR at their age.
So I’ve concluded that I need to step up my screening process.
My current process -
1. Email a questionnaire.
2. Check vet reference, and landlord approval if applicable.
3. Invite them over to meet the animal(s) to ensure it’s a good match. Then we speak more in depth about the questionnaire and what they can expect.
4. When they leave, I give them a copy of the adoption papers so they can go over it and come to me with any questions.
5. Once both of us are satisfied with the terms, I deliver the animal to their house (sounds less threatening than “home visit”...).
I send all my guys already neutered, vaccinated (including being DONE with kitten/puppy shots), microchipped (stays in my name), 1 year city license if applicable, dewormed/deflead with 1 months worth of Revolution sent home with them, along with some bedding, toys, and food and litter to help them slowly transition to whatever their new owners would like to switch them to. I also send a binder with basic cat/kitten care and common issues, and they know they can contact me about absolutely anything, even if it’s years after adoption.
For puppies/kittens, I send them with A LOT of extra toys, even a play tunnel, to encourage adopters to play with their pet to avoid potential unwanted and destructive kitten/puppy behaviors.
I’ve given adopters the best start I possibly can, so at this point I think I need to re-evaluate my screening process.
It’s something I’ve been wanting to do anyway for over a year now, but I just haven’t sat down to actually do it. My questionnaire and adoption form are both a lot more basic than I’d prefer.
I would really appreciate if you guys would send me examples of your questionnaires and/or adoption papers, or perhaps those of a rescue that you know has a pretty thorough vetting process.
I was also wondering if anyone has experience (with a rescue or privately) going about adoptions a little differently - I’m thinking foster-to-adopt as a blanket rule rather than adopting outright.
I say this because usually, as one goes out, I have another foster taking their spot within days. But with these returns, I feel it would be beneficial to leave their “spot” open in my home for 1-2 months in case of a quick return. Instead of fostering, I can just focus more on TNR, so I’ll still be doing some good with the vacancy during that time.
I feel like it also allows the adopters hands on experience to have a better idea of what they’re getting into before “truly” committing.
I don’t hear of fostering-to-adopt much in rescue, so I wanted to see if anyone has experience. I’m also not sure how I would go about writing the terms for that exactly either.
Any other suggestions are also appreciated! Thank you, from me, Oreo, Salem, and Binx!
