Hissy - A question for you

You seem to have such good luck finding homes for your babies. How do you get the word out? I have two more kittens that I need to find homes for. I really don't want to run an ad in the newspaper because I'm afraid of who may respond. The people that are taking the other babies are friends and friends of friends. I did the petfinder.org, but I thought I'd see what you do since you seem to find such wonderful people.

Thanks!

First off, I take the best pics I can of the new arrivals. Then I take the photos down to the Printing shop and have laser prints done of them so I can create a poster or flyer. I also try and socialize the kittens so when someone does come to see them, they don't run and hide in terror.

When I get the first phone call, I ask a lot of questions, and I mean a lot. I try to get a feel for the caller so I can gauge whether or not to let them have my address or not. When they arrive, I step back and watch how they interact, and I don't ever adopt to anyone who only spends a few minutes with the kittens. I am looking for someone who will love them as much as I do.

Let me tell you about a phone call I got today in regards to the twins that this caller wanted to adopt.

"hello are you the lady with the kittens?"
"yes, how can I help you?
"I want a kitty, mine died yesterday!" (already my red flag was up)
"Oh I am so sorry, how did it happen?"
"He got trampled!"
"Trampled?"
"Uh huh, trampled. You see when I go to work I put them into the crate and he must of gotten trampled."
"Them?"
"Uh huh I had 4 kittens, now I only have three."
"And you want two more? These two are twins and IF I decide that the home is right, then they go together, I will not split them up."
"OH, well I guess I could take them both."
"So, you want two more kittens to stuff into a crate when you go to work so they can get hurt?"
"Oh, I wouldn't put them into a crate anymore, I would take them over to my mom's so she could babysit them. I have chihuauas too."
"you don't have a room to put these kittens in to keep them safe?"
"No, I live in a really small trailer, so can I have your kittens?"

I very gently told this caller that it might be a good idea if she adopted out her kittens to a safer home, and she hung up on me.

This may sound tough, but I am when it comes to animal care. It is hard enough (for me) to say goodbye when I know they are going to a good home, I would never forgive myself for putting them into danger. I tell all the adopted families that if the kittens do not work out, to bring them back immediately, not to try and adopt them out on their own. I also put ads only where I know people who love animals will be, feed stores, vet offices, and also newspaper offices, even pet stores if they let me.

Hope this helps you. Good luck placing yours

Dawn91 and Hissy,

May I make a couple of suggestions? If you decide to put an ad in the paper, make sure you ask for a fee or donation. There are alot of companies out there that do animal testing that are looking for free animals. They will not pay for them. Another thing is ask for their veterinarian's name and phone number. Follow-up with a call to them (the vet) and ask questions like, do they come in on a regular basis to have their pets vaccinated? Do they have their pets spayed/neutered? This will give you a pretty good idea as to how responsible they are.

Donna

I forgot to mention Dawn that I charge for the kittens. My charge is $15.00 and they get a $10.00 spay and neuter certificate with that. I was posting while fixing dinner and got in a hurry.

Thanks Hissy and Donna! I've only put ads on petfinder.org and Yahoo. I put a $20 donation fee. I'm also being very particular about the home they go to. I figure I don't mind if I offend people I don't know. I think I'll go put up fliers at the Petco here, and I think there's a feed store nearby. I don't like our Petsmart because they make you give them away for free and won't let you post an adoption fee, which I think is absurd. I like the suggestion about talking to the vet, I'll use that one. I've also writen up 4 pages of helpful hints and info for the new owners, including how to introduce the kitten to a new home and how to introduce a new kitten to an existing cat. I've also put all the kitten's info, such as birthdate, food and litter box habits, my phone number etc.


I'll let you know how it goes. Even though they have a few weeks before they go, I want to make sure I get everything right!

(And Muffy's being spayed the first week of August! )