A Tale Of 2 Kitties
How To Successfully Transition A Cat To Its New Home
This is a tale of 2 kitties that were adopted from my rescue just days apart from each other. They are of similar age and personality; both have been at the rescue all their lives. One adoption was successful, 1 was not.
I corresponded a lot with both adopters, checked their references, spoke with their vets. They both had great meet and greets, and the cats were receptive to their adopters. We talked at length at how best to acclimate the cats to their new home environment and we all agreed that the cats would have a room (a safe space) with the door kept closed where the cat would be kept for at least a week (possibly 2 or even longer) for the cat to decompress and be alone where their water, food and litter box would be.
The adopter would go into that room to check to be sure the cat was eating, drinking and using the litter box and to familiarize the cat with them (the adopter) and their new home. If there was any issue with eating or drinking, I was to be contacted so I could either visit and assess and assist the cat or give the adopters ideas of how to entice the cat to eat. After the acclimation period the safe space room would still be assessable to the cat if it got frightened or stressed until the litter box, food and water could be successfully moved to a new easily accessible, acceptable (to the cat) place.
After I took the cats for a final vet check before they left for their new homes, their adopters arrived at the rescue to pick them up. It’s my general practice to keep in touch frequently with the new adopters to be sure the cat is eating, drinking and using their litter box.
The successful adopter did everything I suggested to help make a smooth transition. She was patient, understanding and cared more about the cat’s comfort, security and stress level than her own. This cat has a wonderful, loving lifelong home barring any unforeseen circumstances.
The unsuccessful adopter wanted almost instant results, even though she’d agreed to take things slowly and at the cat’s pace. Three days after this adopter took the cat home, she told me (only after I contacted her) the cat wasn’t eating or drinking and was hiding. Hiding is normal but eating and drinking nothing for 3 days is not. I drove to the adopter’s home and got the cat to eat and drink and calm down. The adopter said she loved the cat and wanted to give it 2 weeks to see if it worked out — cats and dogs can take up to 3 months to decompress and feel totally comfortable in a new home.
This adopter then said she wanted to allow the cat access to the rest of the house immediately to get acquainted with its new surrounding and with the other pets. I strongly suggested she not do that since I was concerned if the cat wasn’t eating and drinking in its safe space it certainly would not do so with access to the whole house. I was also concerned this cat would slip out of the new house and have no idea where to go.
At that point I realized this adopter was much more concerned about what she wanted than what was best or comfortable for the cat, and that’s not a safe place for a cat to be.
Unfortunately, this adopter went against my wishes and brought the cat out of her safe space and into the main part of the house the very next day. She then told me via email she thought the cat was not a good fit for her household — just the day before she wanted to give the cat at least 2 weeks to see if it would “fit in”.
I was relieved to pick the cat up and bring her home. When I arrived at the adopter’s home, the terrified cat was hiding under a blanket behind the couch in the living room licking her lips from stress. She would have likely shut down in a matter of a days and died since cats can’t store life giving protein in their bodies like dogs do.
Animal rescue is difficult and rewarding, worth the effort and frustratingly tiring at the same time. Though I am extremely cautious about who adopts my rescues, some people are still dishonest about their real intentions.
Fortunately, even though both of these adoptions took very different twists and turns, both cats are now happy and loved and cherished — 1 at their new adoptive home, the other at my rescue.
Jackie Deems copyright 2022
