This is another slice of human madness. It is the season for it. A woman adapted a cat from a shelter which is part of Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department and soon afterwards she sues the shelter.
The shelter staff say they interview cat adopters thoroughly and do all that they can to ensure the adaption is successful. This includes ensuring the adopter provides her new cat companion with plenty of time to settle into her new home. This is important. Cats need time and patience from their new caretaker.
In this instance the woman concerned, Andrea Hauff, says that not long after she adopted her cat (named Caspia) she was hiding behind her couch. It is fairly clear to me that Caspia was still uncertain about her new surroundings. She is a timid cat, it seems.
Anyway, Andrea reached into the space behind the couch were Caspia was hiding and was bitten hard on her hand. She claims:
“The cat locked her jaws around one hand [and] would not let go..”
As a consequence Andrea had to attend hospital where she remained for several days at a cost to her of $18,000. Her claim seeks the recovery of her medical bill, costs and interest.
Andrea also claims that the shelter knew Caspia was “scared” and failed to notify her. This would be a misrepresentation by the shelter if it was true.
What can we make of this unusual case? The shelter will no doubt defend the claim. They should because it has little chance of success in my view. Andrea’s lawyer has probably taken on the case to make some easy bucks knowing that it is a poor case.
Why is there little chance of success? Firstly the shelter will say that they did inform Andrea of Caspia’s background and character. They make the point:
“We spend a lot of time in adoption counseling,” Melinda Bean (a volunteer) said. “We spend a lot of time talking to the owners first… understanding their household.”
Secondly, Andrea is the author of her own misfortune. She stuck her hand down the back of a couch to try and get hold of her cat. If you know cats this sort of scenario is quite likely to provoke a defensive or playful attitude from a cat even a well domesticated and confident cat.
Put it this way: what Andrea did was not a good idea under the circumstances. Her cat was hiding. She would had done far better to have let Caspia stay where she was for as long as she wanted and then if needs be to entice her out with a food treat. But never force the issue.
Andrea has failed to be sensitive enough towards her cat while she was settling in to her new home. Bottom line: that is the cause of the bite.
Andrea had false expectations regarding the time required for her cat to settle in. The shelter staff would have made it abundantly clear that all adopters must provide a safe room or space for newly adopted cats. It seems that Andrea herself is in breach of the shelter contract rather than the other way around.
I am presuming that she is suing in contract.
Melinda makes the good point that a common mistake by cat adopters from her shelter is not being sufficiently patient to allow their new cat companion to settle in.
“It’s going too quick and not following the guidelines we give for a safe room,” Bean said. “The most important thing for a shy cat is a safe room.”
There is another point to make. Anyone at anytime can be bitten by their cat. It should be rare and it should not happen but it can and it is part and parcel of cat ownership. The cat owner takes responsibility for this and accepts it. The shelter is not liable at this point.
Andrea’s case is undermined, perhaps fatally, by the fact that Caspia was subsequently adopted by another person where she has settled in because the shelter has not received a request to take her back.
The female kitten in this story would be spayed before adoption. What a silly argument.
When I brought my previous cat, Masha, home, her first reaction was also to hide under the bed. She was my first cat, yet I had brains to call my friend who had more experience with cats and ask for advice, I didn’t try to pull her out. It’s common sense. I tried to cajole her out with food, then just left food for her and left her alone. It took her a while to get out.
My current two also hid under the bed – and these two were very outgoing kittens in the rescue. They got out quickly after I showed them the toy, but all cats are different. I know someone whose new kitten stayed under the bed for 3 weeks only getting out to eat (when nobody was looking) and do her business, but he became extremely friendly after 3 weeks and craving attention.
The woman was stupid. First of all, when you take a cat or a dog, you know that you may get scratched or bitten, if it’s an issue, you get a fluffy toy. Even a very friendly cat can attack given the right circumstances. You also read about them in advance and learn what to expect initially.
What an idiotic comment, only someone who knows nothing about cats (or for that matter dogs) can write something that stupid. When a cat comes to a home, it’s new surrounding for a cat, the cat is scared. Anybody with brains would know to leave the cat alone. The cat didn’t jump the woman without provocation, from the cat’s perspective, a big animal was trying to attack her. Clearly, the cat isn’t aggressive since she is doing fine in the new home. Incidentally, when people bring puppies home, they bite too, they need to be trained. But you are just a cat hater typing nonsense under different names, anybody can recognize your style.
The case is absurd. The fault lies with Andrea, alone, who was ignorant or ignored the elementary rules of how to let a new cat get acquainted with new surroundings. She got an $18,000 lesson.
Your comment is stupid. Sorry for being so direct. You are saying that the rescue cat in the story is harmful to humans. Rubbish. The cat is just a bit nervous. That can be overcome with patience and not by killing her. That suggestion is mad. Please grow up yourself. You are quite out of order. I think you are Woody, the famous troll. Sounds like him., If you respond to this it better be polite.
Perhaps you should all educate yourselves on how ALL animals are “domesticated”. Those which are not harmful to humans and beneficial to humans are allowed to live and encouraged to breed. The genetic lines of those which are harmful to humans are destroyed. In fact this is how you got your semi-domesticated cats in the very first place, after countless millions and millions of the more harmful ones were destroyed all throughout history. All you are doing by allowing harmful cats to survive and breed is ensuring the eventual demise of all of them. Grow up.