So, I have been volunteering at our local shelter. I have been working with the cats, socializing them, grooming them, petting them and overall trying to spoil them.
The new shelter manager is wonderful and she's implemented a lot of new ways and ideas into the shelter already. She approached me today about giving me an important task to do.
Recently, there have been a number of people coming and adopting a cat (or two) and returning them within the 20 day trial period. There has also been a string of cats being adopted and being abused and returned, or being abused and dying from our shelter.
As a result, the new shelter manager wants to have me interview and screen prospective cat owners/adopters. Her reasoning is because I have been telling her about all the things I have learned from this forum, I have been pushing for them to get better food for the cats at the shelter and not just rely on donations of food. Also my patience working with Isis and what a great success story she has turned out to be has caused her to want to put me in charge of this. She said I am one of the few who truly cares about the health and welfare of the cats there. Her last statement was that she liked my bluntness and the fact that she thinks I would tell it like it is and not allow some dolt to adopt a cat.
I really want to do it, I am just worried about them trusting me with a living, breathing animal's life. I want to make sure the cats are being adopted by loving people who have the cat's best interest at heart. I am just hoping that I can handle it if I allow someone to adopt a cat and something horrible happens to the cat (god forbid.)
I told her my worries and she said that is the exact reason she wants me to do it. She said she is going to set up adoptions for the two days that I am at the shelter. She also wants me to come up with interview questions to ask prospective owners. This is where I need some help. Aside from the usual paperwork people have to fill out at the shelter (name and address, rental information or owner information, where the cat will stay, who will take care of the cat etc)., I need to ask them some questions to get a feel for them.
I have to hand in the list of questions for the shelter manage to approve them by Saturday. I have a list of questions I thought up that I will post here, but if you have suggestions, PLEASE share. I would love anyone's input on this!
Questions for prospective cat owners:
1. Why do you want this animal?
2. What kind of cat are you looking for? (Temperament, color, age, sex, etc)
3. Is there anything that is not desirable to you in a cat? (meaning if someone says they don't like a cat that meows at all, that would probably disqualify them from getting a cat from us period. Kind of asking this question to weed out the crazies).
4. Do you have a vet? May I call them for a reference?
5. Do you have other pets? What are they? How do you plan to integrate a cat into your household?
6. How do you plan to take care of your cat? Exercise? Food? Vet bills?
7. If you find after the 20 day trial period that the cat is not fitting in with your household, how do you plan to rectify the situation?
I will also ask them if they have any questions for me.
Are there other questions I should ask?
Thanks all!
The new shelter manager is wonderful and she's implemented a lot of new ways and ideas into the shelter already. She approached me today about giving me an important task to do.
Recently, there have been a number of people coming and adopting a cat (or two) and returning them within the 20 day trial period. There has also been a string of cats being adopted and being abused and returned, or being abused and dying from our shelter.
As a result, the new shelter manager wants to have me interview and screen prospective cat owners/adopters. Her reasoning is because I have been telling her about all the things I have learned from this forum, I have been pushing for them to get better food for the cats at the shelter and not just rely on donations of food. Also my patience working with Isis and what a great success story she has turned out to be has caused her to want to put me in charge of this. She said I am one of the few who truly cares about the health and welfare of the cats there. Her last statement was that she liked my bluntness and the fact that she thinks I would tell it like it is and not allow some dolt to adopt a cat.
I really want to do it, I am just worried about them trusting me with a living, breathing animal's life. I want to make sure the cats are being adopted by loving people who have the cat's best interest at heart. I am just hoping that I can handle it if I allow someone to adopt a cat and something horrible happens to the cat (god forbid.)
I told her my worries and she said that is the exact reason she wants me to do it. She said she is going to set up adoptions for the two days that I am at the shelter. She also wants me to come up with interview questions to ask prospective owners. This is where I need some help. Aside from the usual paperwork people have to fill out at the shelter (name and address, rental information or owner information, where the cat will stay, who will take care of the cat etc)., I need to ask them some questions to get a feel for them.
I have to hand in the list of questions for the shelter manage to approve them by Saturday. I have a list of questions I thought up that I will post here, but if you have suggestions, PLEASE share. I would love anyone's input on this!
Questions for prospective cat owners:
1. Why do you want this animal?
2. What kind of cat are you looking for? (Temperament, color, age, sex, etc)
3. Is there anything that is not desirable to you in a cat? (meaning if someone says they don't like a cat that meows at all, that would probably disqualify them from getting a cat from us period. Kind of asking this question to weed out the crazies).
4. Do you have a vet? May I call them for a reference?
5. Do you have other pets? What are they? How do you plan to integrate a cat into your household?
6. How do you plan to take care of your cat? Exercise? Food? Vet bills?
7. If you find after the 20 day trial period that the cat is not fitting in with your household, how do you plan to rectify the situation?
I will also ask them if they have any questions for me.
Are there other questions I should ask?
Thanks all!