# Lucy is looking for her new family



## Venusworld21

Lucy is looking for a home! She came to me with three kittens about 6 weeks ago. I got everyone spayed or neutered and the kittens have all been adopted. Now Lucy needs a home. She's 2 years old, per the vet and is a pretty gray tabby with yellow eyes. She's been treated for worms and fleas and is now spayed and fully healed up from her surgery. She was outdoor only before I got her but is learning to be an inside kitty and has not had any problems with a litter box. Would do best as an indoor/outdoor kitty. She's a sweet girl and acts like an overgrown kitten. She's a medium sized cat. $40 adoption fee to help cover part of her surgery/meds and new home will need to sign an adoption contract. Please contact me if you would like to adopt her, or know someone who would like to adopt her. I'm located in Lacey, WA (near Olympia).


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## Venusworld21

Lucy's been with us almost 8 weeks now but only in the house for about a month of that. Last night she came up to me as I was laying on the couch and plopped down on top of me and laid there for quite a while. She's really making great progress toward being a mellow indoor kitty. And still looking for a home.


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## Venusworld21

Miss Lucy is still here looking for her home. One of her kittens, Helios, is back with us also as his new home did not work out. He's gray, but with tabby stripes in the right light. 6 months old and already neutered. Both are looking for great homes.


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## Venusworld21

Miss Lucy is adopted. She found her new home yesterday. Her son Helios is still looking.


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## dt8thd

Hi Venus,

I myself live in Toronto, but I will forward the info about Helios to my aunt who lives in Renton, WA. She lost her two kitties to old age a number of years ago and frequently talks about how she wants to get another cat. She might have a tough time convincing my uncle, but I figure it's worth a shot.


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## thepennywhistle

And as I read the good news about Lucy finding her home, 
the radio begins to play Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
May Lucy have a wonderful and rich life with her new people,
and maybe even some diamonds


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## jadis

Do you have a secret for getting your black and tabby cats adopted so quickly? Ours linger...I even have a lynx point siamese I've had for 5 months.


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## Venusworld21

No secrets, but I do have some tips and tricks. 

I use craigslist. I know it can be scary, but I try to make it as safe as possible for my kitties. I write ads in such a way that hopefully a lot of flakes and bad homes will be turned off without ever emailing me. I charge an adoption fee. I let them know they'll have to sign a contract. I say up front that they need to be allowed to have pets by their landlord. Once I get an email on a kitten, I try to email back and forth a few times to make sure they are serious before I agree to meet up. Once they're here, they have to pass my "radar." If they seem off, or not a good fit, they don't get a kitten.


I ALWAYS put a thorough description. It includes basic personality traits and lots of adjectives (shy/outgoing, rowdy/calm, playful/snuggler, male/female, color, age, etc). I also include at least one detail to catch a reader's eye.

Finally, great picture(s) are a must. Not necessarily a fully body shot, but something that really captures their personality.

Even for cats I'm fostering for the shelter, every single one goes back with a picture and description. 

For example, in Lucy's ad above:

"Lucy is looking for a home! She came to me with three kittens about 6 weeks ago. I got everyone spayed or neutered and the kittens have all been adopted. Now Lucy needs a home. She's 2 years old, per the vet and is a pretty gray tabby with yellow eyes. She's been treated for worms and fleas and is now spayed and fully healed up from her surgery. She was outdoor only before I got her but is learning to be an inside kitty and has not had any problems with a litter box. Would do best as an indoor/outdoor kitty. She's a sweet girl and acts like an overgrown kitten. She's a medium sized cat. $40 adoption fee to help cover part of her surgery/meds and new home will need to sign an adoption contract. Please contact me if you would like to adopt her, or know someone who would like to adopt her. I'm located in Lacey, WA (near Olympia)."

The "sweet overgrown kitten" part would be her special detail. She is a "pretty" gray tabby. I find the picture up there to be adorable. 


Here's Helios' ad:

"Helios is a beautiful gray kitten with slightly darker gray tabby stripes and gorgeous yellow eyes. He is approximately 6 months old and has been an indoor kitty since he was about 10 weeks. He can be a little nervous, but is learning to trust quickly now and getting better every day. He would probably do best as an only cat, though he does get along pretty well with the other cats and dog in his foster home. He is a very sweet kitten and prefers loving on his people to playing with toys, but when he does play, he loves anything with catnip and feathers. He is already neutered and has been treated for fleas and worms. He had a bit of a rough start with the litter box, but is using it very well now (I think that was related to his anxiety and has disappeared since he's been more relaxed and trusting). He is a gorgeous sweet boy who has a ton of love to give to his forever person or family. Due to his previous anxiety, he would probably do best as the only pet in the home, unless the other animals were very mellow. He would love a quiet, less chaotic home. Also, no very young children (under 7 or so)."


He is a "beautiful" kitten with "gorgeous" eyes. He likes people better than toys would be his special detail. I have two photos up. One is the full body shot, which is also posted above in this thread. The other is this one:










Which is one of the cutest photos I've seen in a while. 

Here's the descriptions I sent back for my "B" batch of kittens (I name each litter after the same letter) who were also all black.

Whoever said black cats have the most personality was definitely thinking of Baja. She is a friendly, rowdy, outgoing kitten who loves people. She is the only solid black kitten of her litter. She has a wonderful purr and also likes to “talk.” She loves to play with her sisters but when she’s tired of that she’s happy to snuggle with her humans. She likes to mouth off and is a very social kitty who will insist on getting what she thinks is the “proper” amount of attention. She loves wet food and feather wand toys. She has been in a foster home since she was approximately 3 weeks old and has been exposed to five adult cats besides her mother and a dog (lab mix) all of whom she got along with well. She has also been using the litter box faithfully. 

Bella is a sweet kitten with a delicate, angular face like her mother and a pretty white nose. She can be a bit of a princess, especially at feeding time. She would rather wait until the others have finished than jostle for a spot like a common kitty. If she continues to take after her mother, she will grow to be an excellent kitty, friendly and graceful. For now though, she is an adventurous, curious kitten who loves to play with her sisters. She has been in a foster home since she was approximately 3 weeks old and has been exposed to five adult cats besides her mother and a dog (lab mix) all of whom she got along with well. She has also been using the litter box faithfully.

Bambi is the biggest, fluffiest kitten of her litter and has a tiny spot of white fur near her nose. She is slightly more shy and cautious than her sisters, but generally not more than a few paws behind them on their adventures. She is a very sweet and playful kitten who enjoys the company of humans. Because of her extra hair, she seems to “heat up” and tire out a little more quickly than her sisters, especially on very warm days. She is generally one of the first to the food bowl and one of the last to leave. Her favorite toys are balls she can hit across the floor and then chase after. She has been in a foster home since she was approximately 3 weeks old and has been exposed to five adult cats besides her mother and a dog (lab mix) all of whom she got along with well. She has also been using the litter box faithfully.

Bayla is fuzzy and sweet, the second largest kitten of her litter. She has a crooked white line of fur up her nose for added character. When she plays, she likes to rear up on her hind legs and “box” with her sisters. She is a match for any of them and has no trouble keeping up. She is always right in the middle of whatever adventure they are having and loves to see exactly what is going on. Her favorite toy is a feather wand and she loves wet food. She has been in a foster home since she was approximately 3 weeks old and has been exposed to five adult cats besides her mother and a dog (lab mix) all of whom she got along with well. She has also been using the litter box faithfully.

Bliss loves to play and especially enjoys catnip toys, though they can make her a bit crazy. It’s easy to see how happy her toys make her and adorably funny to watch her play with them. She has a white line of fur going straight up the middle of her nose. She was one of the first kittens in her litter to start eating wet food and likes exploring new things. She does enjoy being around people, when she can pull herself away from playtime. She has been in a foster home since she was approximately 3 weeks old and has been exposed to five adult cats besides her mother and a dog (lab mix) all of whom she got along with well. She has also been using the litter box faithfully.


______________________

Unfortunately, cats are a dime a dozen. The biggest bit of advice I can give you is to make your potential adopters realize how special your guys are. Make it obvious how much time you've put in to them and how well you've got to know them.


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## jadis

Thank you Venusworld! I rewrote both my ladies' petfinder ads. For Bonnie (the siamese) I took out part of her background story about her kittens dying and added that she loves to play with other cats and dogs, and I also mentioned her blue eyes.

For Daphne I added that she loves being petted and will touch your hand with her paw when she wants to be petted. I keep getting comments that Daphne has a mean looking face and that torties are mean. She is not mean at all, and I'm thinking about saying something like "I may be a tortie but I don't have any "tortietude" or something like that.


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## Arianwen

Here, a cat like Helios would fly out of a shelter quicker than a pure-bred because it is a really unusual colour here (much more so than cat with Siamese type colouring). At present orange tabbies (gingers here) and ordinary tabbies move well too - straight black and black and white combos tend to be slower - something I have never understood.


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## Arianwen

I think I just accidentally deleted a post!!

Helios would fly out of a shelter here because he is such an unusual colour - he would move faster than either a Siamese looking cat or even a pure bred.


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## Arianwen

Arianwen said:


> I think I just accidentally deleted a post!!
> 
> Helios would fly out of a shelter here because he is such an unusual colour - he would move faster than either a Siamese looking cat or even a pure bred.


Meant to add, what you call orange tabbies (and tabbies in general) get rehomes much faster than pure blacks or black and white combos - I don't understand this at all.


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## dt8thd

jadis said:


> I keep getting comments that Daphne has a mean looking face and that torties are mean. She is not mean at all, and I'm thinking about saying something like "I may be a tortie but I don't have any "tortietude" or something like that.


I'm sure it's disheartening to get comments like that; I know it would bug me. My tortie Autumn was a feral only 4 1/2 months ago, and she's _such_ an affectionate, people loving cat--not aggressive or mean at all! But, obviously, some people have preconceived ideas about torties, so as much as I don't like the idea of labelling her as "not your typical tortie" with the implication being that torties are inherently difficult cats, I think it's probably a good idea to specifically address the stereotype if people keep going out of their way to comment on it.


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## jadis

Arianwen, orange cats go fast here too, along with siamese looking and long haired cats. Bonnie has been with us longer than any other siamese. The only thing I can think is that people are put off by her slightly older age. I was saying 3-5, but now I'm just saying young adult.

dt8thd, the cat in your avatar is very cute. I have had 3 torties and none of them were mean, it's crazy how ideas like that get started. The one I have now is an exceptionally sweet cat.


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## 3furbabies

She's gorgeous!!! I agree that it mostly has to do with looks. When I adopted my first cat Sophie, one of her cage mates was a black and white kitten with bad markings but was so sweet. Kittens came and go but she was there from the time she was 8 weeks to 4.5 months because she wasn't considered pretty. Two weeks later I adopted her. 

At shelters here any cat with blue eyes is either labelled a Siamese, ragdoll, Balinese, etc even though they arnt even close to purebred. It's marketing and it works .


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## Venusworld21

Yep, it's all marketing. A friend of mine who does rescue told me to advertise Helios as a Russian Blue. I didn't, but if we were going back to the shelter for adoption, I might have.

Around here orange tabbys are pretty highly sought after (I have a waiting list of people I know who want one, if I get in any fosters matching that description). "Siamese" marked cats are very popular. After that would be gray (like helios) white (solid white), long haired cats, calicos, "patchy" colors (black and white, gray and white, orange and white), tabbys, torties and then solid black. Age and sex matter to some people.


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## Carmel

It sort of sounds like it should be straight forward writing an adoption page, but after reading this I see it's really important how you market them. Venusworld21, you had some great insight here, thank you for sharing! Guidelines like that should probably made a sticky in this area of the forum, it's valuable insight.

I'm surprised that orange cats are sought after... they seem like a fairly common color, don't they? Wouldn't pointed markings be the most popular? I notice at the cat sanctuary (of 700 cats) there's probably only 10-20 pointed ones, of those I'd imagine most ended up there because of behavioral traits hindering adoption. Of course the poor black beauties are always dead last.


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## Venusworld21

They are somewhat common, but they are also most sought after, in my experience. EVERYONE in my life knows I foster, but the only cats I have people lining up to adopt are orange tabbys. I have 4 people on the list looking for them. I have two people on the list besides that....one just wants a female (she found me after the females in my most recent litter were adopted) and the other one doesn't want a cat until spring (he adopted one from my last litter and will want to get her a playmate then). It's almost bizarre how much people (at least here) love the orange stripey ones.


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## dt8thd

jadis said:


> dt8thd, the cat in your avatar is very cute. I have had 3 torties and none of them were mean, it's crazy how ideas like that get started. The one I have now is an exceptionally sweet cat.


Thank you.  That's Miss Autumn, the previously feral tortie. Incidentally, when I googled "tortoiseshell cat" this article was the 3rd result from the top: 

People believe tortoiseshell cats are "aloof" and "intolerant," study finds

And, yet, the cats wouldn't care if you looked like the "Elephant Man". 

*Venus:* I did mention to my aunt that Helios was looking for a home, but she doesn't think now is the right time for her to get a new cat. Hopefully he finds a good home soon.


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## jadis

Yeah, the flip side of the "torties are mean" idea is that alot of people also say orange cats are nicer and more affectionate.


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## 3furbabies

jadis said:


> Yeah, the flip side of the "torties are mean" idea is that alot of people also say orange cats are nicer and more affectionate.


When I worked at the shelter, there were two separate orange cats who were the nastiest I have every met. Although my bfs sister got an orange tabby this past weekend who was one of the sweetest cats I've met. I've also met super sweet torties, and nasty mean torties. I hate how a cat is labeled because of its looks. 


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## Venusworld21

3furbabies said:


> When I worked at the shelter, there were two separate orange cats who were the nastiest I have every met. Although my bfs sister got an orange tabby this past weekend who was one of the sweetest cats I've met. I've also met super sweet torties, and nasty mean torties. I hate how a cat is labeled because of its looks.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Or the idea that black cats are somehow "evil" or unlucky. As a proud owner of no fewer than 4 black cats, I can say they are definitely not evil. Crazy? Sure.  But not evil or unlucky.


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## jadis

Well, my lynx point siamese has an application right after I took "5 years old" out of her description, so I guess age was the problem. :/


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## Venusworld21

Sometimes less is more.  Never lie to or mislead an adopter, of course, but sometimes a cat who looks and acts young in photos can speak for itself, rather than saying "5 years old, but acts young." Glad your kitty has a home in the works!


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## Venusworld21

Helios was adopted this morning.  He's going to be an only cat and will move to being indoor/outdoor after he's settled in to his new home. I've told them I'll take him back if they have problems with him, but I don't anticipate any. Yay Helios!


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## dt8thd

Venusworld21 said:


> Helios was adopted this morning.  He's going to be an only cat and will move to being indoor/outdoor after he's settled in to his new home. I've told them I'll take him back if they have problems with him, but I don't anticipate any. Yay Helios!


That's great news, congratulations Venus!


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## Merlin_Guinevere

Arianwen said:


> Here, a cat like Helios would fly out of a shelter quicker than a pure-bred because it is a really unusual colour here (much more so than cat with Siamese type colouring). At present orange tabbies (gingers here) and ordinary tabbies move well too - straight black and black and white combos tend to be slower - something I have never understood.



I don't understand people who choose their kitty companions based on looks. I go in, and whichever one I bond with in the time I have there, that is the one I want no matter gender, colour, breed, etc. One of the foster homes I went to had so many black kitties in their adult room, and she said that black is usually the colour least adopted. I almost adopted a black kitty a couple of weeks ago who was DARLING, but the "donation" was too high for me at that place. Wish people would be colour blind when on the hunt for a new kitty.


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## katlover13

Every time I have gone into a shelter looking for a certain color or type of cat I come home with something else. After I lost my darling Tucker who was a long haired gray & white tabby I went looking for a cat that looked like him. That time I came home with a 10 year old short haired flame point, Orlando. In 2012 I lost Orlando and another beautiful flame point, Ray. I went to the shelter looking for a pointed cat and came home with my sweet 10 year old little black girl, Sophia. There was always something special about them other then the color of their fur.


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## kittyglitter

Congrat. I'm glad your kitty got a home. BTW, when you go to a shelter, how do you pick a forever kitty? As I mentioned in my first welcome letter here, none of the kitties wanted to be petted or picked up. Non were kittens, I would rather not. Can anyone send me any pointers


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## kittyglitter

Also, I've heard that male cats are give more affection than females, any truth to that? For some reason, I seem to look for females because they are smaller. I like a smaller can than larger one.


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## spirite

I've also heard - and experienced - that male cats are more affectionate. But there are plenty of affectionate female cats. Both of my girls are affectionate in different ways, though neither likes being picked up. 

And I also prefer small cats (I'm small, so I like them me-sized). 

But remember that you don't really get a sense of their personality at the shelter. While some are purring and asking for attention, others could be really affectionate but just freaked out. My Celia was cowering in the back of her cage - you could barely tell there was a cat in there. But she's a huge love bunny, like velcro whenever I sit down.


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## Venusworld21

I've worked with a lot of cats, but never got the impression that males were friendlier than females. Personality doesn't seem sex-linked to me. I've had really affectionate females and shy females. I've had really affectionate males and shy males. 

Depending on what shelter you go to, sometimes staff will have handled the cats and have some additional knowledge. Shelter environments are stressful for the kitties, so I'm not surprised they were all nervous. Sometimes going back a few times can help. Other times, shelters might have a quiet room where you can sit with kitty to see if you can get them to relax. 

Asking the shelter if they have cats/kittens in foster care can work too. With my shelter fosters, sometimes potential adopters can come to meet the kitten in the quiet of my home, before doing the adoption at the shelter. That way they get to see the kittens relaxed and in a more "home like" environment, rather than all stressed out at the shelter.


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