Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet

Started several years ago, extra special attention has been to those pets that may get passed over for whatever reason: coat color (black), senior, special needs, FIV+ or FeLV+, etc

We are going to talk about Liberty and Freedom - the patriot girls.

Freedom

Liberty

Honestly, mom is beginning to find their names ironic more than anything else. The woman who found them as kittens gave them the names since they were found around July 4th. However, they haven't gotten much liberty or freedom around here.

When they came to us, it was with an upper respiratory infection. Mom kept them in the tower for two reasons - so they kept their snot to themselves and to make it easier to catch them to medicate them (even then they were a little shy). However, over time the URI has come and gone but not completely gone away. Mom has tried nebulizing them and a couple of different medications. She wonders if it may be chronic....and if it may be caused by stress.

In addition, both girls got out of the foster room where they were going to spend the weekend while mom was out of town. She spent quite a while trying to catch them again. When they were put back in the tower, it almost seemed like they relaxed since it was a smaller and "safe" space. There was some original conversation with the rescue about maybe them becoming working cats, but if the house makes them afraid, no telling what would happen elsewhere. We couldn't stomach them being moved and then disappearing out of fear.

What makes them less adoptable?

• At this point they are almost 5 months old. We have noticed people want tiny kittens or feel sorry for adults, but the juvenile kittens tend to be around longer. 
• They may have chronic URI (or it may clear up when they aren't feeling stressed). 
• They are skittish and are going to take some time and love and patience to come around in a new environment. 
• And they are bonded - they love to play and sleep with each other and can be found piled up napping.

Don't get us wrong....we also suspect that them getting a home of their own will help them feel more secure (once they adjust) and safe. Once that happens we suspect the sneezing will lessen and they will come out of their shells. Right now, they have mainly been at the shelter or with us, and that entire time has involved being caught and medicated. You would dislike mom too after all of that.....

That being said, they are very sweet, very playful and their coats are SO soft. Freedom doesn't mind being held and loved on - but you do have to catch her first. Liberty will tolerate a few minutes of petting but she is definitely more hand shy (and you are going to have to catch her first too). Mom laughs watching them play and tumble around the tower. We wish we had a room that could be emptied and closed off to give them more space to play.

Mom has decided this....our rescue does not restrict out of state adoptions. If you know ANYONE who might be interested, please please please let us know and we will work very hard to make it happen.

Adopt a Less Adoptable Week

And it happens to fall during Deaf Pet Awareness Week as well.

We have a couple of great websites for deaf dogs:
          Deaf Dogs Rock
          Dog and His Boy

Our friend Maxwell from A Tonk's Tail is also deaf.

We even have had a deaf kitten here - remember Doc Holiday??

Mom says of course HE didn't know he was different. And of course being young and adorable, he was adopted pretty quickly.

But that isn't true for many pets with special needs - be it deaf, blind, tripawd (see the Tripawds.com site for great info on these pets), FIV or FeLV postive or senior pets. While some may take longer to adjust to a new home, the rewards are so great that you might be surprised. In fact, some of our blogger friends have made decisions to very specifically adoption only senior or special needs animals.

So the next time you or a friend or family member are looking for a new pet, keep an open mind. Maybe the cute kitten or puppy isn't the best bet....maybe you can open your home and your heart to a pet that needs you more than you realize. It may be the best decision you ever make.

Adopt A Less Adoptable

Every year Petfinder makes an effort to get the word out about those that SOME PEOPLE consider less adoptable. From seniors, to color of their fur (usually black but we think torties get a bad rap too), to physical differences, to FIV or FeLV.

Here is our grandparents' dog Izzo's story:

His previous family brought him into a shelter and just handed him off with no information or anything. He is a nice little dog...but tested heartworm positive. This is a time consuming and expensive thing to treat. Some shelters won't treat for it. Izzo got lucky and the shelter where he ended up put him in foster care and treated him for the heartworms. Once he was ready to go, he came back to the shelter.

As you can see from this picture, there were spots shaved on his back by hips due to the treatments. When our grandma and grandpa got to the shelter, they saw him and fell in love. However, when they went up to the adoption desk to ask about him, there was another couple asking about him. But the lady was asking about the missing patches of hair. As the adoption counselor explained, the lady said she didn't want any dog that had been sick and had missing hair. And thus Izzo came to live with our grandma and grandpa. See, for them, it wasn't about previous illness or hair that will grow back. It was about his sweet disposition and size. His furs have grown back and he is healthy...and will remain that way since they are being responsible and keeping him on preventative medication.

Lesson here: it shouldn't be about appearances....it should be about saving a life and adding joy to your family.

extra special....

**A quick note: Eclipse passed her "test" at the shelter. They think she is actually closer to 2 years old and she settled in after about 24 hours there, so they are going to keep her and make her available for adoption. YEAH!!!!
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we also want to take a second to let Friends Furever know we are thinking about them since Tamir ran for the Bridge.....
    

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You had to know this was coming. :)

Bourbon and Gin - passed out

(no idea who turned over the cat bed)

Yep - we are featuring Da Bourb......

Of course, he doesn't know he is different. Animals with special needs don't know they are. From missing a limb to cerabellar hypoplasia (wobbly cat syndrome) to missing an eye (like Matilda)...... they are as normal as they can be. The only thing that makes them different is the human perspective.

Mom is procrastinating, but swears she is going to get Bourb's info in to the Petfinder person for the rescue and get him listed. (her latest excuse: Miss Marilyn is on vacation and mom wants to wait until she is home to send it)

Notice his sister Gin passed out with him. We have told mom she needs a new nickname. Mom had taken to calling her "tiny kid" or "tiny girl" as she was ALWAYS the tiniest kitten in the group.  And looking at that picture, she is still smaller than Bourbon. But, with being spayed, we got a weight on her and Moonshine. Shine weighs: 2.8 pounds (or did last week). Gin weighed.... 2.8 pounds. Huh???  Well....that seems odd.....

We hope you have a great weekend.....thank you for letting us share cats with you this week. We think Sparkle said it best yesterday that these animals are not "less adoptable" but are just more special!!!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow - someone is having a birthday!

FIV+

Are we still talking about this mom???

mom: yep - until people realize that FIV is NOT a death sentence and that they can live with other cats (so long as the FIV cat isn't a biter)

OK - so who do we have???

  This is Otto who is available through Colony Cats.

"This big boy was brought to a vet hospital after a client of the hospital saw him being thrown from a car. He was kept overnight to make sure he did not have injuries. Now neutered with sparkling teeth (he has had a dental cleaning) he is looking for a home of his own. Sadly he has tested positive for FIV. FIV positive cats can live happy and healthy long lives in a home enviroment. The staff at the hospital say he is the nicest cat that they ever had at the clinic. He loves to be handled and enjoys children."

(and mom thinks looking at his Petfinder page that he may be living with Miss Beckie)

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Tails from the Foster Kittens has a new feature......they are interviewing fosterer(erers....) about their experiences. And us and mom got to be first!!! Go check it out......

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Oh hey - and Miney that we featured yesterday was picked by the rescue to be THEIR pick of the day too (nope - that was totally unplanned - we swear) and that makes her adoption fee $10. Know anyone looking for a cute deaf house panther in O-hi-O??   MOL

Say what???

We are taking a moment of silence this morning for Ann and the girls. Poppy Vic passed away yesterday. We are very very sad for Ann......  zoolatry 
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Geez - didn't we just cover this????

Doc

Yeah, yeah, the cute white kitten was deaf. Why is that such a big deal???

mom: well, some people just don't want to deal with an animal that is different. And with dogs it is harder since they go outside and can get in more trouble if they can't hear their mom and dad.

But Doc was adopted really quick. Must be they fell for the cute.....

This is Miney from Colony Cats.

"Miney was part of a litter born outside to a stray cat. She is such a sweet kitty, but she has a permanent head tilt from an ear infection. It was also determined she is totally deaf. It is hard to tell from watching her, but her cry is really exagerated because she can't hear herself. Miney is waiting to meet you at the cage free Colony Cats Adoption Center."

And hey, there is an advantage to being deaf too...... you can be the loudest pirate on the CB and don't care if anyone calls you out on it.  MOL

Miney got into the spirit and has her own Pirate name: Wild Eyed Emily

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Someone asked us yesterday if the groups mom volunteers for halt adoptions of black cats close to Halloween. The answer is no - the adoption process is such that you have to fill out an application and go through an interview. Both places trust their adoption counselors to be able to ask the right questions and give them the ability to say no if they don't like the answers.

black animals....

We all know how mom feels about the house panthers.

(for anyone looking for the banners we are using, you can find them at Petfinder)

Poncho and Gin

Mozart

Oh - and the Poncho was ADOPTED!!! Mom took him back last Monday. There was a very nice couple that came in on Thursday and were looking at several different cats - including the goof. Mom checked the web on Saturday morning and Poncho was off the site - meaning he got adopted. We aren't sure if it was that couple of not, but we hope so. Concats on the new home!

  This is Chloe from CHA.

She came to the shelter this spring. And while that seems bad enough, she came from another shelter. Where she had been living for 3 YEARS!!!  What the ___???

Miss Chloe is a BIG girl. (ok, mom calls her a beached whale, but whatever). But she is super sweet....  Pet her and she purrs. :)  She was living in the director's office for a while (they move some of the adults around to give them a different perspective). When mom would walk into the shelter, she said she could hear Chloe yelling to be let out. The office cats would get let out and allowed access to the lobby during the day and Chloe was SURE she should get the privilege all the time......  We agree.

Adopt A less Adoptable Pet Week

Petfinder every year makes an effort to show those pets that some people deem "less" adoptable. We LOVE this idea and are going to participate by taking a different aspect each day and promoting an available animal witht that issue.....  (we will keep you updated on us as well)

Today we are talking about "old" pets....

   Mom says all the time that people come into the shelter and the rescue and want the cute little young kittens. Those over a certain age get overlooked. We aren't sure why. We all know that kittens grow up into cats and we all get old. Pick an older pet and you get a set personality, less bad habits and an animal that is calmer and past the young crazies.

So out feature cat of the day today is Maxx...

Maxx is 8 years old and pretty darned sweet - or so mom says since she has met him. He is a calm older gentleman who gets along with the other cats at the shelter - though he will seek high ground when the youngsters are out and running around - he loves to watch them from the new cat tree in the cat room. Or he finds a comfy spot to watch Bird TV out the windows.  You can read more about Maxx here.

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We had a relaxing weekend. Open windows and lots of napping. Eclipse is still in the bathroom. Bourbon snuck in one night and she whapped him once and then ran into a corner - so she is more scared than agressive and that can be worked with. Rather than stress her out, mom has been giving her some space from us and just spending time in the bathroom with her.

Mom did a transport on Sunday......Muggs was moving from boarding to an open foster home. Cane Corso Rescue had gotten a call when someone found him and another Corso tied in a backyard with no food, water or shelter. He is a big lovey boy. Mom said he sheds, drools and need a couple of sammiches, but he couldn't have been a nicer dog. Good luck on your forever home buddy!!