Is it practical and sensible to adopt a rescue cat, which by chance, is 3,000 miles from where you live? Is it a folly to try to do this or is it heroic? An heroic effort to adopt an unwanted cat at any cost, almost. What an effort! How commonplace is this in America?
There would have to be a gigantic transportation effort. It is the sort of transportation challenge that many cat breeders don’t entertain mainly because it is too stressful and hazardous for the cat and what about the cost? Also arguably there is no need for this sort of long distance transportation because there should be someone who is local or certainly within a reasonable distance. For rescue cats that doesn’t apply, it seems. Are there guidelines on cat transportation amongst cat rescue organisations?
Well, a person living near the Pacific coast in California tried to adopt a rescue cat that was with a foster carer in North Carolina, which is the other side of the United States, almost 3,000 miles away. In this instance the kitten/cat was flown from Gaston County, North Carolina to LA, California (note: the cat was actually flown from Wilmington, North Carolina – sorry but not much difference). The last leg of the journey to Santa Rosa, California was probably planed to be by road.
The super long distance adoption failed when the 8 month old kitten, Cali, escaped the transportation container at Santa Clarita which is a suburb of Los Angeles (correction: Cali escaped a property where the person transporting the cat was staying – a “condo”). Cali had been transported across the entire breadth of America from East to West but tragically the last leg could not be made because she has gone, lost and cannot be found.
Tell me, was this:
- (a) an adoption too far, too difficult or too risky or
- (b) a tremendous effort that unfortunately failed to place a vulnerable and precious rescue cat in a good home in sunny California?
Good point Elisa. Americans do have a different concept of what a long way is to the Brits. However, it does seem questionable whether adopting a cat on the other side of America is sensible. And the super effort involved – care and dedication from the volunteers transporting Cali – is contrasted with the casual mass euthanasia of the other less lucky shelter cats. It is odd. It seems uncoordinated.
Why didn’t this lady adopt a cat from a local shelter?
Elisa, do you have figures of the average distance cats and dogs are transported from shelters to their adopters home? It seems that transporting long distances is accepted as normal. Is that correct?
Exactly Michael! If people can go to all that trouble and expense to transport one cat so far, why can’t more be done on behalf of ALL cats!
Thanks Elisa. I hope I am being fair in asking a question whether it is sensible to adopt a shelter cat from 3,000 miles away. People should not take umbrage. I am not making a statement.
Thanks Ruth. I think the story highlights a kind of desperation about rehoming rescue cats. Why is one cat being transported 3,000 miles to be rehomed and saved while millions of others are deliberately killed at shelters. It just seems bizarre to me. It is great to save a life and rehome a cat – really wonderful and a great effort but I feel there should be more focus and effort (and coordination amongst many organisations) on the bigger problems of stopping the mass killings.
I find it shocking that no one in the area where Cali was needing a home would adopt her, an 8 month old kitten, put through the stress of that long journey. Cats hate being confined, most hate travelling, no wonder she took the chance to escape when she was able to.
I also find it shocking that so many cats are murdered in gas chambers and can’t help wondering why there is not a huge education/neutering campaign by cat lovers across the entire country.
Still, knowing that the mutilation of cats by declawing is still legal there it seems that there are not enough people there fighting for cats at all.
Michael says it’s a sad state of affairs at Rescue Shelters, I say it’s a sad state of affairs for cats altogether and I feel deeply sorry for the people who do love cats and care that such awful things are happening, I’d go insane with sorrow if this was happening in our country.