Hi Again - About Adoption - Questions

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I've been around and posted. It has been a sad week. Comere became ill suddenly this past weekend and we had to put our wonderful loving mushpot to sleep on Tuesday ...

My husband wants another cat. So does my daughter (and I actually think it would be good for her). I thought I would need to wait and give it some time, but I am SO missing the presence of a little furry friend that I started looking at shelter rescues today. I found a few on PetFinder.com and made some calls.

One has seemed to come through. We have to go and meet him on Saturday, but he sounds purrfect. He's a russian or domestic blue, about a year old, very mellow and affectionate. The rescue organization is having him neutered tomorrow and checked over by the vet tomorrow. Assuming he gets a clean bill of health, and we make a bond upon meeting him, we'll be bringing him home.

My questions...

Should I buy a new litterbox or can I use the one that was Comere's? It's a large box, very clean because I've always used liners. Obviously I'd give it a good wash. Is it okay? Is it okay for me to keep the litterbox in the same place?

I will get him a new water and food bowl, toys, a scratching post and/or kitty condo, a new blankie -- am I forgetting anything else?

Obviously, our house still smells like Comere. I will go through and vacuum real well into all the furniture and carpets. I have a bottle of Feliway. Anything else I should do?

I don't have ANY experience with shelter rescues. The organization seems good but I wouldn't know otherwise! The woman there I've been talking to is so nice and seems genuinely excited that I'm interested in this wonderful kitty. She thinks he's a beautiful cat and it would be a shame to see him destroyed at the shelter (though aren't they all?). There's a $65 dollar fee for the neutering and shots... I felt that seemed pretty normal, right? There's no obligation for me to take him at this point as she realizes I should meet the cat first and see if we bond. That all sounds fair, right? The name of the organization is Kat Connection (in NY) -- anyone have experience with them?

Any other advice would be so appreciated. I'm excited but a little nervous. It's been a long time since I've had a young cat in the house -- Comere was nearly 18...

Thanks so much everyone... I am really mixed with emotion as I'm obviously so sad over losing my mushpot. I'm not sure I'm ready to open my heart to another fur-buddy, but I'm also not ready for this fur-empty house... any words of wisdom would be comforting...

I'm sure some others who know more can give you better answers, but as far as the group/adoption goes that looks pretty good. $65 seems pretty normal (as far as I can tell $65-100 is average for rescued animals), and meeting etc. Certainly no warning bells go off for me (like too low/high fees, adopting out un-spuetered animals, etc).

It all sounds good to me, including litter box and everything else. You sound like your on top of things. Good luck with the new furry!

That sounds like a wonderful and reasonable price.

I'm very very sorry to hear about Comere. It was probably because of the name, but I remember all your posts.

I adopted Merlin about three weeks after Eby had passed away. She was my mother's cat, and I had been wanting to get my own lovable furry for years. With my mother's blessing, I went looking for a cat, and stumbled over Mer quite unexpectedly. I never did much to get rid of Eby's scent. I still find her cat hairs in the most unusual places. We used the same food bowls (heavy ceramic ones) because they were custom made for us, but I did buy a new litterbox. Mom, for some reason, was attached to it, and she has it upstairs in storage along with Eby's toys. Mer never had a problem adjusting to the house, even though Eby was still all over it.