Hi,
I am a long time lurker- long time as in 3 or 4 years on a nearly daily basis. Maybe that’s weird, I don’t know.
Anyway, my point is…I adopted a cat from the ASPCA IN February, because then I had a stable housing situation, etc. I have to move (ironically to a much nicer place), however it’s looking like I cannot take Mr. Kitty.
I do not want to absolve myself of responsibility for him however, as I feel that I made a promise to take him out of a shelter environment and be his mom for the rest of his life. So naturally, I am hesitant to take him back to the ASPCA. I am exploring options with my friends and family for taking him, but there are always reasons why people can’t (which I can understand- an animal is a huge responsibility).
I was wondering if anyone had heard of situations or organizations where pets could be fostered until their parents could care for them again…I mean that exists for humans, why not pets? I’ve been looking for that online but can only find info for fostering pets who need to be adopted out, and I would like to have him back hopefully in a year. It’s not that I am not financially able to care for him, I just cannot live in a place that will have him (I have to do roommate situations as I just graduated from college and in NYC you have to make like 60X your rent to qualify for an apartment- as a recent college grad I do not).
I really appreciate it if anyone has any advice. Thanks!
I cannot ask the ASPCA for advice on this matter because according to their rules I am the only one authorized to care for him.
I live in NYC as has been mentioned above by the way.
Look up cat rescue organizations. If you were to pay in advance for his care (food, litter, veterinary bills, etc.), you might be able to convince one of them to foster for you. They’d probably require you to formally surrender the cat for legal reasons, then when you’re ready, re-adopt him and pay all adoption fees before reclaiming him. Bear in mind that you may have to also agree to allow him to be adopted by someone else before you are able to reclaim him, if someone comes along who wants him.
I assume you want a place where the cat will be petted and scratched and cuddled and played with, right? For an indefinite time, but at least a year? That’s gonna be a hell of a hard sell in an individual home, I’m afraid. I mean, would you take in an animal and feed it, wash its bowls, rub its belly, scoop its poop, pet it, play with it and generally bond with it for a year or more, and then just hand it back over to whoever left it with you? You already don’t want to give this guy up after 6 months, think how the person who has him for a year plus is going to feel when you want him back.
Rescue organizations will probably be an even harder sell. Not because of the financial aspects, but because of the space–they only have so many places to house animals awaiting adoption, and in the time you plan to leave him, they could cycle half a dozen truly needy kitties through and into forever homes. The needs of the many, and all that. It sucks, but the number of healthy, friendly animals who need homes exceeds the number of homes available by a LOT, and it’s how it has to be.
I suppose you might call boarding facilities and groomers and see if any of them knows someone who would do very long-term boarding like that. Odds are low, and you’ll probably pay through the nose if you do find someone, but it’s worth checking. You could check at your vet clinic, too, but most vets are going to be reluctant to endorse shuffling an animal around like that because it’s not in the critter’s best interest.
I wish that just once I could be the ray of sunshine instead of parade-raining cloud in this sort of thread, but the simple brutal truth of the matter is that you need to be prepared to make some hard decisions here. Maybe it won’t come to that, but odds are pretty good it will, and I don’t want you to get blindsided by it.
I agree with CCL. I might (although I’m not in your area) take in a cat for a few weeks or a month to help someone out, but I’m not going to let myself get emotionally bonded to an animal (and them to me) for a year and then give it back with a “have a great life!” One of the things that makes me a good pet owner is that I’m 'til death do us part. They can depend that I will always be there for them. (6 dogs, 4 cats, 3 horses)
In my opinion, if you can’t make it work in your new location, you should give the cat back to the ASPCA for them to rehome. It would be more fair to the kitty to be able to settle in and have their lifelong home.
StG
Read your agreement with the SPCA. It might REQUIRE you to give back the cat if you have to give it up for any reason.