Khal and Khaleesi

Last weekend I went to visit my friends Becca and Tom, who a few months ago adopted two kittens from Zani’s Furry Friends. Zani’s is a rescue that takes animals from typically high-kill shelters in New York City and puts them into foster homes until permanent homes can be found. While I usually like to advocate adopting locally, Becca and Tom were looking specifically for Maine Coon or part-Maine Coon kittens. So they adopted Khal and Khaleesi, a brother–sister duo.

As part of the rescue’s requirements for adoption, Becca and Tom asked me to do a home check for them and send a report evaluating whether they were good prospective adopters. It seemed like a bit of an odd request, since most shelter volunteers/staff are too busy to do home checks for another organization out of state, but as a friend, I happily agreed to it. I had never done an actual home check before, but I do interviews of potential adopters all the time at the ARL Boston, so I know what things to look out for.

Here’s the evaluation I came up with: Cat Home Visit_Blank (click to download)

Becca and Tom live outside Boston and it was several months before I was able to come visit them and their new kittens. Khal and Khaleesi are now six months old (the age when all kittens misbehave and cause mayhem). I have to say I was a little jealous of the two large cat trees from Kitty Mansions that they had in the living room and den.

But what was most important about this visit was an affirmation that no matter what type of pet someone is looking for, even if it’s somewhat specific (like a certain breed of kitten), adoption is always the answer!