Previous Owner Wants to Visit Adopted Cats?

Frugal Sunnie
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April 24, 20130 found this helpful

I can understand why you are concerned but I can soooo deeply empathise with the former cat-mum/dad! They want to be absolutely sure they've put their former fur-baby into the right new home. I hope you'll not only encourage a brief (one-time only) visit, but will be good enough to send them updates including pictures of how the cats are.

When I remarried and moved to the UK in 2010 I ended up having to rehome my two cats (neutered male-5yo, spayed female-3yo). In a way making that decision was the hardest part of the move because my son and grandson come over for visits regularly-I get to see them all the time.

But the new cat family refused from the beginning to let me know how they were doing and I still have nightmares because I don't know how they are. I raised the female from a tiny kitten, and the male was a 9mo old rescue-they trusted me and I feel horrible thinking they might have gone through a hard adjustment feeling they'd been abandoned by me. An email with pics of those two looking happy and comfortable would have settled it for me, and shouldn't have been too much trouble, I will never understand why they wouldn't let me know the cats are ok.

So, while yes it might be a little unsettling for the cats for a day or so after the visit, it will ease the mind(s) of the previous family, and if you are providing a good home for them, the cats should settle back into their new routine and be fine.

And the former family will be reassured the cats are ok. I'm really not kidding about the nightmares I'm having about my two, I really believe 'pets are family' and are for life, and it was horrible having to find them a new home. I feel as though I abandoned them, and it's primarily because the people I trusted to rehome them wouldn't let me know they are ok.

Please consider permitting the visit, and please keep the former family updated via email. A few emails with pics over the first year should be enough to help the humans make the adjustment.

And if it helps, I've rehomed cats and dogs and always made sure the former family is updated-doing so has never caused a long-term problem for the animal, the formers, or me. My new husband and I fostered a cat here in Scotland over the long 2011-12 winter owing to an illness and simultaneous house move; when we tried to take him back to his family in the summer, he refused to get along with the other cats in the home so he's rehomed permanently at our house.

I email his former family every couple of months-seems to help the former 'mum' especially because she and the cat had a very strong bond. But he's happy here as the 'only' cat, too, so it's working out for everyone. She knows he's ok, he has the life I think he's always dreamt of, lol. Win-win:)