Karma Was Adopted and I Freaked Out!

A family came in to adopt a kitty named Duchess.  I brought them to her room and they petted her but for some reason, they didn't seem too impressed with her. Somehow, they did not know she had FIV, even though it says that in her description and there is a special symbol by her name on Petfinder. *shrug*  I talked to them like they knew she had FIV and they said they had not even heard of it before.

As they were leaving because they were no longer interested in adopting Duchess, they saw some pictures of Karma on the table.  They asked about her and I showed them to her her cage which was in the same room.

They ended up wanting to adopt her!  I feel suspicious about someone who comes in for a specific kitty but wants to adopt another one once they get to the shelter.  It tells me that they are not sure of what they want and that worries me.  For example, Duchess is an overweight, older kitty (I think she is around 5), who has FIV.  They ended up saying they wanted a 9 month old kitten who has a history of serious injuries.  There is quite a difference there.  Also, they look nothing like each other.

I gave them a pre-adoption form and saw some things that worried me.  Their previous kitty was front paw declawed and she marked that one of the problems she was *not* willing to work with was litter box problems.  Well, I am very opposed to declawing especially with Karma who already had 2 surgeries.  She was shaking when I brought her to the vet for her check up. I think she thought she was there for another surgery.

Karma sometimes misses the litter box.  I talked to the vet about it and she believes that Karma may have some numbness due to her injuries and surgeries which makes her "aim" off.  The numbness may never go away.  She sometimes defecates right outside the litter box even though she is standing in the box.  Once or twice, she also has urinated outside the box.

The vet said this may never go away so if this woman is is not willing to work with litter box problems, Karma is probably not right for her.

I felt that the children with her were pressuring her to adopt Karma because she is so cute and friendly.

The people ended up leaving, saying they wanted to think about it.  I really did not think they would come back.  I was talking to the other adoption counselors about them, trying to get their perspective about the family. They are removed from the situation so they don't have the emotional bond with Karma that I have that may cloud my judgement.  Also, one of the counselors told me that she had discussed declawing Karma and they both felt that Karma should not be declawed because she had already been through enough trauma.  So, that was good.  I never want my foster kitties to be declawed but if they are under 1 year, the shelter will allow it.  But not with Karma. About 10 minutes before adoptions were over, the family walked in with an empty carrier and smiles on their faces.

I was completely caught off guard.

I started to sweat and shake slightly.  I had already put them out of my mind because generally, people who leave, do not come back for the cat they were thinking about adopting.  So, the family came in and sat down and said they decided that they wanted to adopt her.

I told the mother that I felt Karma was really freaked out because it was her first adoptions and that the kitties around her in the other cages were hissing and growling at each other.  Also, she had received a shot and a microchip just the night before at the shelter and (I think) was scared that she was going to get another one.  We talked about her litter box issues again and I feel that she will be okay with it.  I said that it maybe happens once a week.  We also told her that the "head honcho" of the cat house said that Karma cannot be declawed.

I must have look visibly shaken because the mother offered to wait until later in the week to pick her up. After they left, I was still shaking and I felt embarrassed at how I acted.  Looking back, I feel that I might have overreacted a bit.  I didn't feel that at the time, though.

I told my boyfriend later that night that I guess I wasn't as good at keeping myself a little disconnected from my fosters.  I love them and treat them the same as my own cats but I always believe that I do not get attached to them so it enables me to give them up without causing myself pain.

I guess with Karma anyway, I didn't do that.

When she came to me, she still had a broken leg, two broken hips and a fractured pelvis.  She did not have her first surgery for 4 days.  She was dehydrated, hungry and very thin.  So, we took the weekend to get her rehydrated and give her some food so she would have energy to go through the surgery.  She had one surgery in January to fix her broken leg and one hip.  She had her second surgery in February to fix her other hip and spay her.

We went through a lot with her and I guess I was more concerned about her than I let myself believe.

So, I am preparing myself for her new parents to pick her up Wednesday at 4.