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- Feb 15, 2010
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I'm grappling with the decision of whether to approve or deny a family who have applied to adopt one of my fosters. The cat, Lilly, has been with us for two years since she was a kitten. Her eight littermates were adopted a long time ago but because Lilly is black nobody has expressed any interest in her. Now there has finally been a family who has expressed interest in her. Their application looks just fine and I did a home visit with them today with Lilly. They seemed like nice people and I'm sure they would take good care of a cat. The problem though is that I don't think they would be a good match for Lilly and I don't think she would be a good match for them. They have two 4-year olds and I think they want a little cat they can cuddle with and carry around but I don't think Lilly would be willing to play along with that. She's a sweet and friendly cat but she's also pretty independent and prefers human contact on her terms. I think the family is looking for a social, cuddly cat that the kids can play with and that's not Lilly.
Because Lilly has been with me since she was very little the transition to a new home is not going to be easy. I have no doubt that she will come around and be a wonderful cat for someone but whoever adopts her needs to know how to help the cat come around and unfortunately this family has no cat experience. I'm also afraid that two rowdy 4-year olds, as 4-year olds tend to be, would be quite frightening to Lilly and make the transition harder.
Basically, I don't think this family is right for Lilly and I don't think she is right for them. But would I be a complete idiot to turn down a family for a little black cat who has been waiting to be adopted for two years? I'm really split about this so I could use some input from other people. There is nothing particularly wrong with the family. They seem nice and responsible. I just don't feel right about it. But then again Lilly is a hard to place cat. We have some plans on advertising her more through flyers and on the internet and I hope something will come of that but maybe nothing better will come. So would it be foolish to turn down this family? Should I go through with the adoption or should I hold on to Lily and work towards finding her a more suitable family? What do you think?
Because Lilly has been with me since she was very little the transition to a new home is not going to be easy. I have no doubt that she will come around and be a wonderful cat for someone but whoever adopts her needs to know how to help the cat come around and unfortunately this family has no cat experience. I'm also afraid that two rowdy 4-year olds, as 4-year olds tend to be, would be quite frightening to Lilly and make the transition harder.
Basically, I don't think this family is right for Lilly and I don't think she is right for them. But would I be a complete idiot to turn down a family for a little black cat who has been waiting to be adopted for two years? I'm really split about this so I could use some input from other people. There is nothing particularly wrong with the family. They seem nice and responsible. I just don't feel right about it. But then again Lilly is a hard to place cat. We have some plans on advertising her more through flyers and on the internet and I hope something will come of that but maybe nothing better will come. So would it be foolish to turn down this family? Should I go through with the adoption or should I hold on to Lily and work towards finding her a more suitable family? What do you think?