Quote Originally Posted by DriftyAlison0 View Post
My shelter is low kill. But a thing about no kill shelters, is that they are A. picky with what they accept and B. if the animal needs to go, they take it somewhere else to be euthanized so they can retain their no kill status.

Thanks for the advice so far.
Wow, I don't know about the no kill shelters in your area, but the ones here (the one I volunteer for) Will NOT kill. They will hold onto the cat and spend a fortune to extend its life, even if its a cat that nobody ever wanted. We are also not picky. We just only take cats in when there's a place to put it OR its young enough thats its highly likely to get adopted right away. Thats just good business sense. How ridiculous to have a rescue taking in random cats and then just letting them hang out in the office! Not worry if we have the food, bedding, resources for them. please do not give no kill shelters a bad rap!

As for the cat not adapting well, it could be just that its not adapting to a new situation. It does take some cats a long time. I've found a lot of a cats take a while is because its very sensitive to its environment and the people around it. If mom is telling you to just drop it off at the shelter? Chances are she's holding a grudge towards the cat and the cat knows it... and it means the cat will take longer to adapt.

I kept spending a fortune on my Pouncer each year. He was always sick. He was always stressed. It turned out he was trying to take on my stress. I Changed my behavior around him and now he's one happy laid back cat. Did the vet do anything? No. Did he do anything? No. I changed my behavior and he blossomed. We do not realize the impact our behavior has on a cat's happiness and their ability to adapt to a new home. Look at what is going on with the human/cat interactions as well as the cat/cat interactions. You'll find the answer there.

Another example of how a human's reaction affects their cat: I noticed Pouncer and Abby fought all the time. I learned that they fought because Abby liked me coming in to "save" her. Once I realized my protectiveness was interfering with their relationship, I stopped getting in the middle of their fights. They stopped fighting almost imeediately. She growls at him but nothing comes of it. He ignored her and moves past. She looks at me for my reaction and I give her none. She lets him pass.