Straight Outta Rescue Society: Senior Pet Adoption Assistance Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The Petfinder Foundation Senior Pet Adoption Assistance Grant has allowed us an opportunity to increase the visibility of our amazing adoptable senior kitties who, through no fault of their own, can be seen as less desirable by potential adopters.

For senior kitties, especially those with a history of medical challenges, it can be difficult to attract and find that perfect unicorn family. The flexibility of the grant allowed us to put together a proposal for the Petfinder Foundation that is unique to the seniors in care with respect to how the funds will be used, making it more effective when it's positioned to help get them adopted!

How many pets did this grant help?

4

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Our senior grant request was put in to help Bianca (first four photos) find her forever home. Bianca and her three senior-kitty relatives were brought into care after their owner was no longer able to care for them. Truthfully, the owner probably should have asked for help sooner. All four cats showed signs of neglect and suffered from upper-respiratory issues; all four required grooming support, veterinary care, and lots of love.

We worked to first get them all safe and healthy, which for Bianca included having her bloodwork reviewed and, after she’d recovered from her upper-respiratory infection, having a dental done.

Of the three, Bianca was the most shut down. She was a gentle gal, and we knew that, as much as she had come out of her shell in her foster home, her forever family was going to need to understand that it would take time again to build her trust. We could also not risk her having to move again, so we wanted them to be set up for success. Her Petfinder Foundation grant covered her adoption fee along with a starter pack of her veterinarian-prescribed food and a new cat tree with all the hiding places she needed to get settled.

Bianca landed the most amazing family. They were grateful for the additional assistance the Petfinder Foundation grant supplied them in welcoming her home and even requested that a portion of it be used to help us help others rather than accepting the full grant.

Here is their update: “Bianca is now named Ngadhi Giiny (“Ginny” for short), which in the Wiradjuri language translates to My Heart. The first 48 hours in the house were a bit crazy, as she got under the dishwasher and wouldn’t come out. After we waited and she didn’t move, we had to rip the cupboards apart to get her out.

“The next week, she hid in her travel carrier and then progressed to the box on her tree. We spent many hours feeding her treats. She loves the tubes with the paste in them. She does like to play at night with toys and we would hear her smash around the room all night. We set up a camera to catch what she was doing.

“Week three, out of nowhere, she jumped out of her tree and started rubbing on my feet. Since then she has become more and more smoochy and super cheeky. She loves toys and the laser pointer. She loves sitting at the window watching the birds. She loves watching TV. She loves being brushed. She loves cuddling on your chest when you’re lying down. She does like to climb and will often climb on the kitchen bench, fridge, and on top of the kitchen overhead cupboards to get to what she wants. She will ignore your instructions to get down because she is the boss. We love her and she definitely loves us.”

With money remaining thanks to Bianca’s forever family’s generosity, the Petfinder Foundation allowed us to redirect the additional funding to help provide a reduced adoption fee for some other amazing seniors in our care: We were also able to help place 13-year-old Munchkin (with the cutest grumpy face; photos 5-7), who was showing signs of early kidney disease; one of Bianca’s siblings, Chika; and 8-year-old Squid into their forever families.

Here is what Squid’s forever family has to say: “Squid’s new name is Hannah O’Toole. She is settling in very well and she seems to have realized this is her forever home. She loves affection and to be petted.”

Here is Munchkin’s forever family’s update: “Munchkin is adjusting quite well. He is slow to show love but comes to my mom to get his tail rubbed frequently now after some time to adjust to his surroundings. He likes to spend time in the room with my mom on his kitty palace and likes looking out the window. He is eating well. Munchkin loves to go into his own bedroom and sleep on his bed on the top bunk.”

Thank you to our amazing forever families for taking a chance on some sweet seniors who needed that extra time to adjust, and to the Petfinder Foundation for offering us the opportunity through this grant to find them.