[HRS1H7gO]

Does anyone here think that if shelters were a bit more lenient with potential adopters requirements, that more people would be willing to adopt from them? My friend just called me upset with the fact she was unable to adopt a cat from our local shelter. The interviewer felt that she didn't meet the requirements necessary to adopt a kitten. Truly I don't understand this. She is employed, has her own 1 bedroom apartment and this will be an indoor cat. Is there more that a cat needs other then food, shelter and love? I mean wouldn't this be a better alternative then a cat being housed in a small cage until a worthy adopter comes along IDK I just think that the criteria is a bit excessive. She's decided to just go to the pet store and get one. If this were a puppy then I'd understand (a bit more).

Your Thoughts?

[Snocioncilm]

Not enough information. There has to be a reason why the local shelter would not adopt to her. What was it ?? You didn't say.

More often, shelters are searching and grasping for the possibility and hope that someone will pass their screening and adopt their animals ... not searching for irrelevant reasons not to adopt.

[Grenader]

it could be the fact that she lives in an apartment and there are alot of apartment complexes do not allow pets. Just one possible reason.

[h0ldem]

Adopting a cat and adopting a dog are 2 entirely different things.

Since this is a pit bull forum, shelters that consider someone for adopting a pit bull type dog (or any breed for that matter) need to be stricter on who they adopt dogs out to and be more truthful about what different breeds have propensities for.

x2 on the entire story not being there. If the friend had written permission that she's allowed to keep a cat in her apartment, there would have to be another reason that the shelter wouldn't adopt to her.

[HRS1H7gO]

Allegedly the fact she has a 6 year old and works a typical 9-5 was the grounds on why she was denied. I really don't understand this. I myself had several cats growing up (given to us from friends or family) and I never felt as though the cats were bored or unhappy. Cats are aloof to begin with and quite happy laying in a sunny spot for hours at a time. Why would you prefer to keep the animal caged with limited interaction then to allow it to go home with a loving and capable family? Boggles my mind.

[Drugsonl]

Being that I am close with a lot of the shelter community in my area, I've seen this happen before. There are definitely some shelters who need to chill out with adoption requirements if they ever want to adopt animals out. Some of them are just ridiculous!

[h0ldem]

Has your friend ever had pets or cats in the past? What happened to them? Did she ask them specifically why they wouldn't adopt to her?

[viepedorlella]

Allegedly the fact she has a 6 year old and works a typical 9-5 was the grounds on why she was denied. I really don't understand this. I myself had several cats growing up (given to us from friends or family) and I never felt as though the cats were bored or unhappy. Cats are aloof to begin with and quite happy laying in a sunny spot for hours at a time. Why would you prefer to keep the animal caged with limited interaction then to allow it to go home with a loving and capable family? Boggles my mind.

Oh boy.... maybe most cats are that way, but every single cat I have ever owned has been way more high maintenance attention wise than my dogs.

I hate how people say, oh its just a cat. C'mon now they deserve attention too!

I kind of think a lot of shelters here have way too lenient requirements. No home checks, minimal questions and its so easy to lie... I know because I know people who've done it. Now they had good intentions and did fine with the animal, but what about all the creepers that come through there??? They aren't even doing pre-adoption interviews for the dogs anymore since the shelter changed hands. Lotta dogs going to get hosed there. At least since they started taking cats again the poor things will at least be spuetered and get initital shots before going home, rather than being nasty mangy reproducing semi-feral cats. I'll shut up now, I have strong feelings on cat welfare.

[LxtdK9i4]

This is why I would only adopt from one of our local shelters and NOT from a rescue. It is also why I think a lot of rescues have a hard time placing animals. They are WAY too restrictive! I find the whole home visit, continued contact, etc to be annoying and intrusive. To adopt from the Seattle Humane Society you only need pay the fee, show that you can have pets if you rent (talk to Landlord or bring in rental agreement) and talk to an adviser to make sure the pet is a good fit for you and your family. Plus, all the cats/dogs are S/N, have shots, license, come with a free vet check and a month of insurance. With dogs you also get a free basic obedience course. Bully breed adoptions are a bit more complicated but I haven't seen anyone denied unless they lived in a restricted area (BSL around here is hit and miss) or they are not allowed because of landlord or homeowner's insurance restrictions.

Sounds to me like your friend needs to check out other places.

[aideriimibion]

I can't think of one reason a shelter would not adopt a cat out to almost anybody with a home or apt that allowed pets. Unless.....they own a pit bull or other cat eating monster.

Two questions, has your friend ever been charged with animal cruelty or neglect? Did the shelter check them out or run a background check?

If the answer is yes to either, then there may be things about your friend that you do not know and your friend is not telling you.

[MineOffedOvex]

i think it depends on the shelter some are too leniant and some are too strict

[anderriter]

shelters that consider someone for adopting a pit bull type dog (or any breed for that matter) need to be stricter on who they adopt dogs out to

I agree and I will even go as far to say that most APBT in shelters are better off being PTS then landing in the hands of idiots that do not have a clue.

[jeockammece]

I can't think of one reason a shelter would not adopt a cat out to almost anybody with a home or apt that allowed pets.

There are many reasons. Here are a few examples from recent applications:
They did not follow local ordinances.
There is no record of regular vet care for current or recent animals (often falls under not following local ordinances).
They have a history of obtaining and quickly returning/surrendering animals.
They are not financially prepared.
Multiple animals have been lost, stolen, hit by car or have run away.
People in the household are allergic and the animal will be returned if there's an allergic reaction.


And then there are debatables:
Cat will be declawed
Cat will be allowed outside

And sometimes odd return reasons:
They will return the cat for jumping on things or knocking things over.
They will return a cat for shedding.
They will return the cat if it is not a lap cat.

[DeilMikina]

As someone who has both fostered and adopted animals, the reality is it's really hard to find quality homes for animals. I know lots of people who come off nice, but are really horrendous pet owners, one couple in particular I know has killed at least two cats, the guy gets mad and throws them against walls, they've dumped on average one dog per year, plus various small animals and birds, but yet they jump on every "free" pet around and people hand them animals. Then there's people like my siblings, my brother who shot one dog who kept getting skinny no matter how much Pedigree he fed, then they dumped another dog, let their free kitten have more kittens and then get shot, then they got rid of all their cats a couple years later and let the other dog loose when they moved. Thankfully they are in a no pet rental place now or you bet they would have something again. My sister "loves" animals but PTS one dog for "biting" day 1 after they brought him home from a shelter and let their kids jump all over him, there was no mark on the kid, they PTS a cat for spraying within a few days of him starting rather than figure out why, they adopt more animals when they can't properly afford the ones they have but lenient places gladly let them adopt.

I adopted out a very easy tiny little terrier to one lady and while she seemed nice, a year later she wants to dump the dog without contacting me and lets it run loose to the point where the meter guy maced it. It's hard with cats because there really are so many, but she wants a kitten, who probably can't be declawed according to shelter rules in a rental. Cats can cause an amazing amount of damage and live a long time, you see a ton of people with kittens, but you see very few with 15+ year old cats. I moved twice with my cat and it really is quite difficult to find a rental that allows cats, I ended up buying a house when we had to move a 3rd time because I wouldn't dump her or my ferrets, but most people can't do that and won't put in the effort or money for a pet friendly rental.

It's really hard to say why your friend got turned down, did she get turned down for THAT cat or for any? And look around, there are rescues and shelters I wouldn't adopt from because I don't agree with their policies and there are many that adopt anything to whoever shows up with money.

[HRS1H7gO]

Oh boy.... maybe most cats are that way, but every single cat I have ever owned has been way more high maintenance attention wise than my dogs.

I hate how people say, oh its just a cat. C'mon now they deserve attention too!

I completely agree but that wasn't the reason they denied her. They denied her because she has a job and a child. They felt a child (that age) is too rambunctious for a cat and 8 hours away from home was too long. This reasoning seems a bit far fetched because again I doubt they have staff coming in all day and night to play with however many cats are housed at the shelter. So what's the difference? Big house to play in > itty bitty cage

[fluoxet]

i think it depends on the shelter some are too leniant and some are too strict

This right here. It all depends on where you go

I agree and I will even go as far to say that most APBT in shelters are better off being PTS then landing in the hands of idiots that do not have a clue.

And this. Way too many people adopt a pit bull expecting it to act like a Lab and they set the breed up to fail as a whole

[ValdisSeroff]

Yall apparently have never tried to adopt a cat with small children in the household Most shelters and especially cat rescues won't adopt kittens to households with young children. The working hours part is beyond me, though.

I don't believe in lowering adoption criteria to such a low level that less than stellar homes can adopt just to save more animals from being PTS - but if the criteria is just ridiculous, then some adjusting wouldn't be so bad.

[anderriter]

Further more if there were not so many back yard breeders just throwing two pets together to make puppies the shelters would not be half as full as they are right now.......

[Kitdowstyhodo]

Are you sure it was a shelter and not a rescue? Our shelters are like drive-thru restaurants... "I'll take two dogs and a cat please!"

[DeilMikina]

Having spent time around my 5 year old niece and seen how she treats the cats/dog in her house, I can understand not wanting to give a kitten to someone with a kid that age. They love carrying and dragging cats around, thankfully my sisters cat is very tolerant, but a kitten might not be and a lot of people will dump cats that bite or scratch their kids. Even though my cat hisses, growls and they've been warned she will bite, everytime her kids come over they get in her face, kids just aren't that bright. I'd think an adult cat who's known to be good with kids would be a lot better bet but she could just hit craigslist or the local paper, not like a kitten is hard to find.