Deeply saddened by kitten return situation
Ever since I lost a cat that was the love of my life in the fall (13-years old. She had a stroke and we had to put her down), I've looked forward to having a new kitten in the home. I had to wait because a friend's son was living with us who was allergic, and I wanted my daughter to be home from college to experience the kitten phase.
So, finally I signed up for a bunch of kitten search and rescue sites (on top of visiting three animal shelters). Two days ago got a call from one called Friends of Normie telling me they had a whole litter with my exact specifications. My family would have the pick of the litter, so to speak. The caller asked me a bunch of questions then put me in touch with the single gal who was fostering the whole lot. My kids are busy teens but have been counting the minutes until kitten time. The three of us drove 40 minutes to see the babies, fell in love with one and decided to take it home if we could.
We asked the foster if there was a fee. She said no she wasn't taking any money. So we take the kitten and drive -- no really, bounce from cloud to cloud -- all the way home. We are just over the moon in love with our new baby. The little nugget did seem way too tiny to be adopted probably, but there was no mom cat in the picture and he was eating wet food and pooping in the box, so why not? Anyway, we get the cat home and the spoiling commences. We feed and snuggle. He is covered in fleas and also very dirty so we give him a warm bath. We take pictures and post our baby announcement on socials. We are all just giddy. Until midday today when I get the text. It's from this adoption *agency* Friends of Normie saying there's a fee for adopting of $225. They say it's a bargain because it includes neutering and some vaccinations. I tell them I have my own vet and don't want these services and they basically reply no fee, no kitten. Then, I guess, they told the foster mom she wasn't supposed to have let the kittens go because they're too young? But this I don't understand because they're not nursing. And this single kitten was getting much better care as one cat with four caregivers vs. four cats with one caregiver as the ratio was with the foster. The Friends of Normie folks pointed out that I signed an agreement when I signed up on their website that any adoption came with a fee. OK ... but A) it was buried in the fine print and I was just browsing, and B ) a fee to me is, I don't know, $40? Not $225. I am 100% sure some of you will disagree and that's fine.
Anyway, I returned the cat. My family is grief stricken. I am bereft. And yet, I still feel it's wrong what Friends of Normie did. If they had told me in advance that I could expect to pay this amount I could have played my cards differently. I could have managed expectations with my kids. I could have not ever gone to look at the cat in the first place. But to wait until I get the cat home and THEN tell me? I told them it felt like extortion. They know you'll pay any price once you've bonded.
I don't know. I'm still not over the cat I lost in autumn and this whole thing has just dredged up all that pain. Plus all this new rage and sorrow and just ... sadness. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep. Thank you for reading.