What would you do??

Hi all,

In another post I told the story about how my foster cat Waggles was lost and is now found. He had been adopted into a nice home but had managed to escape by pushing out a screen. He had only been there a couple of days. I think he was scared as it happened when there was a thunderstorm and he is afraid of them.

So here's the question: do I let him go back to this home ??? Legally I don't think there's an issue since he was lost and our adoptions are on a 7 day trial basis. I can't imagine she would protest if we wanted to keep him. But do I trust this person again with him? She is very kind hearted and loves cats and was patient with him even though he was hissy when she took him home. She said she had already fallen in love with him. He's a senior and we haven't had a lot of people asking about him. But short of putting bars on her windows myself, I can't ensure this won't happen again.

What would you do?

First of all I was so happy to read that Waggles was found. What a relief that must have been for you!

It's really a tough call, and regardless of anyone's opinion, you're probably going to have to go with your gut feeling, based upon your interactions with this woman since Waggles' escape.

Strictly based upon your posts, I would cut her some slack and give her a second chance, for the following reasons (in no particular order of importance):

(1) Senior cats are often passed up and as you mentioned, he doesn't seem to have many prospects lined up.

(2) You obviously got a good enough vibe from her which gave you confidence to adopt Waggles out to her.

(3) She was honest enough to contact you after Waggles' escape. I assume that she was appropriately distraught at what happened. Which would lead me to conclude that she is reasonably trustworthy and at least somewhat responsible. I mean, she could just have disappeared off the face of the earth and you never would have known what occurred.

(4) Even the most dedicated and knowledgeable cat owners make mistakes with their cats. I'm sure that at this site alone, if we started a thread called "Things I Wish I Had Done Differently As A Cat Owner," we'd get tons of posts, even from veteran members who you would never think would have unpleasant stories to tell.

All that being said, again, it's a judgment call on your part. She certainly was negligent, but I guess you have to decide whether you think she has now been "scared straight" so to speak into really cat-proofing her home, or if she might still be similarly careless in the future. Anyway, I don't think anyone can judge you one way or the other regardless of what you decide to do.

Originally Posted by RobertM

It's really a tough call, and regardless of anyone's opinion, you're probably going to have to go with your gut feeling, based upon your interactions with this woman since Waggles' escape.

Click to expand...

Agreed! Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s all about your gut. You trusted your gut with the vet tech and it turned out good you did! I think we have all made mistakes with our animals. Either did something stupid, or got a new pet who figured out something your other pets never did. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve lost a few pets in my lifetime (always found them) and usually itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a learning experience.

If you think she is not responsible, and wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take care of the cat then go with your gut instinct. But I think we have all had situations where a mistake happened that put your pet in harms way but didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mean to.

Hard decision…good luck!

Thanks for the input. My gut is telling me not to let him go back there. I think Waggles decided he didn't want to be there. I have to wonder how loose the screen was that he could push it out--he must have really wanted to get out of there. So even if the window is secure, there's no saying he might not escape through the door when someone comes or goes. I can't expect someone else to be as diligent as I would like them to be.