The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

5-cat Style did a tongue-in-cheek analysis of the humans encountered at the CWS booth during an event on Sunday. Granted it was an adoption drive, and you'd never see such an eclectic gathering on a mundanely usual (and often S-L-O-W) week on planet adoption. But I still like how 5-cat Style managed to collate an exemplary list of prime specimens of all 3 ilks. So here's my me-too takes. The Good are SURREAL You know, meeting people like these make this cynical old-heart soften. These good folks give you hope that perhaps, there is well, you know, hope after all. They understand your constraints, and they are willing to work with you so the kitties get the best of the situation. Why aren't there more good people? Shoot the Bad It never ceases to amaze me, how unrooted some 'people' are. They make the most ridiculous demands. They want a breed-cat, but don't want or can't bear to part with money. So they choose the cheapo cop-out of adopting, and yet they still behave as if they're denizens of heaven come to grace the occasion. Now, I must add a caveat here. There is nothing wrong if you want to look for certain characteristics in an adoption candidate. I've adopted a few babies out to folks who wanted long tailed kitties. There was also one fantastic lady who wanted only a girl, slender, so her resident moggie won't get overwhelmed. All these are great cat guardians who really care for the kitties. It's not a sin to say "I'm looking for a cat with siamese- qualities." It's when the potential adopter starts telling you: We hate Big EARs, we hate stumpy tails, we want a persian, 2-3 months can already, bigger not so cute, we want a siamese, we want a white cat, we want.. we want... Last I looked, there wasn't anything on me that screams "Custom Cats R Us". The temptation to do bodily harm always threatens to rear its ugly, but commiserative, head about this point in time. But you grin and bear it, and instead continue to be civil to these people on whom civility is wasted. Why? Because otherwise, that stoopid urban myth of "them crazy cat women" will gain a few more moronic subscribers. When you explain and tell these idiots you rescue, not sell cats, so you don't have control over how the moggies look, and anyway, cats are cats are cats, they look askance, like you've wasted their time and blasphemed. And oh, how weird that you're rescuing the worthless, plain local cats. Whatever, they're the losers. The UGLY Eh... erm... OK, I admit defeat here. Honestly, I know there's a diff, but the line's so blurred sometimes, I can't tell the difference between BADDIES and UGLIES anymore. They seem like hybrids of the same species. Wait, I can think of one example: a father called, wanting to adopt so his two kids can learn responsiblity and kindness too. A load of social-righteous proclamations later, I was sold. So we got down to the surprising tedious business of arranging a visit - we literally bent over backwards to accommodate them. With promises of updating should a change be necessary, we set an appointment 2 weeks later. On the actual day, SMS reminders went unanswered, and you guessed it, the family never showed, no apologies, no nothing. I didn't know the Bermuda Triangle had a branch-office in the locale. Anyway, so what's the point in all this? Two, I think: 1) People come in all shapes and sizes, and the more you meet, the less surprised you are. The main point is to keep cool with the baddies, and remember the goodies when things aren't going well. There'll always be light at the end of the tunnel... unless someone forgot to pay the bills. 2) Adopters are a strange species in evolution. But then, I suppose, the symbiotic species, the foster is too. I don't know, honestly, which of the three categories I'd fit into, but since we're still in contact and speaking terms with all our adopters, I guess we're not too low on the evolutionary ladder. (A later tangent about the Good) - Go to Pawprints: TNRM - Go to SINGAPORE UGLY / Casefile: Cruel Singapore. Hack-care Singapore. - Go to HDB bans cats - government body chronically misconceived - Go to Singapore's Love-Hate Relationship with Trap-Neuter-Release Management - Check out the purrsNswipes Adoption Guidebook - Meet our homeseekers - Go to Pawprints: TLC for cat minon requisite education