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It was kind of sad yesterday but I re-homed Paloma. I don't love to sit here and talk about it but I do think it is a topic worthy of discussion as not every adopted animal ends up working out so it is good to hear about the "non-success" stories as well as the great ones. Both both do happen and to tell you the truth, I felt like a failure on a few levels but I know it is not me alone, it is her problems that I am not equipped/able to deal with.
I do advise people when they are considering adoption that not every single story has a happy ending. Things to consider are the care the animal had BEFORE it was siezed/found/surrendered, and also the conditions in which it was raised. Other factors to be considered is that animals that end up in shelters are likely not bred by people who do genetic testing for problems associated by the particular breed.
I have my suspicions on why she behaves the way she does but I am at a loss as to what to do about it.
Well, I wouldn't even have adopted her if I had hear the WHOLE story first....
After the seizure of the cats, they were brought to the local animal shelter before they were picked up by the breed rescue. The cats in the home of the former owner all lived inside cages. Well, Paloma escaped at the shelter and it took them a month to catch her, I heard.
The problem was, that I did not hear this until the evening in February when I went to pick her up from the foster home. Paloma had just been picked up from the vet after being spayed... so was very snuggly, of course. I had waited weeks for the day, so when the foster mom happened to mention about how it took them a month to catch her, while I was holding her and stroking her fur...it did not matter to me a bit.
WELL....
It has been the kitty adoption disaster from HELL>
Paloma was not quite feral, but very anti social. Still, she was warming up. I let her come to me, I did not force any issues.
She was doing very well here and was getting along with the dogs and me while for the fist month I kept her in my bedroom.
Once I opened the door to the rest of the house she turned into some kind of nazi cat. I mean, she hissed at clawed at me like a mountain lion lest I dare to remove her from a room I wanted to close off (my other bedroom). I contributed her behavior to her age, which was then 11 months. Well, then litter box started to get ignored by her. Need I tell you how that went.
I blamed me for changing litter so went back to the good expensive stuff. She took back to her box. But then I started restricting her from one area of the house and the litter box was ignored again....
So I moved her to my shop for the summer, thinking maybe once she grew up a little she would have a better attitude. All was copacetic. Back to the litter box she went. I figured she would be happy as a clam out there seeing as I wouldn't be bothering her and she could sit by herself which she seemed to thrive on...
Isn't it odd that the day after I went out there to spend an afternoon making beads...the litter box was not being used and I could smell cat pee, and found a few poops on the concrete floor.
Call it a personality clash, or she is just plain nasty but there was no way I could keep her. IF she was in her golden years I would have built her a large enclosure where she could live and thrive but she is only 1 year old.
Paloma now resides at the grooming shop. There is another cat that lives there that has severe motor dysfunction, some sort of central nervous system thing, and his name is Sparky and he was put in a paper bag and driven to the country and abandoned at a relative of the grooming shop owner. I expect Paloma will get along fine with Sparky and mostly hide during the day and only come out at night, but at least have a place to live where she is safe and is cared for.
The little thing did broke my heart a bit. I really did love her, but it just didn't work out.
I do advise people when they are considering adoption that not every single story has a happy ending. Things to consider are the care the animal had BEFORE it was siezed/found/surrendered, and also the conditions in which it was raised. Other factors to be considered is that animals that end up in shelters are likely not bred by people who do genetic testing for problems associated by the particular breed.
I have my suspicions on why she behaves the way she does but I am at a loss as to what to do about it.
Well, I wouldn't even have adopted her if I had hear the WHOLE story first....
After the seizure of the cats, they were brought to the local animal shelter before they were picked up by the breed rescue. The cats in the home of the former owner all lived inside cages. Well, Paloma escaped at the shelter and it took them a month to catch her, I heard.
The problem was, that I did not hear this until the evening in February when I went to pick her up from the foster home. Paloma had just been picked up from the vet after being spayed... so was very snuggly, of course. I had waited weeks for the day, so when the foster mom happened to mention about how it took them a month to catch her, while I was holding her and stroking her fur...it did not matter to me a bit.
WELL....
It has been the kitty adoption disaster from HELL>
Paloma was not quite feral, but very anti social. Still, she was warming up. I let her come to me, I did not force any issues.
She was doing very well here and was getting along with the dogs and me while for the fist month I kept her in my bedroom.
Once I opened the door to the rest of the house she turned into some kind of nazi cat. I mean, she hissed at clawed at me like a mountain lion lest I dare to remove her from a room I wanted to close off (my other bedroom). I contributed her behavior to her age, which was then 11 months. Well, then litter box started to get ignored by her. Need I tell you how that went.
I blamed me for changing litter so went back to the good expensive stuff. She took back to her box. But then I started restricting her from one area of the house and the litter box was ignored again....
So I moved her to my shop for the summer, thinking maybe once she grew up a little she would have a better attitude. All was copacetic. Back to the litter box she went. I figured she would be happy as a clam out there seeing as I wouldn't be bothering her and she could sit by herself which she seemed to thrive on...
Isn't it odd that the day after I went out there to spend an afternoon making beads...the litter box was not being used and I could smell cat pee, and found a few poops on the concrete floor.
Call it a personality clash, or she is just plain nasty but there was no way I could keep her. IF she was in her golden years I would have built her a large enclosure where she could live and thrive but she is only 1 year old.
Paloma now resides at the grooming shop. There is another cat that lives there that has severe motor dysfunction, some sort of central nervous system thing, and his name is Sparky and he was put in a paper bag and driven to the country and abandoned at a relative of the grooming shop owner. I expect Paloma will get along fine with Sparky and mostly hide during the day and only come out at night, but at least have a place to live where she is safe and is cared for.
The little thing did broke my heart a bit. I really did love her, but it just didn't work out.
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