Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Introduction

I was back at the shelter this afternoon.  My house was just a little too quiet after my last foster was adopted and there was a 5 month tabby boy with my name on him.  I think I'm going to name him "Pete", but am wondering if that name is going to stick.

Pete had been at the shelter since before Christmas.  I did something I never do, but when I brought him home I opened the carrier and let him out.  No introductions.  Nothing.  Everybody else seems to do it without a bunch of drama, so I decided to give it a try. 

Pete's been under my bed since his arrival, but heard me sing the "dinner song"  (don't ask.) and came right out.  Ahhh.....food motivated!

I've mentioned this in prior posts, but I must say once again how VERY stressful it is to introduce a new cat to the others.  Good Lord, my stomach is in knots.  I really empathize with adopters who are bringing a new cat home permanently and have to go through the introduction process.  There are moments where I think "What the hell am I doing?? Everything was peaceful until I brought so-and-so home."

But I press on and give comfort to others in the same boat.

We had a prior adopter call today.  She adopted a cat from us months ago and sadly the poor little darling was diagnosed with FIP.  FIP is fatal and the cat wasn't doing well.  I offered my heartfelt condolences and we talked quite some time.  It wasn't until we were about to hang up the phone that the adopter told me that she felt that I should pay for her cat's euthanasia. 

This is the part about rescue I have the hardest time with - dealing with this kind of thing.  It's a tough one, because she was grieving and a very nice lady.  Tough one, because there's no way I feel obligated to pay for a euthanasia on a cat that was adopted months ago. 

But I press on...

The house is quiet as "Pete" (or whatever we're calling this little dude) muddles through the house and figures out where his place belongs in the hierarchy. 

Funny....because I feel the same way most of the time. :)

4 comments:

Caroline said...

We the readers, need to see some pics of this new Pete guy! We would also like the lyrics to the dinner song, lol.

Steve Bartlett said...

As you know, I always toss new adult foster cats into the general turmoil of my house right away, and let them get on with the dogs and other cats on their own. Sure there's lots of wailing and hissing for a day or two, but it's like learning to swim -- just dive in the deep end. Moms with kittens are worse -- I keep them segregated until the kittens are old enough to explore and socialize, but it seems to make it tougher on the mom.

Josie said...

I'll be honest, I went through the introduction process quickly with each of my cats. Mainly because my small house-apartment sucks. Thank goodness I have found a perfect 3some...but I went though that gut-knot, "what the hell did I just do?!" ....no matter how many times I have and will go through it...it'll never go away. :)

Anonymous said...

I feel for you, Beth :-) Introductions can be quite stressful. I am very lucky with my guys, they greet any new arrival (if there's no need for quarrantine, I'm of the "toss 'm in and see what happens" approach) as a long lost friend and even if the newbie hisses and growls, my guys never reciprocate (You know Bertie, he's a complete sweetheart!). They keep trying to be friends and so far they have won everybody over with their laid-back, free-headlicks-for-all-attitude :-)

I'm usually much more stressed because I don't 'know" the cat yet.... "Is he/she drinking too much?", "Is that walk normal for him/her?", "Is he/she breathing funny?" Lol, once I've got a cat figured out, I'm okay but those first few days I watch 'm like a hawk...

I'm very sorry to hear about the adopter whose cat developed FIP :( It's a nasty, nasty disease and you wouldn't wish the experience one anyone. I don't agree with her on asking you to pay for euthenasia though. Especially if the cat had been adopted months ago.

Cindy, Bertie, Sammy, Malley, Batman and Garth.