Pet Adoption

[LadyFoot]

DH and I are looking into adopting a cat when we move for residency, but the rigamarole required to adopt from the local shelters is ridiculous! I understand the adoption fee and letter of permission from the landlord, but a 2-3 page in depth application and a meeting with an adoption counselor? I've had cats as long as I've been alive and I used to volunteer at the SPCA. I know how to take care of an animal. You don't need to do a background check on me. Sheesh.

Ok, done ranting now.

[alotofyarn]

That's crazy! I think we may have had to fill out a questionnaire and pay the fees, plus they took the cat to the vet of our choice to get fixed and we picked them up from there. That was 10 years ago though, in central Texas. On one hand, I'm glad they're making sure these animals go to a good home, but they also make it a little bit difficult now. I know the shelter in Nashville wouldn't have given me a cat because I'm allergic, although I live with 2 anyway. I guess I could have lied, and they'd never know the difference.

[bokelley]

We had to have a home visit. And be interviewed for our dogs. We even work with the rescue group

[ladymoreta]

Try a different shelter if you haven't already fallen in love with a cat at this one. We had an experience like that with our second cat, and it was ridiculous. He was from a no-kill shelter. It was an old house filled with hundreds of cats, and they made it so hard to adopt one. They stopped short of a home visit, but reserved the right to come within a few weeks of us adopting him at their discretion, and they pretty much treated us like criminals. If you go to a shelter that euthanizes animals, it seems like they're a lot less of a pain to work with.

[Thirteen]

DH and I are looking into adopting a cat when we move for residency, but the rigamarole required to adopt from the local shelters is ridiculous! I understand the adoption fee and letter of permission from the landlord, but a 2-3 page in depth application and a meeting with an adoption counselor? I've had cats as long as I've been alive and I used to volunteer at the SPCA. I know how to take care of an animal. You don't need to do a background check on me. Sheesh.

Ok, done ranting now.

Not that this is super kosher, but... You could always check the "Free" section of Craigslist. You'd be surprised how many people try to give away kittens...


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[LadyFoot]

Not that this is super kosher, but... You could always check the "Free" section of Craigslist. You'd be surprised how many people try to give away kittens...

There are a few shelters in the area, so we'll look around for one that's a bit easier to deal with. I don't really want to go the "free" route though, because then you have to pay for the vaccination/spay/neuter/microchipping/etc yourself. It's usually a ton more than the $60 adoption fee (although perhaps less of a headache!).

[Curegirl]

The shelter nearby is so easy to adopt from that the last two dogs I wanted were snatched up literally right when I got there. Good luck to you!

[Michele]

Call the local vet clinics. I'm 98% sure one has a cat for adoption. And if they don't now, they will in a few months. Summer is kitten season. There will be plenty and most vet clinics will vaccinate, neuter and microchip for free/cheap.

[poky]

Call the local vet clinics. I'm 98% sure one has a cat for adoption. And if they don't now, they will in a few months. Summer is kitten season. There will be plenty and most vet clinics will vaccinate, neuter and microchip for free/cheap.

This. Our vet is the first place we'd go if we were in the market for a cat. They always have strays and/or kittens available. Of course, we already know them and they know us; I'm not sure how the handle it if a random person off the street they've never dealt with before comes in asking about available cats...

[LadyFoot]

Call the local vet clinics. I'm 98% sure one has a cat for adoption. And if they don't now, they will in a few months. Summer is kitten season. There will be plenty and most vet clinics will vaccinate, neuter and microchip for free/cheap.

That is a great idea! I'll definitely look into this. You guys are so smart.

[niener]

Call the local vet clinics. I'm 98% sure one has a cat for adoption. And if they don't now, they will in a few months. Summer is kitten season. There will be plenty and most vet clinics will vaccinate, neuter and microchip for free/cheap.

Crazy I would have never thought of this! Kittens seem far easier to come by than puppies. Every animal I've adopted we've had to fill out a couple pages of paperwork and meet with an adoption agent (there was always one on site, we never had to come back for multiple "interviews" or anything like that), but none of them have ever done a home visit though they all reserved the right to.

ETA: If/when you adopt a kitty, I wouldn't be sad if you shared a picture of it... just so ya know...

[LadyFoot]

ETA: If/when you adopt a kitty, I wouldn't be sad if you shared a picture of it... just so ya know...

There will be pics! Don't worry.

[MsSassyBaskets]

If I wanted another cat I would probably just wait for summer and catch a kitten. I kid, but we have fostered stray/wild kittens for the last two years and if we'd had room in our household for another cat we would have just kept one of those. That was probably a consequence of living in an area where people didn't care for their pets and there were a lot of strays. We managed to socialize, vet and re-home 4 kittens over the last couple years though, and even spayed and re-homed a feral mom cat to a safer location. Back in MN we went to the Humane Society, which had a pretty good reputation there and was just an easy form and fee for adoption.

[Sheherezade]

I like Michelle's idea. I also second calling at a differ t shelter or rescue. I worked for one with very strict adoption rules but adopted from a different group with a much easier procedure. Same area, different rules.