Adopting a cat using social media

I’ve titled this because I’d like to share my experiences on adopting a cat using social media. Not only will this include Facebook, but any social media that offers cats using Petfinder, Craigslist or your local online newspaper. While I don’t approve of Craigslist because of the danger of meeting a real wacko, a lot of people search for a cat using their services

Michael had questions in his article about the adoption of Cali, who was adopted using a photo found on social media, and then sent on a journey across America. Michael made the comment wondering how anyone can fall in love with a photo. I’d like to try and answer that question, because several cats in our home were adopted using only a photo.

MANDYLANE
I’ve written about Mandy in the past for PoC. She’s my sweetest cat. Mandy was our first rescue, along with her brothers Jasper and Sammy. The three kittens were on the Greenville County Pet Rescue Facebook page, and Mandy really got my attention in her photo. Not because she was beautiful-but because she was SO ugly! I was afraid if I didn’t speak up to save her, no one would want her because of her appearance. As you can see, Mandy turned into a real beauty, who’s as sweet as she is beautiful. Laura and I took the three kittens home after falling in love with a photo.

CASSIE
Cassie had a story behind her photo. She was found along Interstate 85 a week after a blizzard dumped almost a foot of ice on the area. Cassie was named Scrawny at the shelter, and her photo showed a skinny black kitten with a bad URI. Cassie’s photo really spoke to me. It said “Here I am mama. Come and save me.HURRY MAMA!” I was so desperate to save her that I started driving, only to receive a phone call from the shelter that she couldn’t leave until her stray holding period was up. Cassie was in horrible shape and had to go through a round of antibiotics to clear up the nasty upper respiratory infection. She’s turned into a giant long-haired black beauty who likes to keep to herself. She enjoys sleeping on soft pillows and looking out Laura’s window.

SEALY
There are very few out there who know me who haven’t heard the story of Sealy and how he was critically injured in a car fan blade accident back in February 2012. I saw his photo on the Greenville County Pet Rescue euthanasia list. His photo showed a cat who had given up on life. More than anything, I wanted to wipe that depressed expression off his face.We believe Sealy is a very old cat. He’s toothless and has little hunched over shoulders and dark specks in his eyes that younger cats don’t have.

Sealy will celebrate his two year anniversary with us on February 24. He’s totally healed, and is spoiled beyond belief. Sealy enjoys laying in my lap-a LOT! As in HOURS each day. And he’s very pushy about his desire to receive daily back rubs and to be held like a baby and all the other things I never thought would be part of his personality. People see photos of Sealy and ask what’s wrong with him. You see, Sealy had some brain damage where the car fan blade/belt slash into his skull. He either stares at me or won’t look at me at all.

Sealy was adopted using only a photo.

RESCUES AND TRANSPORTERS
There are many out there who now choose to adopt a cat from far away by photo alone. This also is true about many out of state rescues who “pull” cats from high-kill shelters in NC/SC. They have to determine which cats to bring into their rescue to adopt out and they have to do this without ever meeting the cat. Many times a shelter rescue coordinator will supply personality traits in the cats profile. It’s important to know if a cat won’t tolerate other cats or children or dogs.

Many rescues from up north choose cats out of the same shelter where we adopted the majority of our cats. There’s a shortage of cats up north, but I’m not sure why. Perhaps there’s less “farmland” where cats tend to breed and breed and breed until the family takes the cat to the shelter or until the cat dies. There will never be enough homes in the south for the sheer number of cats born, especially in the south.

Private adopters are no longer held back geographically as to where to choose a cat. Perhaps they follow a favorite shelter, such as Laura and I follow the Greenville shelter. Or maybe they’re just surfing different animal shelters on Facebook and find the cat of their dreams in a far away state.

While distance once prevented a cat from relocating, it’s only a small part of the adoption process these days. In other words, any cat you fall in love with a photo alone can be brought to you by a transporter or shipped through a commercial airline. Sorry if this sounds a bit like sending a package, but that’s how the world works these days.

There are even transport services out there who will drive non-stop from point A to point B to deliver your cat. These cost more than when your new cat is shipped along with a dozen others using a van or covered pickup truck. I have a big respect for transporters. Imagine having to listen to a dozen or more cats as the meow and cry in the cages. Plus there’s the responsibility of getting the cat safely from point A to point B.

HAVE YOU FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A PHOTO?
Have any of you ever fallen in love with a cat from far away when you came across a photo of that cat? Would you chance an adoption where you didn’t meet the cat before signing the final paperwork? Your comments are welcome.

Elisa

Related PoC articles both on adopting from long distance: Art 1 and Art 2.