adult homeless foster cats | Savannah's Paw Tracks

18 Jan 2016

Happy Tails Ending: Round Up Report

HIYA! SAVANNAH HERE!!

You know I like to keep my paws in all things about cat rescue here in my community, right? And lots of times I share the stories of cats, usually adult cats, who are searching for a forever home. I decided my readers deserve a Round Up Report to share what is going on in the lives of the cats I write about and also those I come across who have a great rescue story to share.

First, I am excited to be able to share some news about some of the Adult Homeless Foster Cats (AHFC) I interviewed in late 2015.

My interview series featured 7 adult homeless foster cats, representative of all those adult cats who languish in foster care across the USA, and the world. Humans do not always see that an adult cat, even a senior cat, can be the best fur family member ever.

Remember the first AHFC cats I interviewed? Coco and Chanel. Well, they were ADOPTED TOGETHER!! A very nice lady saw them on the CC4C website. She was looking for a tuxedo cat, but went home with BOTH! The two girls have very happy tails indeed!

Another AHFC I interviewed was Queen Victoria Noire. She had a tough time because she was adopted twice, and returned within a day both times. The adopters did not follow the foster human’s instructions about how to make sure Noire was comfy before trying to ask too much of her. After the second return, Noire was very distressed and depressed. She was forming a close bond with her foster human…and yes, Noire is also adopted now…by her foster human!

The other AHFCats I shared through my interviews, Irish, Nicky and Patches remain, sadly, unadopted. If you are able please be sure to share their stories once again. I sure do appreciate it.

Now one more Happy Tails Ending I just learned about today. This is sure to put a smile on your face. I just posted about the Return to Field (RTF) Program my pals from Outcast Cat Help implemented last year in partnership with my county’s Animal Services shelter. Well take a look at this adult senior cat who was liberated from a life in the wild to a life of luxury…just from being discovered by my county Animal Services shelter and the founder, Ms Julie, of Outcast Cat Help.

Oliver (renamed Mortimer) is a 12 year old cat that came to the Martinez shelter as a stray & ended up in the feral room in November 2015. This sweet boy was born with a split nose/cleft palate. It was determined that he was not a good RTF candidate due to his health & age; so we marketed him on our FB page. His photos caught the eye of Milo’s Sanctuary, Inc. in LA, and we assisted them with his adoption/ transfer. We received the below update & photos from his caregiver Michele. Thank you for rescuing wonderful Oliver/ Mortimer, he really is living the Life of Riley!

“Mortimer was transported to Milo’s Sanctuary in Los Angeles and was super-skinny, with broken teeth and anemic. Well we can happily say he’s doing great! He had his dental to remove his teeth (we couldn’t do it until he was stronger and his anemia had gotten better). Mortimer came through his dental with flying colors, the bad teeth are gone, he’s gained weight and his anemia is completely resolved. This darling senior boy with a cleft palate is a shining star here at Milo’s and we want to thank everyone involved in his rescue including Outcast Cat Help, his Foster home in N California and his personal chauffeur to Los Angeles! It takes a village and we are proud to be a part of this one!”

That’s my Happy Tails Ending: Round Up for this month. I bet’cha you have a grin like a cat on ‘nip’ just reading about these Happy Tails!!!

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

Posted in Adult Cat Rescue and tagged adult homeless foster cats, happy tails endings, paw it forward

09 Nov 2015

24 Comments

Adult Homeless Foster Cats’ Personal Insights

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

Most of my readers know that I have been running a series of posts featuring Adult Homeless Foster Cats. I have interviewed seven of these wonderful, adoptable cats and hope that their revelation of their hopes and dreams of what their forever home looks like has inspired some of you to promote them like crazy. Or, if not the seven I featured, I sincerely hope it has prompted my readers to begin to seriously promote this community of cats that if not placed, become forever in foster…they are in sanctuary but have not real home to call their own.

For myself, I gained incredible insights into these very special Adult Homeless Foster Cats. Their hopes and dreams were just the same as mine when I was living in, thankfully, a no kill shelter. Of course, that was ‘after’ I was schedule for ‘euthanasia’ and before my ‘foster’ pulled me. I was An Adult Homeless Shelter Cat for over a year. Surely, if we all work really hard, we can help the often forgotten Adults, living in foster homes, find their real permanent families.

Let me share what this amazing population of Adult Homeless Foster Cats revealed to me…

1 Adult cats have memories; we have experienced abandonment, rejection, and much more from humans; please be patient with us.

2. When presented at public adoption sites; i.e. pet supply stores, adoption events, etc.…we often become reticent and anxious with all the unfamiliar smells and sounds. Our REAL SELF cannot be revealed. Meet us in a quiet place to learn our true character.

3. We get scared if you don’t give us time to become acquainted with you and the new smells of your home. Adopters often fail to follow the explicit instruction of our foster human; i.e. “keep the cat in one room, visit, play, talk with the cat, etc. for at least a week if no other cats in the home and for 2-4 weeks if it is a home with one or more cats”…

4. Kittens have to be trained to the litter box and miss once in a while and yet this is acceptable to humans. However, we adult adopted cats are returned far more often because we may, in the initial orientation period, have a little accident or two. We don’t mean to, but we are nervous and need your support.

5. Adopters assume that we are no longer playful, especially if we are seniors, aged 8 and above. And yet, we adult cats in the senior age group often have never been played with and crave being able to exercise our hunting and playful energies.

6. We adult cats have a personality. In time, with encouragement, we will carefully give our forever family glimpses into our REAL SELF. Adopters of Adult Homeless Foster Cats often remark at the pleasure of having ‘won’ our affection and trust.

7. Humans fail to realize the incredible pleasure that they can realize when they allow us to demonstrate our preferences to enable a loving, mutually caring and affectionate relationship to evolve.

I found a quote that I believe appropriately sums up what I have learned from the Adult Homeless Foster Cats I interviewed. Let me know what you think in comments please.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed…” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

And that is what Adult Homeless Foster Cats want their forever homes to understand about them. They have so much to give, with time and patience and caring, you will become forever theirs.