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Need Advice Cat Adoption

Discussion in 'General Chat Forum' started by JLC, Jan 23, 2010.

  1. JLC

    JLC Member

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    After being catless for a year (he died at 16) I think we're ready to make the plunge and get another cat/kitten.

    We want a friendly one - our last guy was a lover. Young at heart is more important than young in age, but I don't want a 14 year old. Less than eight, probably.

    Any recommendations for cat/kitten adoptions? We don't want a pet store pet. The Loudoun County Animal Shelter?
     
  2. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    I have adopted cats from the Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART) and from Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA). Both offer discounted vaccinations and spay/neuter programs. They also interview you to be sure you're a good fit for the pet you're seeking.

    HART we found through Petsmart and FOHA through an adoption event in Ashburn Farm. Both have websites where you can view the animals available for adoption. Most animals are kept in foster homes and brought to adoption events - not kept at the store regularly.

    Have fun choosing a new pet!
     
  3. KTdid

    KTdid Well-Known Member

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    Yes, visit the county shelter. You can also view the kitties on-line http://www.loudoun.gov/default.aspx?tabid=787

    I believe they partnered with the Loudoun County Humane Society. The Humane Society boards their homeless kitties at the Old Mill Kennel in Leesburg.

    Otherwise, there are many other "no kill" shelters in the county to adopt from - unfortunately too numerous to list.
     
  4. T8ergirl

    T8ergirl New Member

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    I strongly recommend the Feline Foundation of Greater Washington.

    www.ffgw.org


    We adopted a cat through them and have supported them ever since. The really great thing is that the cats are all in foster homes---so people know them. We specifically wanted a cat that got along with other cats. The FFF puts out a message to their foster families and asks for things like that.
     
  5. Audrey

    Audrey Member

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    I have to give another plug for Friends of Homeless Animals. They have a cat house where you can sit and visit with the cats for as long as you like, and really get to know their personalities before you adopt. They are a no-kill shelter doing amazing good for hundreds of dogs and cats every year, and I'm proud to support their work. www.foha.org
     
  6. hokie'81

    hokie'81 Member

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    Animal Allies is a wonderful organization. You can check out the adoptees online.

    Animal Allies is a non-profit animal rescue group located in the metro Washington D.C. area. Animal Allies volunteers work to rescue lost, abandoned, or stray animals and find loving homes for them. All animals are vetted to check for disease and spayed and neutered to stop the cycle of unwanted animals. They are funded solely through the generosity of the public and volunteers. http://www.animalallies.com/
     
  7. latka

    latka Active Member

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    I adopted a wonderful kitten from the county shelter.
     
  8. JLC

    JLC Member

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    Thanks for the suggestions. Honestly, I can understand the need to be careful, but it's almost like they don't want to adopt out their cats. Between phone interviews, applications, home visits - we're no closer to getting a new pet then we were a week ago.

    Just got back from the Sterling PetSmart where HART was having a cat adoption day. It was more like "here are four cats in cages and 100 people standing around day".
     
  9. latka

    latka Active Member

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    That's why I went to the shelter. It was easy and I know I am a good pet owner so I didn't fell like going through the hassle of some rescue organizations.
     
  10. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Yeah, with HART and FOHA you can't just show up and bring home a pet; there's a whole application process. Still, it only took a couple of days. You could try the shelter thing - I don't know what their adoption process is like.
     
  11. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    The time we went there to pick out a kitten (after the vetting process - not the cat - Us!) some foster families of cats didn't get there until an hour or so after the adoption event began.
     
  12. Sherlock

    Sherlock New Member

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    We lost our cat this past summer (2009). After a few months I was ready to start "cat shopping" and went to Petsmart for one of HART's adoption fairs. They must have had 25 kittens there. I filled out an application and had 2 interviews--all of this took about an hour. 2 days later I got an email from HART rejecting my application. This is because I did not have a good vet record. We ended up adopting 2 adorable kitties from Fairfax Animal Shelter.

    I love the way the rescue group determines whether one is worthy of adopting one of their pets. Just having a safe loving home is apparently not enough.
     
  13. TeamDonzi

    TeamDonzi ShowMeTheMoney!

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    We've jumped through hoops for the crazy cat people, and because my vet told them my other cat is a mouser, they won't let us have another cat. My original cats lived to be 16 and 18, and what's more committed than that?

    We even drove to a foster home in Maryland, and the house was a disgusting, smelly pit, so bad we couldn't, wouldn't sit down anywhere! Can't believe they'll let the cats dwell there for an eternity, yet won't adopt to us because I have another cat that eats mice....Anyway, the shelter is easy, they're not insane.
     
  14. TeamDonzi

    TeamDonzi ShowMeTheMoney!

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    I should add that the PW county shelter seems GREAT. The woman keeps in touch AND she says that they have a bunch of new kittens. They show them at the Gainesville PetsMart. I will send you her email if interested!
     
  15. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    We've adopted through FOHA and HART and both times were interviewed and asked about the vets we've used. I don't know if they actually called the vets or not. I don't know if we were up to date on our other cats' vaccinations (we're not now, anyway...) but I guess the vets didn't have anything bad to say.

    I will point out that the foster home where we got our FOHA cats didn't seem that great to me. It wasn't a terrible place but it was a townhouse and the woman had kids, a big dog, and had the six or so kittens gated off in her townhouse sized kitchen. Maybe that's why one of the cats thinks it's perfectly acceptable to pee on the hard floors... maybe he was raised that way. I don't know but it does seem weird to have a big interview process when some foster homes may not be up to adoption standards themselves. I do, however, have another friend who fosters animals for HART and I imagine her setup is a better fostering environment for the cats than the other place.

    20 years ago I got cats by seeing "free kittens" signs on street corners. Either times have changed or Virginia is much tougher about that than Texas.
     
  16. JLC

    JLC Member

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    Thank you for the info, TeamDonzi.

    My last two cats were easy to get. Like Villager, a free kitten sign for one and the other was a stray born in the sewer that we took in. They both lived to 16 years of age.

    This recent process has kind of soured it for me. Last weekend I was almost to the point of going out and *buying* a kitten. Whatever process we use, it can't be their "bring the whole family" one. My 5 year old has been heartbroken twice now and I'm not doing that to him again.
     
  17. TeamDonzi

    TeamDonzi ShowMeTheMoney!

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    I told Tammy at PW shelter I would send you her email address, and here is her reply:

    great! Thank you so much!

    We have many, many cats and kittens.

    The only barrier I see is the weather this weekend. I may go there myself! Ask her for the application in advance and explain about your son. He's 5, so they won't disapprove you for that like the HART lady did for my 3 year old. I get a really good feeling from her, she's wanting to place the kittens, not keep them. If I go there Saturday, I'll let you know how it goes.

    p.s. Yes, they really do call the vets and grill them, it's borderline wacko.
     
  18. kmjtt

    kmjtt New Member

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    I often wonder about some of these rescue groups...you would think the ultimate goal would be to find them a safe home. Not sour a family to the process. Just recently in Fairfax they had a rescuer, might have been Fancy cats that lost 78 cats to a fire in her home. She and her husband had left on vacation and left a petsitter in charge. Now, who is crazy?
     
  19. CuriousGo

    CuriousGo New Member

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    Hi All, we also had a horrible experience with HART. Never again! Try explaining to two boys (9 & 11) that you have been turned down for a kitten that they fell in love with. I will never go through that again. What is worse, I know for a fact that the kitten we wanted didn't get adopted for another 9 months!

    Anyways, please also consider calling around to the local vets!! We actually got two kittens that were rescued and brought to the Leesburg Animal Hospital.
     

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