Friends of Pets Klamath Basin Cats & Dogs for Adoption -Welcome Page

A no-kill and free-roaming

Pet Name:_______________________Color _______________________Breed_______________________

Date Next Annual Vaccine Due:_______________ resQ Microchip No.___________________

The Adoption Fee of ______________includes the cost for the following procedures or treatments that have been completed:

1) Negative Feline Leukemia Virus/FIV test: Date:_______Veterinarian:_________________

1)______ I have read and understand the sections regarding “Personality Profile,” “Kitten History,”

2)_____I have read and understand “Our Commitment and Your Risk” and the “No Refund or Exchange Policy.”

3)_____ I have received a complimentary bag of Science Diet cat food. I understand this feline’s diet has consisted of Science Diet pet food and sudden dietary change can cause stomach upset and bacterial infection requiring costly veterinary intervention for treatment. This treatment would be my expense.

New Owner (Printed):____________________________ Adoption Fee: _______________

City and Zip:____________________________________ Donation to Help Pets ________________

Phone No: ___________________________________ Total Paid: __________________

Friends of Pets of Klamath Basin is committed to placing healthy cats into stable homes that will provide a lifetime of care, including providing veterinary care when needed. We have worked hard to identify and resolve health issues at our cost for every cat in our program. However, the stress of living in an area with multiple felines while waiting to be adopted or making the transition into your home can reduce a cat’s immunity. Reduced immunity levels make the feline potentially prone to infections, such as upper respiratory infections, diarrhea, and ringworm. As a new owner you need to understand that we have generously provided all the reasonable care that we can and we relinquish all responsibility for the feline’s health at the time of adoption.

However, if an unforeseen health issue arises within 2 weeks after adoption, please immediately contact Kathy Williams at 850-0750 (daytime) for discussion of the problem. After discussing the problem with Kathy you will be requested to do one of the following:1) return the feline to the program for care; 2) work through our program but retain the feline in your home; or 3) obtain veterinary care at your own cost. If a feline has any other health issue at the time of adoption and the record states follow-up care is to be done by the new owner, it is the owner’s responsibility to pay for these costs. If you choose to contact a veterinarian first for any health issue, FPKB will refuse to participate with any costs.

We test all of our cats for feline leukemia and FIV viruses. We sample one sibling of a litter of kittens or test the mother if the mother is available. If you are adopting one kitten from a litter and request that your specific kitten be tested, we can have that test completed at an additional cost to you of $15.00.

One disease that is slowly developing and undetectable in very young felines is Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). Statistics show a 90-95% mortality rate from FIP; this disease is not considered to be treatable. The FIP virus is transmitted from the mother to the offspring but the kitten does not develop signs of the illness until later, commonly between 3 months and one year of age. There is no screening test available to test young kittens for this virus. In 2004, eight (3%) of our cats out of 236 adopted developed FIP after becoming an integral part of a new family. The heartbreak from this disease is apparent.

Signs of FIP may include: loss of weight and appetite, fluid filling in peritoneal cavity or lungs, lesion or blindness in one eye; central nervous symptoms such as paralysis or tremors.

Please do not adopt from us if you require a guarantee that you have a “perfectly healthy” cat that will not cost you any money after you pay the adoption fee. Common infections and other diseases are inconvenient and tragic. Should the young kitten you adopt from us develop Feline Infectious Peritonitis, we will offer to place another feline into your home at no charge. We understand the grief and want to help people move forward. We simply do not have the resources to do more.

Our policies do not permit a refund of the adoption fee or exchange of the selected feline for another. We have provided as much information as possible with available history to help you in this process. Once the adoption fee is paid and the feline leaves our premises, we will not honor any refund request. As an adoptive family we will urge you to take whatever time necessary to select the feline that best bonds with your family. Please visit the cat several times and bring all the family members to be sure.

Cats are known to have lots of hair and energy, stimulate allergy symptoms, bite toes while you are sleeping, jump at ankles, wake you at 4:00 a.m., climb onto counters, claw furniture, go any place they want in the house, particularly high spots. They are cats---that is what they do best. Be sure you are committed to this feline and willing to work through problems before adopting! Please listen to what we have to say about each feline and its personality traits.

Our outlook is that this feline will be with you for its lifetime in a loving home.

At your cost, make an appointment with your veterinary to complete your felines health care:

1) ______Booster F. Distemper/Upper Respiratory Vaccine due____________, ______________

3) ______Hair is clean and healthy with no loss patterns or mats; fluorescent light for ringworm

5) ______Fleas are not present; indicated by flea dirt, etc; Applied FrontLine for Fleas____________

6) ______Eyes are clear and bring; no mucous discharge or watering; no swelling of membranes.

9) ______Dispensed ______ ccs per treatment of Ivomec (by ear) for preventative ear mite treatment :

Variations from any of the above:______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Course of Therapy for any of the above:____________________________________________________

Friends of Pets of Klamath Basin Representative______________________________Date____________

The following are signs that may indicate your kitten or adult cat is ill. Watch for these daily.

1) Stool is loose, not firmly shaped, or diarrhea is evident. Not using the litter box.

Recognizing an unhealthy cat can be difficult because they often mask their illness until it is evident that they are chronically ill, especially kittens. If their stool is solid (firm) and they have good energy and appetite, then you can have some assurance that they are doing well.

If any one of the four signs listed above is evident, please call us (Kathy 850-0750 daytime) as the feline may be ill. Do not let 3 or 4 days pass without taking any action, as it could make the difference between life and death of a kitten. Kittens are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease. Many kittens have died from disease because the owner did not recognize the signs and treatment came too late. Please do not let this happen to your new friend.

Call Kathy immediately (850-0750) if your kitten or adult cat is displaying any of the above four signs. We are committed to helping your new feline friend but we cannot do it without your help in observing health signs.

Bringing a kitten or adult feline into your home can be very stressful for the new cat as well as other pets in your family. If you have other pets, probably the most ideal way of delivery is for someone else to bring the feline into your home. Some think that your other pets will not hold you responsible and that the new one is “just visiting but forgot to leave.” This approach may not work in all instances and can be inconvenient for individuals.

We urge you to purchase and set up all of your “kitty necessities” in advance of bringing the feline to your house. This includes such items as litter, food, toys, and a place to sleep.

We suggest that you confine your new pet to a small part of the house, such as a bedroom or a bathroom, until he/she can get used to the new family surroundings. Allowing a feline, particularly a small kitten to have full access to the house can be very intimidating and stressful. Keep the cat in a small and safe area and slowly introduce him/her to other parts of the house and other animals. Do not bring the cat home and set it in front of the other pets or a crowd of people!

Our suggestion is to keep the new addition isolated from other family pets for a minimum of three days. Each will know the other is in the house and will curiously make contact in a protected and controlled way. Keep them separate for a period of time that works for the pets. Let the cat make the choice. Some will be ready to interact more in 24 hours, 48 hours, or 30 minutes! Some may require 7 days and hide under the bed.

As people can get diarrhea or stomach upset from stress, so can cats. Probably more easily because cats do not like change! Cats will act calm on the outside but inside they are a bundle of nervous energy. Cats do not like change and become very stressed when it occurs. Please be patient and work with them to allow success by adapting slowly to your new environment.

In an effort to help us place our felines in an environment best suited to its needs, we are providing as much information as possible to help the new owner determine that it is a good family choice. We want our felines to be loved by a family for duration of its long life.

Cats Name____________________________Age_____________________ Male or Female

2) We describe this cat as: Demanding Shy Fearful Finicky Affectionate One Person

3) We recommend this family setting:_____________________________________________

1) Reason why this feline was relinquished to FPKB_______________________________________

2) Did it have a previous home before coming to FPKB? Yes No ____________________________

3) What brand of food does it eat? FPKB feeds only Science Diet Previous Owner_______________

5) If cat had previous home, where did it sleep?____________________________________

6) This feline is primarily 1) indoors only 2) outdoors only 3) both indoors and outdoors

7) If cat had previous home, where was the litter box kept?_________________________________

8) Does the cat like to be picked up? Yes No Held? Yes No ____________________________

9) Is the cat used to other pets? Yes No What Kind? ___________________________

11) If cat had previous family, ages of children_____________________________________

13) Does the cat have any particular fears (such as vacuum)? _______________________________

14) Any health problems in its past that affects its future?___________________________

15) Vet’s name caring for feline before coming to FPKB?_____________________________

16) Has the cat scratched or bitten anyone? Yes No If yes, what were the circumstances?___

We, Friends of Pets, are providing you this information because we feel you have the right to know what we know about the background of the kitten you are considering to adopt. Such things as the kitten’s early environment, stresses, numbers in colony, and health of the mother can have an impact on the kitten’s future.

As you may know, our organization is primarily “rescue,” in that we concentrate on taking in felines that are found abandoned, unwanted, injured, or sick. We try to accept all kittens that come to our door because we know that many people will not spend the money to provide needed health care, or if they are taken to the Klamath Humane Society they will likely be killed.

We also occasionally take in mother cats with healthy kittens or owner-release kittens. These kittens may, or may not, be lower risk regarding future health needs.

Needless to say, our population of kittens often arrived very ill or stressed. Some have come from colonies of multiple cats, some were found abandoned in driveways, left in boxes on a street, or dumped at Wal-Mart after failure to find homes in front of the store. Last year 31% (224) of our cats died. We deal with some of the toughest cases and work many hours to do all we can to help them. Because we are crowded, kittens undergo further stress in our shelter. We wish it were different and that our shelter did not need to exist at all!

If you are interested in adopting a “rescued kitten,” you have come to the right place!

One health issue that we cannot fix is when, after adoption, a kitten shows clinical signs and dies of Feline Infectious Peritonitis. This disease generally does not fully develop until the kitten is between 3 and 12 months of age. There is no test to foresee this disease and there is no cure. In 2004, out of 236 cats adopted, 3% of our cats (8 kittens) died of FIP after adoption. When possible, we worked with each family to try to help them through the painful ordeal. Our goal is to have no deaths in any new home but that may not be realistic.

We believe you should have this knowledge because it may influence your choice of kitten.

Name of Kitten:_____________________Date & Age when entering Program:____________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Did the kitten have a known mother? Yes No Did the mother belong to a human family? Yes No

How many siblings did the kitten have?_________What happened to the siblings?_______________________

Was the kitten living with a colony of cats? Yes No If yes, how many cats in the colony?_______________

Was the kitten living with a human family or was it living on its own? Family On its own

Describe any traumas that the kitten experienced prior to arrival: ___________________________________

Describe any health problems the kitten showed upon arrival:________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe any health problems the kitten showed during development:__________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________