TheCatSite.com › Forums › General Forums › IMO: In My Opinion › A new thing to screen for....
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

A new thing to screen for....

post #1 of 30
1/29/08 at 3:54pm
Thread Starter 
...but how to broach the subject?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080129/...reclosure_pets

My contract covers this universally, with the kitten/cat being returned to us, without protest, irrespective of the situation, but the question remains about how to prevent kittens going to new homes where people are on the edge of losing their homes and are still buying pets.
Human nature is optimistic, so I think people still buy pets for comfort even when they know there is the possibilty of losing their homes within the next 6 months.

Pretty scary for my wife and I who only want the best permanent homes for our kittens.

Thoughts?
Reply
post #2 of 30
1/29/08 at 4:22pm
A local shelter actually does a credit check on potential adopters, my guess is that the chance of foreclosure would come up in that. But people's circumstances can change in a matter of weeks so I guess you could never truly screen for it.
Reply
post #3 of 30
1/29/08 at 6:28pm
I can truly understand why you feel the way you do. With the continuing foreclosures and people losing their homes, pets are either abandoned or given to someone else. The economy hovering just above a recession isn't helping much either.

I don't know if much can be done. No one can predict the future or where costs will rise. You can only hope that they will put their pets first as any family member and stick it through.

I don't know if a credit check would be helpful. That would give you an idea if an individual would be responsible or not.
Reply
post #4 of 30
1/29/08 at 6:33pm
Sending vibes for those poor animals who are suffering It sounds like your contract does cover for your kittens, and perhaps some reassurance that if anything comes up unexpectedly, the new owners should never, ever hesitate to return the kittens to you, whether it's unexpected catastrophe or buyer's remorse - you will always be their "soft place to land" when times get hard, and your kittens will always be protected that way.
Reply
post #5 of 30
1/29/08 at 8:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icklemiss21 View Post
But people's circumstances can change in a matter of weeks so I guess you could never truly screen for it.
yea, that.

I have a friend , him and his wife both lost there jobs, lost there home, they ended up having to give up there 2 dogs and 2 cats..they had no choice anymore, they could not even afford to buy food for them. let alone for the animals.

he was mad, and she was crying as they gave up there animals to new home. They did not want to do it.

However the people that just leave there animals, should be charged.
Reply
post #6 of 30
1/30/08 at 5:30am
That's a good question. I would only accept cash or a cashier's check for the kitten (if you have to ship them). And stress the importance that if they cannot keep the cat or something happens where they have to move, to notify you immediately so you can get your cat back.

And then maybe keep in contact with them every 6 months till you feel things are going ok. The only way you could run a credit check, is if you are a business.
Reply
post #7 of 30
1/30/08 at 6:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
That's a good question. I would only accept cash or a cashier's check for the kitten (if you have to ship them). And stress the importance that if they cannot keep the cat or something happens where they have to move, to notify you immediately so you can get your cat back.

And then maybe keep in contact with them every 6 months till you feel things are going ok. The only way you could run a credit check, is if you are a business.
Not true - landlords are allowed to run credit checks on prospective tenants, and they aren't necessarily incorporated. Besides - Meridian IS a business, isn't it?

Nial, a credit check would be my suggestion for sure. If folks aren't paying bills on time, right there you have a good idea of how responsible they are - and that's the bottom line, isn't it? You want responsible people.

Now there are plenty of responsible people who can one day wake up and find themselves in a really bad place financially, but if they were responsible to begin with, they won't abandon their animals, they'll do whatever it takes to make sure they are cared for.

It's the irresponsible ones that will not only not pay their bills when due, but will abandon their pets - or their families, for that matter.

So I do think that a credit check would be a great way to look for that indicator: is this person responsible with their financial obligations? If so, then you can assume they will be responsible when it comes to the lives of your bengals.
Reply
post #8 of 30
1/30/08 at 6:39am
You can get a credit & background check on the net for between $25 - 50 depending on how much information you want, as long as you have their SSN and another identifying piece of information.
Reply
post #9 of 30
1/30/08 at 7:44am
Not sure that the shelter here has had more surrenders due to foreclosure. We generally just ask if they reason for surrender & most just say they're moving. It's impossible to find a place to rent with a pet here.
Reply
post #10 of 30
1/30/08 at 7:48am
That is something that really bugs me here, we have a provincial law that states that landlords must allow cats (there can be restrictions on dogs) and yet so many people come in saying they are moving to somewhere that does not allow pets.
Reply
post #11 of 30
1/30/08 at 8:06am
There is one apt. complex (if you can call it that) that will allow 1 pet under 30 lbs. Any other's charge upwards of $250 per pet. Otherwise, you'll have to try to find a privately owned place to rent. I've been looking for 2 years & have yet to find a place that'll let me have Ophelia & Dory....that doesn't require I declaw them or pay an insane amount.

I'd really like to be able to screen people for stupidity.
Reply
post #12 of 30
1/30/08 at 8:20am
It is nearly impossible to tell .. I fed my dog first when times were lean ...

I would walk away if a breeder or a shelter wanted a credit report... criminal fine to check for animal cruelty ... I have had several shelters run backgrd checks and NONE needed credit or my SSN
Reply
post #13 of 30
1/30/08 at 10:39am
A landlord IS a business. Some catteries are "business" but most are not. Cause you really do no make any profit.

As far as getting a credit check on a person online, I would NEVER give out my SSN to a breeder to do a credit check! That's asking for trouble (especially with identity theft so bad now).
Reply
post #14 of 30
1/30/08 at 10:44am
Some shelters do a background/credit check - many people do give them the information

Intelius just require a name and address to give you a list of
Quote:
Background Check Includes: Criminal report, sex offender check, lawsuits, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, home value & property ownership, 30 year address history, relatives & associates, neighbors, marriage records, and more.
Reply
post #15 of 30
1/30/08 at 11:03am
Kai, one of the best ways to do this is a credit check, which we include in our adoption fee and run on adopters we're not sure about...and we do ask for and check employment and employment history as well as checking for valid financial information. This isn't the time or the place for me to discuss the nitty gritty specifics of what we look for in these checks, but you can always PM me if you want ideas.
Reply
post #16 of 30
1/30/08 at 11:45am
I'd have been absolutely stuffed if I'd had to go through a credit check to get a cat! I went through a bad patch a few years back now and still have a bad credit record from that - even though right now everything is nearly paid off, I have savings, and have a fairly nice amount of equity in property! I had a fantastic credit score the day I lost my job though, and throughout most of the time that my life was heading towards rock bottom.

I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea, but it doesn't give a full picture, and it's no guarantee that something isn't right about to go belly up.
Reply
post #17 of 30
1/30/08 at 11:52am
We only do them on people we are not sure about, and to be honest, can't remember the last time we did one. We also look at the specifics of the credit check, if they have a low score, but have been making on time payments recently, you can tell that they had a problem but got back on track and are an ok adopter.

We generally would also only do it for cats that are adopted out with known medical problems, where we know there will be higher than normal vet bills.
Reply
post #18 of 30
1/30/08 at 12:41pm
This is the third article I've read about this. Very sad. Especially when, if you really look around, you can usually find someplace that will take you and your pets. It might not be spacious or beautiful, but it's a home. Trust me, I've lived in some small, questionable places before--times were tough and we weren't leaving the cats behind. At one point we had 2 cats (pre-Stimpy days) on prescription food (dry only then), so we bought their food as needed first then bought our groceries. All of us had food to eat. We may not have liked it, but we had food.

I think that some people have a very different mentality about pets. The disposable mentality. Perhaps that is what you need to watch for more?

I agree with others about really emphasizing the return policy.
Reply
post #19 of 30
1/31/08 at 4:11am
I have bad credit(due to medical bills, filed bankruptcy) and I am a very good animal owner. would be devasted if I was denied an animal because of my credit.
Reply
post #20 of 30
1/31/08 at 1:28pm
I am not sure how I feel about this. With my being in Grad school, finances are tight (but we have been getting bills payed on time.) I can tell you we have run up our credit cards with Ares's vet bills being over $1,500 dollars in the 7 months we've had him. I really do think it depends on the people. I can honestly tell you that if I had $5.00 left to my name - it would go to Ares and Hypnos.
I guess that regardless of credit checks, I would make it verbally clear to the owners that if they run into trouble for any reason, you want to help by taking back the cat(s), even if only temporarily. (As an example, a cousin of mine and her husband had an electrical fire in their house, and their dog went back to the breeder until their house was rebuilt.) It may be possible that people don't turn to the breeder for fear that they will not have a chance to get their pet back.
As for people who abondon their pets? They are just plain cruel.
Reply
post #21 of 30
2/1/08 at 10:54pm
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,5852199.story

This story talks about pets that are losing their humans AND their homes to the mortgage crisis.
Reply
post #22 of 30
2/2/08 at 12:54am
I think if someone is going to even think about bringing in a "pet" they have to assure that life a safe environment, no matter what!!!!!!!! The pets aren't loosing the people or homes, the people are loosing it for them.
Reply
post #23 of 30
2/2/08 at 4:45pm
I would NEVER give a rescue my SSN.
Reply
post #24 of 30
2/2/08 at 5:21pm
The way I see it, just because someone has money and pays bills on time, does not mean they are good pet owners. Some people like this simply buy pets for vanity while not giving a hoot about the animal.

So, IMO, a credit check isn't really going to tell you much about how responsible a person is.
Reply
post #25 of 30
2/4/08 at 10:53am
Personally, I don't think a Credit Check ALWAYS shows the TRUE character of a person, or even how resoponsible a person is. In a LOT of cases, especially THESE days, a persoan can end up with poor credit simply because they have come upon hard times. They may have been able to pay their bills on time in the past, and then something happened, such as illness or being phased out of their job, through NO FAULT of their own. Then things start to pick up for them, and they're getting themselves back on their feet. Should they be penalized because of bad luck? I am SO against people's character being based on Credit Checks. Also, just because a person comes upon bad times, and end up having to move to a cheaper home or apartment, DOES NOT mean they would toss aside their pets. In My Opinion, a good credit check, really ONLY shows that that person has not come across any financial difficulties. It does NOT show the character of a person. It does NOT show that a person paid their rent and bills on time for 10 or 15 years, and then due to some unforeseen problem, they could no longer pay those bills. It ONLY shows that the person defaulted on their bills, it doesn't show WHY, they defaulted on their bills, or even the fact that they were ALWAYS paying their bills before the problem happened.
Reply
post #26 of 30
2/4/08 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by HopeHacker View Post
Personally, I don't think a Credit Check ALWAYS shows the TRUE character of a person, or even how resoponsible a person is. In a LOT of cases, especially THESE days, a persoan can end up with poor credit simply because they have come upon hard times. They may have been able to pay their bills on time in the past, and then something happened, such as illness or being phased out of their job, through NO FAULT of their own. Then things start to pick up for them, and they're getting themselves back on their feet. Should they be penalized because of bad luck? I am SO against people's character being based on Credit Checks. Also, just because a person comes upon bad times, and end up having to move to a cheaper home or apartment, DOES NOT mean they would toss aside their pets. In My Opinion, a good credit check, really ONLY shows that that person has not come across any financial difficulties. It does NOT show the character of a person. It does NOT show that a person paid their rent and bills on time for 10 or 15 years, and then due to some unforeseen problem, they could no longer pay those bills. It ONLY shows that the person defaulted on their bills, it doesn't show WHY, they defaulted on their bills, or even the fact that they were ALWAYS paying their bills before the problem happened.
BUT the fact that their credit HISTORY shows that they HAVE been responsible despite an obvious hiccup in their financial picture proves that they ARE responsible people.

Remember, a credit check isn't about TODAY, it's about your OVERALL payment history.

And a person who has had a very POOR bill paying history is ABSOLUTELY NOT a responsible person.

I have nothing to hide - I'd be HAPPY to allow a breeder to run a credit check on me to ensure that they are getting a responsible adopter. Because although I have fairly high debt, I always pay my bills ON TIME, even when I have been on unemployment - and that's been more than once in my life.
Reply
post #27 of 30
2/4/08 at 12:59pm
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/sm...ge-crisis.aspx
Reply
post #28 of 30
2/9/08 at 12:55pm
I don't believe a credit check shows the true character of a person either. There are many different reasons why a persons credit can get bad. I am a very responsible pet owner, my cats have always taken first place in there needs. My credit was destroyed by an ex husband.

If the person is not a first time pet owner what about doing a check with their Vet for a recommendation.

When I got my Bengal kitten I gave my breeder my Vets name if she wanted to check up on what kind of home she was going to.

In good times and hard times my cats welfare has always come first...It will always be that way, they are my children.
Reply
post #29 of 30
2/9/08 at 2:15pm
My credit score is bad because when times are hard, I'm buying food for my cats rather than pay the bills. I'm taking them to the vet instead of paying my bills. If i get denied a cat because I took care of the cats I already had and positioned my cats higher on my priority chart than bills then I would be devastated. Not to mention, no rescue or breeder will ever get my SSN.
Reply
post #30 of 30
2/9/08 at 2:50pm
I guess if I planned to adopt another cat, I would have the cattery or rescue contact my vet. She would tell them how important my pets are to me, and the kind of care they receive. I don't think a person's financial status really determines the kind of care that their pet would receive, and I honestly don't think that knowing a person's financial status would tell you if they are the type of person who would abandon a pet in a time of financial crisis. It's a pretty tough call. I know that I would move mountains, if needed, to keep my cats with me, and to afford the medical care that my renal failure kitties require.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: IMO: In My Opinion
TheCatSite.com › Forums › General Forums › IMO: In My Opinion › A new thing to screen for....