This post originally appeared on Facebook where I have 56 friends as opposed to 9 friends on my comatose blog.
As many of my 56 Facebook friends, and Tammy's assorted friends know, our beloved cat, Grayson (pictured in the first photo), died suddenly last weekend. We thought we could wait until after our vacation this summer to adopt a new cat, but alas, I was way more lonely than I anticipated. Since Grayson was such a beautiful and affectionate animal (at least to those of us he didn't bite), and we had owned another rescue Maine Coon mix, we decided to try and adopt another rescue Maine Coon Cat. We found an organization online called Only Maine Coon Rescues. We fell in love with the photo and bio of one of their featured cats. The bio described him as having a bit of an attitude in that he would gently swipe at you if you "over-petted" him. He seemed to have what I like to call "catittude". A personality quirk I adore in cats. They are very independent as opposed to being extremely needy like dogs, and I love that quality. So I dutifully filled out the lengthy online application and anxiously awaited the reply. Well, three days later, I still had not heard anything in spite of being assured by the auto response e-mail that since "OMCRescue.org" is a volunteer endeavor it would be 24 hours before we should expect a response. In the mean time, Tammy had researched rescue cats on the Camden County Animal Shelter web site and she found Bentley, whose 70 year old owner had just died. Her daughter could not take on another cat so she was forced to bring him back to the pound. Bentley is the cat pictured in the second photo. Who could not fall in love with those big, round, expressive eyes??? Like a Margaret Keane character come to life. So we went to PetSmart (where the animal shelter showcases the cats) and adopted him. Well, wouldn't you know it, two days later I received an e-mail from the Maine Coon cat rescue organization. No, it was not serendipitous good news. It was a rejection letter!!!!!! And it was, I must say, more painful and out of hand dismissive than the rejection letter I received from Harvard University in 1978 (okay, I never applied to Harvard, but you get my point). I have, and this is the point of this long story, included a copy of the letter below. I don't object to being rejected if they feel I don't meet certain criteria, but for goodness sakes, allow me the dignity to understand the rules. I wasn't even granted the courtesy of a home visit by one of their, I assume, trained, feline centric social workers before being rejected. And maybe I am over-reacting, we are talking about voluntary do-goodism here, but how patronizing is it to say, we are sure you may still be able to adopt a cat elsewhere, but not from us with our TOP-SECRET, super special feline domesticus guidelines. MY goodness, if I ever had a patient for whom I did not want to fix a tooth because he never brushed his teeth, I would explain to him the importance of oral hygiene for the long term maintenance of your dental work. Start brushing and I will be happy to be your dentist. I spent ALOT of "unreimbursed" time educating my patients (the most important aspect of healthcare btw). I wouldn't just kick someone out of my office because they didn't meet my high standards of caring. But maybe that's just me, I don't know. Maybe a dialogue between two people with opposing points of view would have prevented the election of Donald Trump by the so-called unheard masses. Seriously. Cat Nazis do not further the cause of unwanted pets in this country. Maybe you disagree. I would love to hear from you, especially if you think I am a sarcastic, bitter old white man. Which I clearly am. Here is the rejection letter. Feel free to e-mail them with your opinion that their selection process should not be shrouded in Trumpian secrecy.....even if you think they were correct to reject me because I obviously have anger issues:
OMC! Rescue (Only Maine Coons Rescue) would like to thank you for taking the time to apply to our rescue group.
Unfortunately, your application was not approved.
To maintain the effectiveness of our adoption process and guidelines, we cannot provide specific details as to why your application was not approved.
We do understand any disappointment you may feel with this decision. This does not mean that you cannot provide a good home to another cat in need. It just means that something in your application did not meet the guidelines we have in place to adopt our cats.
OMC! Rescue wishes you success in your endeavors to add a new cat to your home.
Sincerely,
Only Maine Coons Rescue - OMC!
http://www.omcrescue.org
info@omcrescue.org
Here was my reply email:
Oh, silly me. I thought having owned rescue cats since 1973 would qualify
me. One of our Maine Coon mixes showed up at our door one day, and after trying
to find her owner, we took her in. She lived with us for 18 years. She
adopted us. Maybe the cats should make the decisions, not you.
Regards,
Richard Feuer
This, of course, will reinforce their low opinion of me. But that's the problem with fundamentalism, isn't it? The inability to ever engage in self reflection.
