Annoyed...she wanted a 2007 model...

What a weekend...I'm so annoyed with people. I have a male orange tabby kitten in foster care that I've had lots of people express interest in adopting but keep backing out for lame reasons.
The latest had to have been the lamest reason of all and the biggest waste of time....Pumpkin is a little over 4 months and has to be the coolest foster kitten I've had. He's always purring, loves to play but won't destroy your house, litter trained, uses a scratching post, will sit in your lap, is great with dogs and other cats and is full of personality. I get a call on Sunday from a grandmother that is looking for an orange tabby to give to her granddaughter for her birthday. I usually don't even bother with this type of situation, I do not agree with pets being given as gifts. But I told her over the phone that I would have to meet with the parents of the daughter, since the parents would be responsible for the kitten's care, the daughter is only 5 years old. We set up an appt so everyone could meet. I get there, and the parents are not there. The grandmother and the girl's aunt is there. The grandmother looks at the little guy and says "I want a newer model." WTF? a newer model? This isnt a car, it's a kitten...she wants a 2007 model. :twoguns: I told her it isnt really kitten season, even the animal shelter has nothing younger than 4 months. But she insists that she wants a brand new one and in time for her daughter's birthday next week. And she looked at me like I was supposed to produce this for her immediately. I told her that orange tabbies are somewhat rare. We rarely get them in as kittens. We have a few adults and my little guy but that is it. She wants an orange because her granddaughter is a redhead. I asked where the parents were, I think they should play a part in this decision. And maybe the parents would want one already trained...still a kitten but easier to deal with. The cat is not going to live with grandma anyway. She dodges my question. So I picked up Pumpkin and wished her luck and left.
See this is why I get so annoyed. I would not have wasted my time with her if she had said that the parents would not be there. She said that they would be there so that they could see him and decide if they wanted him.
Poor little guy...oh well, he'll stay at my house and be spoiled rotten until he finds the right home.

LOL @ "new model"........idiots. Sorry to hear about your wasted trip and hopefully you can find a good home soon. What would be the reason you are not keeping it? I would imagine you have your reasons (too many kitties, allergic, no time or space, etc.) Surely somebody will come along shortly, always nice to find an orange tabby that is already house-broken and ready to be loved. Good Luck.

galen

I would keep him, but I have an older female red tabby cat who does not like other cats. Pumpkin and another kitten have been living in my bedroom for a couple months. I also own 4 dogs and I have two foster dogs at the moment...and a variety of snakes...it's a full house! And there is no reason that this guy can't be rehomed, he's perfectly healthy and an all around good cat. I would only keep him if he were not adoptable.
I fostered him and two other kittens from another litter who were all orphaned. When they were 2 lbs, I returned them to the shelter, one got adopted, the other two did not and there was an outbreak of URI so I took them back into foster care. I've kept them at home, because I do not want them to get sick.

Even a kitten born on the 1st of the year is not yet ready to be away from it's mother, therefore it is impossible to have a 2007 model at this point, and there's nothing she can say/do to change that. Bummer for her.

It is quite humorous with the reference of wanting a '2007 model'. I've used that similar expression many times in many different situations. Funny stuff. :grin01:

D80

A newer model!? WTF indeed!! :eek1:

Obviously she didn't have the parents okay in all of this. I know I should respect my elders but what a *itch for wasting your time.

Hope Pumpkin finds a permanent loving home soon.

What an ignorant person! Pumpkin sounds like a great cat, if I didn't already have three I'd be begging to take him off your hands. I've heard some people don't like ginger cats but I don't know why, my ginger boy is my baby and I love him to bits. He's more like a dog than a cat; he waits for me to come home, follows me all around the house (he winds around my ankles when I'm in the bathroom which took some getting used to... I tried to keep him out of the bathroom but he scratches at the door until I let him in) and if I'm away for more than a day he stops eating and pines for me.

I've heard that as well, that the red/gingers are not great cats. Maybe because they ARE more like dogs. My female red tabby loves the dogs. She would go outside with the dogs, play outside and then come back in. She's older now, so we've put down a litter pan for her. And she sleeps with me every night, just like a dog would. Other cats I've had rarely want anything to do with me. They just want to be fed and every once in awhile they'll come over for pets or a scratch behind the ears. Every red tabby I've come across have just been really good cats. The only problem I've seen is that they do not always get along with other cats. They love dogs, but not cats.

Tyger9791 said:

I've heard that as well, that the red/gingers are not great cats. Maybe because they ARE more like dogs. My female red tabby loves the dogs. She would go outside with the dogs, play outside and then come back in. She's older now, so we've put down a litter pan for her. And she sleeps with me every night, just like a dog would. Other cats I've had rarely want anything to do with me. They just want to be fed and every once in awhile they'll come over for pets or a scratch behind the ears. Every red tabby I've come across have just been really good cats. The only problem I've seen is that they do not always get along with other cats. They love dogs, but not cats.

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We had lots of orange tabbies growing up in the country and they always got a long with the dogs, the horses and the other cats. We lost our last one about five years ago. Pumkin was awesome, he's been a tough act to follow, so we've not replaced him to-date.

ramanth said:

A newer model!? WTF indeed!! :eek1:

Obviously she didn't have the parents okay in all of this. I know I should respect my elders but what a *itch for wasting your time.

Hope Pumpkin finds a permanent loving home soon.

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Yes, we highly doubt the parents are even aware of this at all. Just got a message from a fellow foster parent...the lady is doing her rounds checking with everyone to see what they have available...and everyone knows that the whole situation is screwy...not to mention no one except me has an orange tabby.

UPDATE...$600 kitten

You all won't believe this...the grandma apparently showed the flyer of Pumpkin to the parents. The parents said "why did you not adopt this guy? he's perfect!" so I get a phone call yesterday, they're going to adopt him. I went over the process with them and asked if they had spoken to their landlord yet. The shelter will need to get the approval from landlord before they will turn the kitten over to them from me. They said they would call me back. so the grandma calls me back...and says that she will pay the $50 adoption fee, the vet bill (approx $100) and the landlord's pet fee ($400! nonrefundable fee NOT deposit!) and she is going to buy her granddaughter all the kitten will need, a litter pan, food, toys, etc....the total will be around $600...for a kitten! I talked with the parents and I think he will be in a great home. But I just think grandma is nuts for spending all this money on a 6 year old. What are they going to get the granddaughter next year for her birthday?

Tyger9791 said:

What are they going to get the granddaughter next year for her birthday?

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a cheetah. :sidestep:
i am so glad to here this about the little cat. to spend that much money on one to be able to house it, i bet it will be WELL taken care of and go on to live a very happy life. nice ending to this story.

galen

I agree 100% with you about buying pets as gifts. I warned a friend of mine about buying her boyfriend a cat for his birthday In January 2006. She wanted to get him one so that he wouldn't "feel lonely in his apartment." Next thing you know both she and her boyfriend's sister-in-law have each bought a kitten for him (so that the first kitten wouldn't get lonely when he works). They never really asked him if he truly wanted a cat, because they didn't want to spoil the surprise. I had also advised (I may be a bit biased on this one) that if they were going to get a cat (or two) to get a female so they wouldn't have to worry about a male's spraying. Needless to say, they gave him two male kittens last January. I than STRONGLY advised her and her boyfriend to get the cats neutered as soon as the vet would do it (IMO ideally before six months) because it would be hard to get the cats to stop spraying once they have started.

I'll just add that the cats were fixed a month ago, because they were tired of them spraying everything...and if the neutering didn't help or if they couldn't get them to stop, they would be finding new homes for the cats (more than likely they'd give them to the shelter).

I don't talk to her about pets anymore and I hope she has learned a lesson.


P.S. One instance where it is okay to give a pet as a gift is if you know for DARN SURE that the givee wants it. My husband knows that I'll take an English Bulldog any day of the year!

Perhaps the girl is an only child or only grandchild. I have to admit my sisters and I were spoiled by my mom's parents as we were the only grandkids. Not to the tune of $600 at once but they spent quite a bit over the years.

Or the grandma could be off her rocker. :grin01: At least you have the parents okay and it sounds like Pumpkin will be loved.

Presenting the $600 kitten! he's adorable no doubt, but even I would not be able to bring myself to spend $600 on him...unless it were a vet bill.


I believe she is an only child. We stressed from the beginning that we would have to meet the parents before we would even consider proceeding with the adoption. Grandma is off her rocker...we've come to that conclusion. And after speaking to the parents, we believe they think she is to. But if grandma wants to shell out $600 they're ok with it. They do love Pumpkin and I think he will be in a great home...as long as he stays away from grandma.