When one goes to the cat shelter...

For those of you who haven't meandered over into Furpics.....

I sorta went to the shelter last night to sorta look and sorta came home with a stowaway.

Pics over that way, where I had to beg for help in naming the sweet girl!

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74237

I'll get some pics of her in the new collar she got today posted asap, as well.

I'm not allowed to go looking at cats for adoption. Same with Petsmart - I always come out feeling so sad. But at least you got to save one!

my fiance does not like to take me to places where they have cats for adoption cuz i am always sad when i leave and always try to bring one home with me and with me

Originally Posted by pushylady

I'm not allowed to go looking at cats for adoption. Same with Petsmart - I always come out feeling so sad. But at least you got to save one!

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The cats at Petsmart are the lucky ones...those are from no kill rescues. It's the ones that are at shelters that I worry about. I actually volunteer with a group that does adoptions at Petsmarts...I get a lot of "don't you want to take them all home" comments from people. My answer is always..."no, that wouldn't be fair to my 2 cats...but I love finding good homes for these cats".

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

The cats at Petsmart are the lucky ones...those are from no kill rescues. It's the ones that are at shelters that I worry about. I actually volunteer with a group that does adoptions at Petsmarts...I get a lot of "don't you want to take them all home" comments from people. My answer is always..."no, that wouldn't be fair to my 2 cats...but I love finding good homes for these cats".

Katie

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I can attest, having stopped at PetSmart first for Cassie's collar. Their crates were full of APL kittens, and every one was adopted. Hence my trip out to the shelter, where they had tons of older kittens and cats waiting to go home.

One thing that sort of surprises me about the local shelter, the volunteers don't know much about the animals or about their care in general, it seems. Don't get me wrong, there were a couple of well-informed people, but, for example, I asked one woman if their microchip scanner was universal and she looked at me like I was nuts. Her tag said "Kitten Adoption Counselor", so I suppose I assumed she would be more informed. I've run across this several times. What is important is that they are there, volunteering for the animals, I know. Still, she didn't even know anything about introducing a new kitten to one already in your home, because there were other people in there asking her questions about it. When she left, I quietly offered some advice, which they took most kindly as they left with a new family member. Do shelters not offer some sort of training information for volunteers, Katie? I'm curious. This is something I might look into here.

Ronda

The cats at Petsmart are the lucky ones...those are from no kill rescues. It's the ones that are at shelters that I worry about.

I worry about them all!! I am a member & volunteer of my Humane Society who runs an adoption center out of Pet Supplies Plus. I would say more than 50% of the adults & kittens that come in are rescued from "death row"/kill shelters.

When she left, I quietly offered some advice, which they took most kindly as they left with a new family member. Do shelters not offer some sort of training information for volunteers, Katie? I'm curious. This is something I might look into here.

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Most shelters and rescues really do not "train" their volunteers...they are just happy to have them. Which is why I'm here....I've learned a TON of cat stuff since being a member of this board and Petfinder. I also use a lot of articles that are found on the PAWS of Chicago website:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/pet_care.htm

I especially like the article on why kittens should be adopted in pairs.

I would say more than 50% of the adults & kittens that come in are rescued from "death row"/kill shelters.

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All of our kittens/cats would have been euthanized had we not rescued them....however, I do not want people adopting out of guilt or feeling that they can not enjoy being at the Petsmart. I welcome people who have cats/kittens to come over and hold a kitten or cat....socialization is so critical. I also want them to understand that it is ok for them to play with a kitten and then give it back...the kitten WILL find a home...as will all of our cats. We have made that pledge to the cats. I do believe our cats/kittens are the lucky ones.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

Most shelters and rescues really do not "train" their volunteers...they are just happy to have them. Which is why I'm here....I've learned a TON of cat stuff since being a member of this board and Petfinder. I also use a lot of articles that are found on the PAWS of Chicago website:

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/pet_care.htm

I especially like the article on why kittens should be adopted in pairs.

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I LOVE PAWS!! They are located (well, the cat adoption center anyway) a stone's throw from me, right in the neighborhood!, so I have to pass the sign that says 'ADOPT A CAT OR KITTEN TODAY' every single time I want to go to Walgreens. It's torturous!

They used to be under separate management, but the lady who ran the cat place was a total $*(@*(# so I actually worked with my former roommate to get her replaced, which happened and now they're wonderful. I like to go visit on stressful days.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

I LOVE PAWS!! They are located (well, the cat adoption center anyway) a stone's throw from me, right in the neighborhood!, so I have to pass the sign that says 'ADOPT A CAT OR KITTEN TODAY' every single time I want to go to Walgreens. It's torturous!

They used to be under separate management, but the lady who ran the cat place was a total $*(@*(# so I actually worked with my former roommate to get her replaced, which happened and now they're wonderful. I like to go visit on stressful days.

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Wow, I never noticed how Gracie's face is separated by a color pattern almost the same as Sophie Grace's! Your Gracie got the black chin, Sophie got the black nose!
Sorry, something that I just noticed here!

Awww. I have to avoid the shelters, otherwise I would take them all home and hubby would kill me. Four furkids is enough for now.

Being a shelter volunteer is how I ended up with my 4. The first 2 were planned, numbers 3 & 4 were I just can't live without. It's a good thing I don't have a house cause there is a 10 year old & his 8-9 year old friend right now I'd love to take home.

Originally Posted by Rang_27

Being a shelter volunteer is how I ended up with my 4. The first 2 were planned, numbers 3 & 4 were I just can't live without. It's a good thing I don't have a house cause there is a 10 year old & his 8-9 year old friend right now I'd love to take home.

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This is a huge part of the reason why I am afraid to volunteer in our local shelter!!!!

I will absolutely not go anywhere near the local cat shelters, I simply cannot stand to see so many kitties looking for homes and knowing that unless I take them if they don't find homes they will be destroyed. Unfortunately in South Australia, where I'm from, there are no "no kill" shelters. The shelters here do try and hang onto the cats for as long as possible to try and rehome them but a lot still end up being destroyed

One of my cats, who is no longer with us, came from a local cat shelter. At the time I was catless and not happy at all with that situation. A home, to me, is not a home until it is covered with cat fur When we got to the shelter the volunteer worker started showing us around pointing to kittens and young cats who obviously had the best prospect of finding a home. I looked at her and, I still can't believe I said this, asked "where's deathrow". She looked a little taken aback at my poor choice of words so I explained that I was only interested in taking a cat who was within days or even hours of losing their life. She showed me the cats who had anywhere from a week to that afternoon to live and I ended up choosing a 9 year old undesexed (yes 9 years old and undesexed ) pure black cat called violet who was due for "euthanisation" the next morning. Violet was the most beautiful affectionate cat, she loved to cuddle up in bed while you held and stroked her paws, failure to do this would result in her crying and tapping the bed with the paw until you gently held and rubbed it until she fell asleep. Sadly we only had her for a couple of years until she disappeared after our house was burgaled. I miss her still but I'm glad I was able to save this dear cats life in the first place

Willowbrook isn't there a CPL in Australia?

There are too many volunteers at our local shelters so I don't even get to help!

Originally Posted by sunnicat

This is a huge part of the reason why I am afraid to volunteer in our local shelter!!!!

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Then volunteer at a rescue group that will keep the cats until they are adopted. That is what I do...I still only have my 2 cats (although I foster every once in a while).

Katie

WellingtonCats - We have the RSPCA and Animal Welfare League here but they don't have a no kill policy. We do have the only TNR program in Australia though which is obviously a good thing, a group called Cats Assistance To Sterilise (C.A.T.S) traps and neuters feral cat colonies for release and then volunteers help care for them. They also provide subsidised neutering for people on a low income who might otherwise not be able to afford it. But unfortunately no there are no "no kill" shelters here