When PPCR places a cat into an adoptive home, we always hope that the arrangement will be permanent. For a cat who has already been abandoned once, each additional move increases the sense of unease. But now and then, things do not work out as expected.
We assume that, after you take a PPCR cat into your care, you will have the patience for an initial adjustment period. For example, if you already have cats, it is important to introduce the newcomer carefully, over a period of weeks. Rushing this process can have consequences from which it is difficult to recover. Another common problem is for a new cat to hide for a few days. We encounter this phenomenon often in foster care.
If you feel that your new cat is not adjusting well after a period of a few weeks, we ask you to contact us. The foster mom who cared for your cat in rescue might be able to offer specific advice based on her experience with that cat. If nothing comes quickly to her mind, she can appeal to other foster moms for ideas. Our commitment to a cat does not end when the cat leaves a PPCR foster home.
In fact, when you adopt a cat from PPCR, you sign a contract obligating you to notify us if, for any reason, you feel you must give up the cat. We understand that there are circumstances in which there is little or no choice. For example, a child who had previously shown no sign of allergies suddenly develops severe asthma, or it becomes obvious that, even after weeks or months of careful introductions, your resident cat will simply not accept the new arrival.
If a problem becomes apparent within a short time, the PPCR foster mom will almost always be willing to reclaim the cat, although she will probably first try to work with you to solve the perceived problem. Even if we hear from you after a longer time, we will usually try to take the cat back, not wanting any cat previously in our care to live where he or she is unwanted or unsafe. However, given the number of cats in need of our assistance, there are times when we cannot accept a cat because we have no free foster spaces. (We are not like a restaurant that reserves a certain number of tables for walk-ins; we tend to fill our foster spaces quickly, because every time we have to say “no” to a shelter, the life of a cat is at risk.) If we have no space, we will often help you place the cat from your home. This approach has the added advantage of reducing by one the number of moves the cat will have to endure.
Obviously, if your cat has contracted a communicable illness, such as a fungal infection, we will ask you to keep the cat with you until he or she has fully recovered. Most of our foster homes have multiple cats in residence, and we cannot accept a cat who would jeopardize the health of others in our care.
Note that, if you return a cat to us, you should not expect to be able to adopt another cat from us in the future.