Did you get your kitty sight-unseen?

valanhb

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I'm wondering...if you didn't meet your kitty in person before s/he came home, how did you know they were "the one"? Were there concerns that they would fit into your home? How did that work out? Did kitty have to travel far to come home? How did they react to that?

You guessed it - I'm considering adopting a kitty that is too far away to meet before I/we make the decision.
So I want to know from others who have done it - how did this process go for you???
 

phenomsmom

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I met Phenom before we adopted her but I knew right away I wanted Her. Phantom appeared on my friend's doorstep and I new when he called I wanted her.. so I guess yes. He only described her to me as a gray kitty with no tail. She is now mine (or I am hers
)
 

squirtle

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I don't think my story really applies to the situation but I didn't meet Dori before we went to pick her up. Actually, she was the last one left in the litter.. everyone else picked around her
A friend of my fiances had picked up 4 kittens from a coworker and called my fiance to convince him to give the 'leftover' one to me as a Christmas gift. I knew Dori was 'the one' because she was the only one my fiance was ever talking into bringing home. She sure turned out to be OK
 

kittylover4ever

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Well Heidi, I didn't pick any of my kitties except Trixie Pixie Pie. The other three I was called about and told that I was gettng another kitten, sight unseen. I obviously have fallen in love with each and every one of them and I feel that this is meant to be for you and your hopefully soon to be little one........
 

yosemite

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PM Carolcat - she got Tia sent from Canada to California - sight unseen. I believe she is happy (and so is Jasper).
 

laureen227

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i got Chip 'sight unseen' - saw his pic on petfinder, but basically went more by the description. he was described as 'not at all dominant' which i thought was important, what with my bossy little tabby. anyway, he's fit in beautifully. they did tell me if he didn't, i was free to return him, but i didn't have to. Cable & Java were foundlings, & also fit in ok... well, Java fit in well, Cable was a kitten & Pixel & Mouse were a pair of 7-year olds who were not too thrilled with meowmy bringing home a little pest. but Pixel was glad Cable was there later on...
 

gingersmom

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I'm going to pick up Ferris a week from today and bring him home - found (and fell in love with) him on petfinder, haven't met him yet, but that doesn't matter to me one bit! I just KNOW he's the one I've been looking for, and intuition usually works well for me!

He may not like me right away because he's feral born, and I'm taking him to the vet the day after I take him home, but in time he'll learn that I love him and that I'm not a bad human!
 

pombina

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I did meet Sleeves twice before bringing him home, but Nismo we did not meet. We went to collect 'a kitten' from a huge litter and as I walked into the room she just leapt at me from the back of the sofa and let me snuggle with her. End of story.
I didn't think too much about which kitty to get, because I knew that there was no way of knowing whether Sleeves would take to any new cat. It's just a chance you take and with any luck, it just happens to turn out puurrrrfect
 

AbbysMom

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We saw Abby on Petfinder and knew she was "the one" . We DID go and meet her, and despite some health issues and social issues, adopted her anyway.
I didn't expect her to have some feral tendencies, but while there have been some frustrating moments, there have been some real rewarding ones as well.


My Molly also just "showed up" . She was an absolute sweetheart.
 

katiemae1277

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In my line of work
I haven't actually gotten to "pick" a kitty in many years, I take whatever kitty needs a home, most of the time I don't even have a photo. I have gotten cats from everywhere from California to Michigan to New York to southern Ohio (thanks Eileen!) I have loved all my cats with all my heart and I know that I couldn't have "picked" a better bunch. In fact, I have often wondered to myself how i have managed to get such great kitties time and time again, its like there are no bad kitties out there!
although Jinx is seriously testing me.... no really she's a fabulous cat
 

rapunzel47

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Every single kitty who has been part of our household (I don't count Chinook who died five days later, or Percy who wandered in and wandered out again) has come to me or us sight unseen.

Shasta was one of the last two kittens from a friend of a friend. I met her after she had spent the day in my friend's care in an early music master class.

Gryphon and Nibs were rehomed with us by a colleague, "on a trial basis" since we didn't know how Shasta would take to the idea or them. It worked.

Suzy and Sam were the last two of a litter that my sister in law located just outside Victoria, while doing some looking around on behalf of her daughter. She knew we were about to start looking, and in a flurry of phone calls one Wednesday, we got her to have a boy and a girl saved for us. We went over on the Saturday to pick them up -- for them a trip of about 6 hours, given the ferry ride, the road portion, the waiting in the compound, etc. not to mention a stop to meet their grandmother on the way
We were less concerned about Nibs accepting them, because he was soooooooooo needy, and they were soooooooooo little. It worked.

Cindy and Fawn were a couple of rescues fostered by a friend of Rob's Mum, also taken "on a trial basis" because we weren't sure about Suzy. That was a similar trip to Suzy and Sam's, also from Victoria by ferry. That worked, too.

Needless to say, those were two ferry rides on which we stayed in the car, rather than going up to the passenger decks.


They've all gone very well.
 

eilcon

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I adopted both Katie and Gracie sight unseen. All I knew with each of them is that I was adopting a rescued kitten and I was kind of going on faith that it was the right thing to do. Now, I consider myself blessed to have both of these sweet girls in my life.

When Katie, whom I adopted in Belgium, was still a kitten, I brought her back to the states with me. It was a 9-hour flight from Brussels to Newark, than another hour from there to Philly. The next day, we had an 8-hour drive home to Cincy. Katie was exhausted afterward, but came through it just fine.

Hope that helps!
 

sarahp

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I don't know of anyone here who doesn't love their kitty. I wanted a snuggly, lap cat, and got 2 hyper kitties, one part feral, and one who doesn't like being picked up or patted (but LOVES head and belly rubs).

But... I absolutely love them, and they bring so much joy to my life. Why? Because I am just a cat lover, and any cat that shows some sign of affection is all I need. Seeing them change into more affectionate, sociable cats is wonderful.

There's no way you will not adore this kitty. If it's not love at first sight, it won't be long before you wonder how you lived without the new addition
 

katiemae1277

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Originally Posted by sarahp

I don't know of anyone here who doesn't love their kitty. I wanted a snuggly, lap cat, and got 2 hyper kitties, one part feral, and one who doesn't like being picked up or patted.

But... I absolutely love them, and they bring so much joy to my life. Why? Because I am just a cat lover, and any cat that shows some sign of affection is all I need. Seeing them change into more affectionate, sociable cats is wonderful.

There's no way you will not adore this kitty. If it's not love at first sight, it won't be long before you wonder how you lived without the new addition
Well said! kitties MAKE you love them no matter what!
 

bella713

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In a state of misery w/o my Bella
I went to get Bella without seeing her, the woman that had her had cancer and couldn't keep her she was 12 weeks old. My dad answered her add in the newspaper and sent me there to get her she was laying on a mans chest and he handed her to me and I was in love and honestly she wasn't the prettiest kitten I had ever seen but that never occurred to me till years later when I looked at pics of her because she was so beautiful to me and we loved each other instantly!
 

cearbhaill

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I picked mine out at the humane society.

I went looking specifically for an orange tabby boy, and saw the two of them
wrestling in a cage together- they were just adorable! I had been thinking
about getting a kitten for months- why I decided on this exact morning made
no sense at all. I just woke up saying "today is the day".

At this particular shelter, you take a number *after* you have viewed the
available animals, but before a counselor helps you. So I had to sit in that
waiting room holding my number, just KNOWING that someone in line ahead of
me would take one of them thus breaking up the brotherhood. That was the
longest 20 minutes of my life.

When it got to be my turn I handed them the identifying information and said
"I want them both, they're now BOTH spoken for, don't you dare give one of
them to anyone else!". That was the first morning they had been up for
adoption, having been turned in and neutered the day before, and it was just
a miracle that I showed up that morning in time to keep them together.
Somebody did an excellent job of raising them as they are lap loving people
cats and not afraid of a thing- happy, outgoing, and healthy.

It has been true love ever since.
They are incredibly bonded, even for siblings, and I really thank God
everyday that I was able to get there in time to keep them together.

Their closeness made me kind of fear for what would happen if something ever happened to one of them- I was afraid they would mourn terribly. So as the overplanner that I am, I went back and got the black boy "Loomis", knowing that the younger I added the third the easier it would be on all three of them. "Loomis" turned out to be looney tunes, but he has calmed down remarkably and I love him to death too.
They all get along beautifully.
 
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