sorry ma'am you'r too old for a kitten

ouch, that must hurt. is that a common pet adoption rule? Is it even legal to implement such rule? It does not seem reasonable one bit. It does not seem the kitty is better off staying in the shelter for a few more days and then be put to sleep and for the old lady to stay kitty-less if she could provide it with a nice, loving home.

dagmaraka, its just plain freakin' stupid (my opinion) a kitten in a shelter, an older lonely lady, i can't think of a nicer solution for both.

What, people who are 61 or over lose all kitty control?

'Sides, we're not talking about adopting a fiesty Rottweiler or Borzoi, both of which would need regular long walks and the Rottie would need serious training.

It's a kitten! They weigh, what, 5 lbs.? They get up to no more than 40, and only then if you overfeed the heck outta them. They don't need to be walked, they can be given a buncha food which will stand them in good stead for a few days if you have to go away, and most neighborhood kids will sit for them if you have to be away for longer than that.

Oh, yeah, that's waaaay too difficult for an octogenarian who still makes her own meals and cleans her own place.

Yeah, sure, right.

Note: sarcasm filter on high for the last 2 sentences.

I can understand yanking away driver's licenses, but no pussycat?

Cannot wait to retire, what a cheerful perspective. 'Sorry, ma'm', will likely be the most frequent utterrance in my direction. Better stock up on cats and dogs at the age of 59!

This is a very annoying report. I think the eighty year old could now be depressed by this judgment on her capacity, or lack of it, to have a kitten; I can imagine it being quite a blow.

jespah, no sarcasm noted, almost as subtle as moi "its just plain freakin' stupid"

40 pounds!? That's a mountain lion kit, maybe. Spooky is 15 and he is a big cat. C.D.'s Mable is 25. That has to be close to a record.

Has anyone tried to contact C.D., by the way? If she hasn't already refused, I'd be happy to send her a note.

ridiculous

a friend on mine has 2 cats, both are wider than longer, i must ask him to weigh them. i am absolutely sure they are the heaviest felines at least in this hemisphere. but they are so lazy by now that i don't see how an old lady would not be able to manage the two sleeping fuzz-balls.

At that age, I would think she would have told the young, and obviously unwise gal there what to do with her thoughts on being older

I would have

humph

However, around here I know it is pretty hard to even get an animal at a shelter, you actually have to be screend, approved, sign all kinds of paperwork..

maybe the younger woman thinks that after 60 if she cant do something, no one can

silly silly silly

25 POUNDS??!!!

My gosh...I think Cleo tops out at 18, and shes a pretty big cat..it aint all fat you know? Zoeys fat though..and shes around 12 Pounds....I couldnt imagine 25, really I couldnt.

i'm still wondering, is it legal to refuse to release a pet for adoption on the grounds of old age?

I doubt it. My thought on the refusal was not that the woman couldn't handle a kitten, but that the kitten would end up back in the shelter as an adult if the owner were to die. Still not a good excuse, but one with more meat to it than the "you can't handle a kitten" arguement.

Yeah, I kind of read it the way 'k does there: that the concern is that the pet will outlive the owner. Not a valid concern for a cat, emotionally independent as they are. I might take it into consideration in adopting a puppy out to an elderly person, but only if I had more prospects of placing animals than I had animals in the shelter -- which is generally not the case in rural areas.

Course, she could be a known cat lady...

Well, yeah. Better to kill the kitten in a few days than give it a good home for years to come.

Roger; a good point could be made that this is an example of internal terrorism, if you get my drift

Okay, okay, so I overestimated cat weight! I've never owned one, mea culpa!

The only slight reason for refusing to allow this woman to adopt is as littlek said, that the shelter might have been concerned that the octogenarian would not have survived long enough to care for the cat until the end.

Oy, doesn't the shelter realize that people die at any time? And that it's a little dangerous to be estimating time of death for humans? Argh, it is, as dys said, freakin' stupid.

As for legal, it is, unfortunately. Age discrimination is illegal when it comes to what the government does, or things like jobs. Owning a pet isn't a recognized legal right and, hence, there's no protection. But I'd threaten suit anyway, under age discrimination statutes. Get 'em scared and bring in the press. The shelter'll be hand-delivering kittens to you every week, they'll be so terrified.