process of adopting from a shelter/rescue

Yes, the lady explicitly said "we're an indoor-only shelter".

I think you're going to have a very hard time finding a shelter that will let you adopt a cat that you plan to let outside.

You have to understand that people who spend the majority of their time around these animals have literally seen it all. And generally what we see when we adopt out cats to outdoor homes is cats that scarcely live 3 years after they leave our shelter. We've seen too many outside gets get flattened (literally) by cars, poisoned, stolen, shot, or contract any number of horrible diseases.

The other thing about shelter workers is that we tend to get attached to every individual in our care. So, the thought of one of our own getting flattened, poisoned, stolen, shot, or die of some horrible disease pretty much depresses us.

And these things have been stastically proven time and time again about outside kitties in the U.S. It's nice that you had good luck growing up, but you never know when stastics will come 'acallin. We see it on this site ALL the time with the outside kitties.

Have you considered that maybe a cat isn't the best choice for you? A dog would be a better choice for someone who feels strongly about having an outdoor animal.

I'm not a dog person. I'm a cat person all the way.

Come here, we'd gladly adopt to you! We're lucky to have enough homes in general, we cannot turn down homes because they're indoor/outdoor. We place kitties in outdoor homes even.....many are semi-ferals/ferals though.

I'd love to adopt from you. Unfortunately, Minnesota is a bit of a trek from Massachusetts.

With kitten season coming up can you ask your vet to let you know if any litters are available? The you and the owners would have a common point and they would know that you are an OK person?

That did occur to me, and I may do that, but I'm impatient I'm going through withdrawal already with having no cat for three weeks now. If I wait for the vet to let me know when they know of a cat/kitten that's up for adoption, it could be months. I'm going to try some other shelters, Craig's list, etc. first. Thanks for the idea, though.

EDIT: I just talked to my vet's office and they said they'd let me know if they hear of anything. In the meantime, I'll pursue other avenues.

I don't think it is fair to do that to someone. We are an indoor-only shelter, but we are up front about that. We tell people right off the bat that it is our contract that the cat must be and indoor-only cat. That way people don't get their hearts set on a cat just to have it broken.

The shelters see so many "turnarounds" that is why they are wanting to know your plans, life, etc.

While I am pro indoor cats only, we have had outside barn cats. Its too risky in the long run to let them outside unsupervised. If you want to train your cats to a harness/leash or build a cat enclosure for them to sit outside protected - I have no problem with that.

Many times people get a pet against rental rules, so the shelters have to verify you can have pets.

We got our dog indirectly thru a rescue group (she was adopted from rescue but we readopted her from the person due to cruelty). However at the time we lived on a farm and no fenced in yard. We would have never been able to get a dog from rescue if they required a fenced in yard. So we would have had to find another place to get a dog.

You can always adopt a cat/kitten from craigslist or local ads if you don't want to deal with the shelter.

Watch free ads in the paper, craiglist, etc. If you're willing to pull "free" kitty from the paper & get them fixed, that saves the word from a lot more unwanted kitties!

Yes, there are still a number of avenues I can pursue.

- I asked my vet to let me know if they know of any cats up for adoption, or litters of kittens.

- I filled out and sent an application to another rescue group who claims to adopt to indoor/outdoor homes.

- I sent an email to another local humane society to ask if they will adopt to indoor/outdoor homes.

- I've checked craig's list. In my immediate area there's only like 3 postings for cats up for adoption, and none sounded very good. I may have to look in areas further out.

- Petfinder.com also has classified ads. I checked those for my state and there might be something there. I'll have to take a closer look.

- I'll see if I can go out Sunday and buy some local papers to see if there's anything in the classifieds there.

- A co-worker of mine mentioned at one point that she might know someone who has kittens. I can follow up with her.

- I can put in a call to my local animal control and see if they have any cats/kittens up for adoption and if they have an indoor-only policy. They may work with the shelter I was just rejected at, however, since it is located in my town.

There's probably more...

I think that I got an eye-opening from this post. Do shelters really interview you? Our shelter didn't really ask us anything. I am not sure if they asked us about where we lived, but we may have checked somewhere that it was a private residence. They did not ask about indoor/outdoor. We would have had to have her spayed if she wasn't but she was. We could not leave without agreeing to put the chip in her, but that was it. Maybe it was because I bypassed the kittie department and went straight to the adult cats.
Oh, we had to agree to take her to a vet but they gave us the names of the vets who provided the first visit free for shelter cats. Our vet was one of them.
We had our Butzie in about 1 hour.

So

Yes. The ones around where I live, at least, all have:

- applications to fill out, which includes indoor/outdoor, if you would declaw, what other pets you have, if you own/rent, if it is a condo, if you're planning to move soon, and more

- interviews

- they want ID to prove you're at least 21 years old

- they want proof you own your own home (if you do)

- or proof from your landlord that you're allowed to have cats (if you rent)

- and/or a copy of the condo bylaws (if you own a condo) saying you're allowed to have cats

- they want references and/or the name of your vet, who they call

- some have a contract for you to sign (some don't)

- etc

for example:

MetroWest Humane Society

MetroWest Animal Awareness Society

Don't be disheartened, I think contacting vets is a great idea, I am sure you will find your perfect companion eventually. I had the opposite problem, here you have to have a garden so a cat can be indoor/outdoor, you can only adopt an indoor only cat from a shelter if it is elderly or special needs. Your views are the norm here But I live in an upstairs flat with no access to the outdoors - I ended up finding Radar through an online classified ad, so keep checking sites regularly as I am sure the cat of your dreams will turn up eventually

I'm pursuing a lead on a couple of cats.

Gypsy
Pierre

I've sent email to their owner. We'll see if it works out...

I adopted Mischief from a Humane Society in my city and they have tons of rules posted on their site yet when we went in we filled a very small form out and they just skimmed over it very quickly and showed us to the kitties right away.
The rules and all that seem like alot but when we went through it here it really wasn't that bad and fairly simple.

I adopted mine from my county's animal care and control (county outside of Chicago) and they did have some questions/rules regarding lease/condo restrictictions (I had to provide my association by-laws), keeping the cat inside (which is actually a county law, anyway), etc. I don't think they asked about a vet, but I was so busy running vets' names by them for a reference, I guess they figured I'd have a vet immediately.

I honestly didn't think any of the questions were intrusive or irrelevant. My animal control office is the only shelter in our county that accepts all animals, unlike others that will be full. I think they do an excellent job of working with potential adopters, as well as other local shelters, in trying to find all the animals home.

Good luck in finding your kitty - I know he or she is out there.

The adoption of Gypsy and Pierre is looking good. I'm going to go and meet them at their house tomorrow to see if we hit it off.

So I've learned a few things during this whole process:

- Don't try to adopt from a shelter/rescue operation unless you want to have indoor-only cats.

- But go ahead and look at their lists of cats because they sometimes do courtesy listings for private individuals looking to re-home their cat(s), who may not be so picky about the potential adopters.

Hello fellow massachusettett.

There is a great shelter in Salem Ma. They prefer keeping their cats indoor only but they also have made allowances depending on the temperment of the cat and even where you live. If it's not a high traffic area it's usually okay with them.

There was a cat i fostered for a VERY SHORT while. She was SOOOOOO unhappy being inside. She was finally adopted by someone who lived away from high traffic areas and had a barn....so she could mouse to her hearts content!

I was really put off by the hoops I felt I needed to jump through and the fear of rejection. I too can be weary of anyone asking too many probing questions. But once I did it it wasn't so bad! 3 precious kitties later and 3 different shelters! One was the one in Salem-Northeast animal shelter -Ms. Fiona, the other was a local petsmart-Ray Ray, and my most recent was through the MSPCA in Methuen-Rocko...but the MSPCA have a metrowest shelter too.

Good luck getting your new babies! I am sure they will be well worth the wait and whatever means to adopt them!

I realized it was all for the good of these animals who have usually been bounced around so much it just isn't fair to take their placement in new homes lightly. Trust me, these people know what they are doing and are very interested in both the animals and the owners happiness.

Please let us know how it all goes! and pictures too! My first kitty was a tuxedo too. He died when he was 13....i miss him everyday. His name was Sydney. You picture and story of Rascal brought back some nice memories of my first kitty. Thank you

I have adopted Gypsy and Pierre (who I have renamed to Misty and Harry). I've had them for about 24 hours now. Hopefully this will work out. I'll post pictures in the picture thread.

I adopted them from a private couple, not through the shelter, although the shelter did post the two cats on their "cats for adoption" page, as a courtesy.