Adoptions in these times, Foster-to-Adopt
As many of you are aware, it became clear in mid- March that Vermont was going to need to prepare and hunker down for the on-coming COVID-19 virus. The Board made the decision to cease having adoption hours at the Shelter. And almost immediately, we decided to put all our cats into foster. We put out a call to our volunteers, and they were stunning. We had more volunteers offer to foster than we had cats. We made it known on social media that people could apply to adopt a cat, but that it wouldn’t be able to be finalized until the cats were back in the Shelter and we could meet the adopter and they could meet the cat of interest and see if it was a good fit. It began to be evident that this could be a long time. The cats are, of course, quite happy in their homes. But it was hard on applicants having to wait to find out. And then, along came Zoom. After some quick lessons in Zooming, some of the adoption counselors are now able to “meet” the tentatively approved applicants in their homes, meet the family members, including any pets, see the home...and even ask the fosters and fostered cats to join in the zoom meeting, so that the potential adopters can “meet” the cat they are interested in. Working long distance via phone and email, and utilizing Zoom, we now have five cats going to their new homes in the next two weeks, some fostering-to-adopt, to see if it is a good fit. Let’s take a journey through some of these cats that are going home. Jordy is going home May 16, Sage is going home May 6, Skittles went home April 25. Tuga is going home May 11. And Lola may be going home soon. We just need a zoom meeting. In addition, two kitties have been adopted by their fosters, Anakin to Deb Moore (a KAS Board member) and Libby to Jan Nutting.
Tuga
-Pearl Aberehard, ten year old KAS Volunteer
As soon as I saw Tuga I fell in love with her and she is one of the sweetest things in the world. It is very exciting for her to come to me for a forever home! I am counting up the days until I get her back from the vet where she is losing more weight. Every night Tuga would go up her homemade ramp onto my bed, walk over the covers and then lay down beside me and start purring. Also a funny thing is that she loves the dog water and if you put her water by the dog water she would choose the dog water. Another funny and surprising thing is that she reared up on her hind legs to get her food. She makes me feel happy and I love her a lot. I have always wanted a cat ever since I was two and the first thing my mom said when we walked into the shelter to volunteer was “we are never getting a cat” but now we have one.
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Jordy
Fostering with Nicole Tucker; going home with Shawn Trader and Alex Leblanc May 16
Jordy is shy and won't be afraid of hissing at you when he doesn't like something, but he is also the most gentle cat I've seen. He'll probably never be a lap cat but he will hang around in the room you are in if you give him time to get comfortable. He is very talkative and says the cutest things. He loves other cats and really opens up around them, so he should really be in a home with others of his kind.
If Jordy trusts you and is in a good mood, he will let you slowly approach from behind while he is watching over his shoulder and allow you to pet his lower back. It's a little hard to do, since approaching from in front of him doesn't work but he needs to know you're coming from behind so you don't startle him. His favorite area is on his back between his legs' "shoulder blades." If you pet from there to the tip of his tail but not any further up, he may even start purring. In a loving, quiet home where humans won't startle him with sudden movement and with a lot of time and patience he might learn to accept even more human interaction.
Fostering with Nicole Tucker; going home with Shawn Trader and Alex Leblanc May 16
Jordy is shy and won't be afraid of hissing at you when he doesn't like something, but he is also the most gentle cat I've seen. He'll probably never be a lap cat but he will hang around in the room you are in if you give him time to get comfortable. He is very talkative and says the cutest things. He loves other cats and really opens up around them, so he should really be in a home with others of his kind.
If Jordy trusts you and is in a good mood, he will let you slowly approach from behind while he is watching over his shoulder and allow you to pet his lower back. It's a little hard to do, since approaching from in front of him doesn't work but he needs to know you're coming from behind so you don't startle him. His favorite area is on his back between his legs' "shoulder blades." If you pet from there to the tip of his tail but not any further up, he may even start purring. In a loving, quiet home where humans won't startle him with sudden movement and with a lot of time and patience he might learn to accept even more human interaction.
Lola’s Journey to Adoptability
Lola came to Kingdom Animal Shelter with the warning that she was not well-socialized, that she didn’t like petting, and that she would bite. Lola went to Ruth Rubin as a foster. Her journey with Ruth has been absolutely heart-warming. At first, Lola hid in her safe room. Then slowly, she would peek out from behind the couch. Then...she would get on Ruth’s lap for some petting...and not just for a few minutes. Lola began to be comfortable with Ruth’s big dog. They would lie together and touch noses. Lola then ventured out of her safe room, and enjoyed sitting in the window. And now, she is up in Ruth’s bed, feeling quite comfortable. She is such a different cat than we first thought. Ruth has done a fabulous job with her.
Lola came to Kingdom Animal Shelter with the warning that she was not well-socialized, that she didn’t like petting, and that she would bite. Lola went to Ruth Rubin as a foster. Her journey with Ruth has been absolutely heart-warming. At first, Lola hid in her safe room. Then slowly, she would peek out from behind the couch. Then...she would get on Ruth’s lap for some petting...and not just for a few minutes. Lola began to be comfortable with Ruth’s big dog. They would lie together and touch noses. Lola then ventured out of her safe room, and enjoyed sitting in the window. And now, she is up in Ruth’s bed, feeling quite comfortable. She is such a different cat than we first thought. Ruth has done a fabulous job with her.