Why can't you not get a hold of someone on Easter?

[i4wolves]

Ok background information:

I work at a pet store (one of the biggest chains in the US) and we let the Humane Society's use our store to place their cats they have for adoption. He have enough cages for 10 cats. They are not our cats so we have no control over who gets approved, technically if we want we can deny an adoption because the shelter always asks us what we think. Anyway I have a couple wanting to look at the cats (we have 3 left and they are going back to the shelter today...important). They look at the cages, and they are not to impressed with any of them but they want a cat today. Why they can't wait until tomorrow is beside me. Anyway I explain how the adoption policy works. They fill out paperwork and I noticed on the form that they put it would be both an indoor and an outdoor cat (big no no for the cat to be an outdoor cat for the shelters). So I ask how often it is going to be outside (thinking that it was going to be on a leash). Nope, she said, "It's going to go outdoors when it feels like it because we have a dogie door." OK I try calling the shelter so I can blame them when she gets denied. Likely they don't answer (because then I can call her instead of talking to her in person) and the cats leave today. So I go back out and tell her.

Me
W-Women
M-Man

Me-I am sorry but I cannot get a hold of anyone so I cannot approve the adoption until I have the shelters permission.

Man-So out of all these numbers you cannot get a hold of someone? That is ridiculous

Me- Sir its Easter, they are probably with their families right now.

Man- So that's why were are here. They sould answer their phones. (Note we have the numbers for the people that are in charge of the shelter, cell and home phone numbers)

Women- I guess we cannot save the animals life, it is just going to have to die.

Me Thinking-You would not get approved anyway, and further more its a no kill shelter so the cat will be there until it gets adopted.

Why are some people so inconsiderate?

[greensinestro]

Ok background information:



Why are some people so inconsiderate?

That's a big problem?

In Florida, I deal with this often, particularly when a hurricane has come through. In cable TV, people go berserk when it goes out, yet they still have a roof over their heads, have their electric, water, food in the fridge, what have you.

In my Bellsouth days, we had people who would get livid when they could not get their additional line hooked up for their business, yet were paying residential rates on. Or, they got upset because they needed it badly for the internet, but secondary lines took a back seat to people who had no service at all. "I'm not interested in other people! I demand that you connect my line now!"

I was without TV and the internet for a few days, yet I was thankful to have the power back. I would rather have air conditioning and hot water over phone and TV any day.

[DesignFox]

Didn't you know? We are slaves to the elite class of customers who grace us with their presence in our shops. How DARE we have families we wish to spend time with! Tsk. Tsk. We should go back to our cages in the backroom and come crawling on hands and knees when beckoned by our superiors. Afterall, we LIVE to SERVE!!!!

/extreme sarcasm

[powerboy]

Why is it wrong for a cat to be outside? My cat goes outside sometimes. Or am I stupid for letting my cat enjoy playing outside and getting fresh air?

[MadMike]

Why is it wrong for a cat to be outside? My cat goes outside sometimes. Or am I stupid for letting my cat enjoy playing outside and getting fresh air?

Most shelters won't let you adopt their animals unless they're going to be indoor pets. There are dangers like traffic, other animals, and sick, twisted individuals who like to do horrible things to cats.

Also, some towns are passing laws against letting cats run around loose outside. My own town passed such a law roughly ten years ago. It sucked at the time, because my cats were used to being allowed to come and go as they pleased, and they couldn't understand why I wouldn't let them out anymore. That, and the landlord didn't want four cats in the apartment 24/7, and told me I had to get rid of three of them.

Looking back now, it's probably not such a bad thing. I don't have to worry about what might have happened to them if they don't come back for a day or two (little side-story, one of them got locked in a neighbor's garage by accident, and I didn't find him until days later. He was filthy and hungry, but thankfully, alive). Also, the house I own now is on a fairly busy road, and idiots often come flying down it.

If they want to go outside, I sometimes let them out on the deck. However, I have to keep an eye on them now, since my big orange one, who is way too smart for his own good, figured out a way to get down to the yard from the deck, despite it lacking a stairway.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I had to leave my cat with my parents when I moved out; they live on a very quiet street with little or no traffic so it's perfectly safe for a cat to go out and about. However, where I now live, there's a fairly busy road. Plus, my cat's lived at my parents' house for her entire life (9 years) so she'd probably try to run home.

[technical.angel]

I'm thinking of getting kitty leashes. The ones that are a harness.

Since I don't have a screen door, I put two babygates across my front door. That way, happy breeze and the babies can see me when I'd doing yard work. But I think it would be fun to put their little harnesses on, and let them come out and play with the sticky gum balls, and the bugs, and the birds.....

[FenigDurak]

My cat flips out if she's outside and can't see the front door. I live on the ground floor of an old building, and so she can't go far. She doesn't go out often though. Only when I'm working on a craft project that requires being outside (stinky paint!)

[HALFHUMANHALFZOMBIE]

having a cat is so important for our lives that we have to say it's ridiculous that we can't have one without the shelters approval? Immature morons

[myswtghst]

My kitties like the outdoors, but there is no way on this green earth I'd let them out while not on a leash and harness. I'm sure it's fine in farming areas, and places with little to no traffic, but in this day and age, there are far too many dangers and horrible people to let them wander on their own.

That being said, these people are idiots for thinking they could get a cat the day they wander into the pet store/shelter looking for one. Anytime you deal with a shelter they will have to give approval--I've known places where it could take a week before they give you an answer (I've worked at several shelters and humane societies, and was a foster mommy for hurricane rescue kitties) and that will call your landlord to follow up before they give approval. Given that shelters deal with the pets that people abandon and the animals who are not wanted due to people not spaying/neutering their pets, they have every right to be picky about who they let adopt. Just my 2cents.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Why were they so bent on having a cat that day? Was it an Easter present for their kid or something? (If so, I'd call that a red flag, personally.)

My first cat was a stray; he just showed up in our driveway one day, and apparently decided he wanted to stay. He just hung around until he gradually worked his way into the house (first a box and some old towels on the porch, then some food, then short visits inside...eventually my mom took him to the vet and then he was ours). He went out like a dog, though, and he'd roam around for a few hours and come home. He'd get in fights sometimes, though, and twice he had to go to the vet because he got scratched in the face and it got infected and turned into an abcess. Really gross.

Our cats now are indoor, though my mom sometimes takes Stripes out on the leash. (I think she shouldn't, since it gives him ideas and he has no claws.) He doesn't seem to like the grass, though. Stars is terrified to go outside. Last summer when they were still babies we brought them out into the screen house; we take them out through the garage. We'll see how she feels about that when the screen house goes back up soon. My dad tried to put her on the leash last week and she freaked out as soon has he opened the door and was traumatized for the rest of the night.

I go over to my nearby branch of your store and visit the kitties sometimes. Last time there was a really cute gray Munchkin and I wanted to bring her home with me

[Primer]

Why is it wrong for a cat to be outside?

A fully indoor cat can easily be expected to have a lifespan of 15-18+ years.

A fully outdoor cat is lucky to have a lifespan of 2-5 years.

An indoor/outdoor cat will fall somewhere in between, but usually 7-10 years.

Outdoors, cats may be exposed to many more dangers, such as other cats, dogs, cars, coyotes (even in town!) FIV, leukemia, feline AIDS, distemper, etc.

Whoever is in charge of the adoptions has every right to dictate the conditions to which the animal will be adopted.

Whoever owns the animal has every right (within reason) to dictate the animal's living conditions.

YMMV.

[BookstoreEscapee]

An indoor/outdoor cat will fall somewhere in between, but usually 7-10 years.

Our indoor/outdoor cat was probably around 12-15ish when he died. The vet estimated he was around 5 when he first showed up, and we had him for 7 years, but before he died the vet said he thought he was older than he originally estimated. So we don't really know...

[myswtghst]

Outdoors, cats may be exposed to many more dangers, such as...coyotes (even in town!)

Not to go OT, but did anyone see the news story about the coyote that wandered into a Quizno's in downtown Chicago? He just walked in (the door was propped open) and chilled out, quite literally, in the cooler.

We live in the burbs, and we see coyotes all the time, including the one that sneaks into my parents backyard and steals my dog's bones (she gets the stinky pig bones with meat still on em and such that she's not allowed to chew in the house).

[BookstoreEscapee]

I did see that, just caught the end of the story on the news, where the animal control people had the snare around his neck but he was still in the store.