Don't forget the "unadoptables"

misskitties

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Thank you for bringing attention to the "unadoptable" kitties. I try to spread the word about adopting these poor babies, but nobody listens to me. Everyone wants a cute, tiny kitten. I try to remind them that a kitten isn't a tiny kitten forever! Anyway, I've fostered several litters of kittens with a local rescue group. I just want to remind everyone that it isn't just the large or old black cats that don't get adopted. Even black kittens have a really hard time being adopted. I've had a black kitten in every litter I've fostered and it always gets the least amount of interest. They are always the last to be adopted. I actually still have the black cat from a litter I fostered back in January. She's my baby now, of course.
 

katkisses

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Awww, the last pic melts my heart!


All of my cats found me as either ferals or strays. All of them have 'issues' of varying degrees. Cody & Bear get crystals at a blink of an eye, Chicken looooves to pee in my bed, right smack dab in the middle of it, LOL. Bella is painfully shy (former feral), I have to literally beg her if I want her to come to me for scritches, and even then she might not come. She had a broke back when I got her, so she doesn't land on her feet if she jumps from somthing 4ft+ off of the ground. And her back nails 'click' on the floor because of the weird way her vertibrea grew back.

Wouldn't trade the word for them.

And when I get my dog in the near future, I am either going to get it from my local no kill or the animal control, not sure if I have the heart to go to animal control though...
 

howtoholdacat

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

ETA: It also pains me to look at CL and see so many people trying to rehome cats that are 8,9,10, 14 years old. If they take those cats to the pound they have a snowball's chance of making it out alive. I know that you know.
Because I have a pet sitting business I often get calls from people wanting help rehoming cats and dogs. I've started telling them the brutal truth. I don't care if they ever use my service or not. I'm sick to death of people who are inconvenienced thinking they can pawn their problems off to someone else.
 

icklemiss21

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I am starting to get very short tempered with the people who want to surrender cats that have no chance of getting adopted. The most recent one is oh well we got a kitten on the weekend and he hissed at it and made the kitten poop outside the box (the one box between 4 cats)
 

addiebee

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There was this person on CL trying to rehome a 14 year old cat. I wrote to him/her and said ... please don't do this... and please don't take the cat to the pound or a shelter b/c it will be put down. They never wrote back.
 

deljo

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I have 2 kitties, Sweetie is now approx. 4 yrs and at 1yr. was left in a box with her kitten. I fostered both and adopted Sweetie, the mom, because I felt the kitten had a better chance of being adopted. I then got a 3mo. old feral kitten, Juno, who has now been with me 3 yrs. My daughter finally got Juno's mom, who was the neighborhood ****, 3 litters a year but uncatchable, caught and neutered. Mama decided she liked being an indoor cat and now lives with my daughter. Mad eye Moody, a long haired black kittie with one bad eye was a neighbood stray also now lives with my daughter, and Max who was a kitten from Mama kitty's last litter. Chester is a tux. cat who was found in the back of a truck when he was approx. 3 wks. old. My daughter's family had to hand feed him. She also fostered all of Mama kitty's kittens, after rescuing them from bad outdoor conditions, such as snow, living under a porch etc. hand feeding those who needed it until the local shelter placed them. All of my daughter's cats with the exception of Mama are strictly indoor cats. Since Mama spent all of her years outside even living in the sewer in the winter, she insists on outside priviledges, at least she won't get pregnant again. The way my daughter caught her was to use Max, her kitten, as bait. She had caught him a few days prior and he was now living inside. Mama would stand outside the door crying for Max to come to her,she wasn't nursing anymore but just wanted her 3mo old baby. Finally she went in the house for him and decided to stay indoors with him. I think she liked a steady supply of food. Even though Max is now 1yr. old when Mama comes in the house Max greets her, rubbing against her. I think the mom and baby bond still exists. I am thinking of another cat, definately a shelter cat, one who is older and settled. However, 3 in a small 4 room apt. is quite much. But my heart goes out to all the homeless and neglected cats. I don't like to see them in cages at Petsmart and Petco. I support my local shelter as much as possible and also another one who accepts kitties who have special needs and keeps them until they cross the bridge. This shelter also does not cage the cats. They have free run of a house designed for them. So my message to anyone thinking of a cat is like everyone elses. Adopt don't buy.
 

tarasgirl06

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

When looking for you new companion, your new furr-ever friend, your new family member, please do not forget the "unadoptables", those less desirable kitties.

They deserve a home as much as any other. They may not be cute kittens, they may be shy, or skinny, or look funny.....but they are no less deserving of a furr-ever home.

The shy





The big & black & old



The old



The old with health issues




Please, don't look past them. You don't know what you're missing. You may not have 20 years with a senior kitty, but I've met some of the sweetest old cats ever. And special needs? Stop - look twice. Many won't require that much more care than you "average" cat. And any kitten/cat can become special needs. They shy, given a chance to adjust, are some of the most cuddly, sweet, & wonderful kitties ever.

They don't deserve to die because they aren't "cute" anymore. And for many, it is life or death.
THANK YOU for this! I love ALL cats and consider all cats eminently desirable. Coming from generations (on both sides of the family) of cat lovers, it's natural for me to have loved, rescued, adopted, and advocated for cats right from the start. All of the cats in my life have always been rescues, in one way or another; and when I adopted my first sheltered cat, I deliberately asked to be directed to those with the least possible chance of adoption. I adopted a gorgeous beauty who became extremely special in my life. She is forever in my heart.
 

fattykitty

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What a great thread.
Btw, my cat Kitty's black, old, sheds a lot, it has an "ugly" coat because it's black mixed with about thirty randomly placed but noticeable hair. But I love her.
Besides, I still have five plus years with her-and even if I only had a week left with her, I'd still adore Kitty. And Fatty-has an "angry" face even when she's purring and happy (except in some pictures), is shy and has bitten me a few times, sheds like crazy, meows constantly, and is old. Guess what? I love her more than most people. lol. Thanks for your lovely thread.
 

nekomania

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I have always wanted to adopt a "special" kitty. Whether they be old or require some sort of special care.

Someday, when I have the resources and the room I will allow more cats into my home, and they wont all be kittens.
 

bob'smom

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2 of my adoptions have been older kitties. Both Freckles and Bickford were 8 when I got them. I knew they would have no shot if either one was brought to a shelter. Bickford had the added issue of aggression whenever he's in a strange situation. Even though Freckles died 15 months later I wouldn't have changed a thing. Whenever I go on Petfinder I always change the settings to special needs cats.
 

mrblanche

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We have a cat right now at the shelter that I'm worried about. Shadow is only a couple of years old, but she is absolutely terrified in her cage, trembling with fear. She's not aggressive, and if you put her in your lap, she'll curl up and accept petting gladly. But she still trembles.

And she's not particularly pretty. She's some sort of a persian cross, since she has a very thick white undercoat. She's also quite small, for an adult cat.

Here's her Petfinder listing:

Shadow

I'm afraid she will be euthanized any day now.
 

addiebee

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

We have a cat right now at the shelter that I'm worried about. Shadow is only a couple of years old, but she is absolutely terrified in her cage, trembling with fear. She's not aggressive, and if you put her in your lap, she'll curl up and accept petting gladly. But she still trembles.

And she's not particularly pretty. She's some sort of a persian cross, since she has a very thick white undercoat. She's also quite small, for an adult cat.

Here's her Petfinder listing:

Shadow

I'm afraid she will be euthanized any day now.
OMG! I think she's adorable! sigghhhhhh.... If I lived nearby I would take her.
 

cattoys

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I hope someone can start a thread here where the members can post pets up for adoption...
 

icklemiss21

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Sophie is a 7 y/o declawed female who even I can't get near, and I work with our less adoptable cats - a surrender


Reggie, a 10 year old declaw (although he is a sweet boy, his looks dont get him far and his weight is certainly an issue)
 

margecat

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We took in a litter of 4 ferals, whose mother had been killed. We were going to adopt them out through a shelter, but 3 turned out FeLV+. As they were considered unadoptable, we decided to keep all 4, even though only 3 were +. Boy, are we glad we did! They're marvelous, healthy, beautiful cats! The "Gang of Four" are the hub of our household. And they are thriving--they are going on 4 years old already! (They were diagnosed FeLV+ as 5-month-old kittens. I was told that it was a miracle if a + kitten made it to 1 year-old.)

So many well-meaning people suggested we have them put to sleep, to keep them from suffering. As far as I know, they've never suffered; they have been the healthiest cats in the house (we had 9 total).

Cute little kittens are easy to find homes for, according to our SPCA and the other shelters. They get adopted fast. But the poor older cats languish in the shelters (or, at the SPCA, get killed eventually). Granted, there are some circumstances where getting a kitten or 2 may be better for your situation, but don't overlook the adult cats. (Actually, I prefer adult cats--kittens are cute, and I love them, but an adult cat is at its most beautiful--sleek, and feline-looking. They also have more personality.)
 
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white cat lover

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Reggie looks like a kitty we had here - he had cancer of his mouth - hence the funny mouth/face.


The black 7 y/o boy was adopted tonight!
The grey/white old/special needs boy went home with a volunteer (he was close to being euthanized). Hopefully they both work out.
 

callista

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Tiny was "aggressive". Turns out he really was just full of energy and tended to be anxious and touchy. A lot of play sessions and a predictable routine, and he's just fine. Okay, he'll still bite; but he does it so softly that he's barely touching your skin with his teeth--he doesn't really want to hurt you, just get your attention so he can play! Talk about misunderstood.

My two fosters are both special needs. Christy has been with me over a year because she did so badly at the shelter that she stopped eating and had to be coaxed to start again when she came here. She's very shy but very sweet and just learning that laps are nice places. And there's a whole thread here about my newest, Olivia, who came in weighing four pounds less than she should have (that's like an eighty-pound human adult!), covered in fleas and sores, and with suspicious as-yet-unidentified lumps. Olivia is currently sitting in my lap purring like a motorcycle, after having just spent time acting almost exactly like a kitten...
 

misskitties

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

I am starting to get very short tempered with the people who want to surrender cats that have no chance of getting adopted. The most recent one is oh well we got a kitten on the weekend and he hissed at it and made the kitten poop outside the box (the one box between 4 cats)
I understand how you feel. I work with a rescue and we constantly get people emailing and calling asking if we can take their animals. The thing that bothers me is that so many people in rescues or other animal fields that are contacted about taking these animals refuse to take the animals because of the owners. They get mad at the owners for being so uncaring and turning their animals over like that, but we have to stop thinking of it this way. We have to think of the animals. I hate that the rescue I work with won't even pay attention to any of these calls. The animals need help! They're obviously living with owners who don't care enough about them to keep them any longer. If we turn them down, they might take them to the pound or dump them somewhere. I know it's hard to get older cats or cats with medical conditions adopted, but I hate when people turn their backs on these "unadoptables" because the owners are so stupid. Those people aren't going to change, but the animals still need help!
 

sharky

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Lets see I have five "unadoptables " "hard to adopts" under my roof and would gladly take in more
and I am sure Nat is looking for a special one right now for me


Zoey and Dalhia were ferals .... Not sure anyone believes that about Zoey anymore and Dalhia is making HUGE strides ...

Slyvester is black , male and was a 9 lb six month old... but I got a great baby in him

PJ and Punky I wonder how they were NOT adopted but he he they are my boys and Pj is my boyyyyy friend"_
 
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