A couple of days ago I received a telephone call. It was my friend Yasemin Baban, one of the greatest animal rescuers I ever met.
She was calling from the Beykoz shelter.
Her trembling voice could barely mask her tears. She went on the describe me what it had just happened. A few minutes earlier, a well dressed man arrived to the shelter driving a luxury car. He was carrying a bag. Inside the bag there were two Persian cats, mother and son, 10 and 6 years old.
He told a story of a couple, a british woman and a turkish man. The couple had split up because of the man’s infidelities. She was returning to England and couldn’t take the cats with her.
We do not know who took the decision to take those two beautiful cats, perfectly groomed and obviously loved, to a shelter filled to the brim with barking dogs, but the fact is that they did it. Logic tells me that the lady left the cats to the care of her husband and he, simply, gave the cats to his driver to be dumped at the nearest shelter.
Yasemin described precisely the situation you see in these pictures. A mother and a son sticking close together, terrified and shaking uncontrollably. They refused to eat, and drink.
I asked her to bear with me whilst I made a few calls. Nothing. Let’s Adopt! doesn’t currently have any foster homes, for cats or dogs. Once again, my hands were tied. I had to promise I would continue looking and asked her to keep the cats at the shelter.
I couldn’t sleep that night. I kept on thinking of the mother and son, going crazy amongst all those dogs.
Yesterday we took both cats out of the shelter and they are sleeping next to me as I write.
The thing is, whilst most of you have already one cat (and refuse to do anything for any other animal), we have 16 cats at home (and I’m not mentioning the dogs). Ad to this the fact that we have another emergency to foster (Sylvester) and it means we need to find a home for this two beautiful cats right away.
The driver did not give us their names, but we have named them Nader and Maheen, two beautiful Persian names.
Today I took beautiful pictures of the cats, sleeping peacefully and safe, but I have decided to publish the first images I ever saw of them. I want you to see what I did.
Help me find a home for Nader and Maheen. Or even better, adopt them yourself.
Conditions for adoption:
– Nader and Maheen will be adopted together.
– The family must have AT LEAST TWO cats currently. We want to make sure the family understand cats. Most people who only have one cat simply have no idea.
– The cats will be indoor cats. Access to garden is a plus, of course.
-.The cats will be fed a raw diet (www.rawfedcats.org)
Viktor@myletsadopt.com
Some days I feel like I am beating my head against a brick wall trying to save the few I can, then I hear stories like this, and wonder “am I doing enough?” My home is full of animals that were not wanted by someone. Some are recovering from abuse suffered at the hands of people who see them as objects, others just need to learn to trust again, all are loved. As I sit here and write this, the dogs sleep on beds scattered throughout the house, the cats hunt imaginary mice in their separate quarters, and the rats sleep in their cages waiting for night to fall before they become active. A rescued cockatiel squaks from his cage in the corner, and a small six pound poodle snoozes in my lap. Tears come to my eyes for the fate of two beautiful creatures a world away that I can do nothing for but pray. I pray that there is someone like me in their future, someone who sees their worth, someone who will give them the safe and nurturing home they should have had from the beginning. I pray because I can do nothing I am bound by geography. There is someone out there who can do more for them, one of you who can give them a home, and safety. I beg you please come forward, please make a difference.
Sorry Viktor, this comment is for Yasemin …
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dear
Yasemin, only not lose heart, you’re not alone!!!
Friendly greetings…
Sabine and Nanouk
come on!! Anyone please adopt these two beautiful cats! Or offer them a nice foster home untill they find a family to go to!!!
Turkish friends, please step up! I refuse to believe a home can’t be found localy for two cats and esp. pampared and beautiful ones such as these.I know a home can be found , it is hard to believe they are with Viktor because of lack of fosters, someone who is eligable to take these cats, please do it !
Yasemin, you are not alone and I feel the same way, I live in South Africa, I do Persian Rescue here and it is so sad to see these beautiful and oh so sensitive cats suffer…..what did they ever do to deserve it. Some days you will feel the way you do but when you look a month or 2 down the line and you see those two precious cats in a loving home then you will be so happy that you do what you do.
Take care and good luck with those poor babies.
i would happily take them on if they could be got to me only because there are 2 of them I think they would settle better as all my cats have come in 2s to help them settle but as you know i do not feed my animals raw food but if you are considering me donot hesitate to contact me
Hi Annee..
I have explained the reasons why.. many times..
1. Need to have more than one because the majority of cases people with one only cat don’t understand it can take a long time for the old cat to accept the new. The rush to give the cat back.
The raw condition is to ensure the health of the cat for life.
As for having so many cats on our adoption list, actually, we don’t.
Actually, Let’s Adopt has one of the most impressive rates of adoption sucess.. anywhere, we handle the most difficult cases, paralyzed and handicapped animals. We are successful because, and just because we are extremely demanding.
Imagine you own a company.. do you give a job to every Tom Dick and Harry that knocks on your door or you choose the absolute best to work with you?
I know what we do…. we aim for the best. Nothing else will do.
Aysen.. that is because you haven’t had a dog returned to you after 9 months.
Long list of conditions? 3 is long?
We have no adoption fee.. zero.
Try a adopt a dog in the US and you will have to pay 200 USD +
Instead of charging anything we apply 3 adoption rules.
IF those rules are too much then please.. by all means.. encourage people to adopt from shelters.. over there they ask for nothing, just an ID. Actually, you an adopt from a shelter and dump him inmediately afterwards (eventually we find them) That is how good their adoption systems are.
I have to agree with Viktor 🙂 Although I do not feed my furkids raw food, I do keep them indoors, for there own safety! Allowing them to roam, especially at night leaves them open to disease, wild animal attacks, getting hit by a car, or even abusive sickos taking cats off the street! I have 21 kitties, they all stay indoors, and they are spoiled and VERY happy! Strict rules keep kitties in the care of people who really want a furbaby as a companion…if you adopt a human child, you have rules. Same as furbabies!! These kitties have probably never roamed outdoors, therefore wouldn’t survive very long outdoors! Good for you Viktor…keep up the rules!!
Actually… you know what Aysen? I don’t have faith on kindness and compassion.. this is why I do what I do.. to deal with the result of people’s lack of it.
So.. as I have no faith in people I need to have my “insurance policies”.. and those are our three rules.
In any case don’t worry.. both cats are sleeping on my bed right now so they’ll be ok, all our animals are.
Anne… when I mean indoor cats I mean that they cats will sleep at home at night.. Im ok with them having access to the garden at will.
But tell me the logic.. one on hand you give me a speech about the nocturnal and hunting nature of cats and on the other you scold me because I demand the adoptant to feed them the natural way..
Dont you see the contradiction here?
Merve… we are not looking for easy solutions. We are looking for THE BEST solution. If we were looking for easy solutions we would be like the other shitty groups who give dogs away like you give candy to a group of kids.. and then the dogs die.
Remember Wendy? She is happy right? She lives with two other dogs. Other people would have sent her to a farm, or to a factory.
Not us. You should understand how we work better by now.
I totally agree with Viktors ‘rules’ Ultimately our job as conscientious animal lovers & carers is to ensure their health for the entirety of their life. If u can not afford to feed raw food then perhaps u can not afford to own the cat. If u can not follow the regime of a natural raw diet for your cat then perhaps u need to ask yourself this question: “Am i ‘humanising’ my cat or am I allowing them to be what they are? Dry Food can lead to bowel and kidney problems as they age. Cooked cat food often has sweeteners which rot the teeth and also preservatives which toxify the body. The only time my cats have cooked food is when I prepare it and it is some brown rice or some steamed carrot or as a treat roasted pumpkin.
Dear Viktor, I completely agree with the 3 conditions you have indicated.. The pets are not toys and they need families who will consider and treat them as one of their family members, will love and protect..
Thanks Derya..
When I came out with our rules people thought I was mad…
Today everyone is starting to understand why they are there…
If I didn’t live in the middle of the US, I would come to your house and get them now! I los two of my rescued kitties, one in Oct. and one last month, and now only have two. Best of luck with those beauties! Please keep us updated!
You are right about someone only having one cat not fully understanding cats. We have 9 plus 4 grand-kitties (they live with my daughters but come home for visits) plus a dog plus a bunny and cockateil. I have to warn people when they come to my house that they could end up with someone in the bathroom with them. Dry food is particularly bad for male cats as they can end up with crystals.
If you can find someone to get them to the east coast, I will be glad to help arrange their traveling to Patti’s. The earliest I will be on your continent will be late July so if need be, I can help transport them then. Let me know if I can help.
I live in the US…Otherwise Nader (One of my favorite Persian names – I have a good friend named Nader ; )) and Maheen would be coming to live with me. Viktor’s rules seem quite fair, and caring. As to the expense of raw-feeding – most people don’t realize that the best place to go is a local butcher or a fresh meat processing facility. You can choose the cuts, buy a whole / portion of an animal (if you have the freezer room – it’s a great way to go) – there are so many choices. It is so much better, and usually less expensive (especially during hunting season – when the butchers have SO much to process, that they sell fresh deer meat / game, very cheaply – because they don’t have enough room. Our butcher sold it to us for 20 cents US / lb, for our Wolf Hybrid). But, the key word here is FRESH. Many grocery chains sell meat that is full of chemicals – and it is much more expensive.
The mother looks like our Persian Cat, Princess – who lived to be 24 yrs old. Her son is just gorgeous! 10 and 6 are VERY young for Persian cats, but one of their problems is that if they are fed processed food – they develop tooth issues. When we rescued Princess from ‘Doberman Breeders’ she had been living in their bathroom (the only place where the dogs wouldn’t eat her) – her fur was matted down to her skin in bloody clumps and she only had four teeth left. She was ‘old’ for a regular cat, but after we ‘fixed her up’ – she spent many long years by our side (and still had those four teeth …the rest of her life). I miss her. I have four at my house and 10 at our rescue – but, we still miss the ones that aren’t with us.
If it would not be a horrible experience for the cats – I would say…send them over. But, I do wish you luck in finding them the perfect home!
Warm Regards,
Suzanne
Thanks Suzy…
Let’s see if we manage to find them the perfect home here. I am not very hopeful…
Will get back to you…
I have had animals in care with me for over a year before finding them the right home. What you people have to realize is that not just any home will do. These animals must go to forever homes that are willing to work through the issues. The home must be perfect. If the home is not right the animal will just end up back in a shelter or worse. I too have strict adoption guidlines for my rescues here in Canada. I do not bend those rules having learned through experience that there is only one method that works successfully. Every time I have bent a rule the outcome has not been favorable. So while you may think Viktor is being too rigid, I agree with him on this issue. There must be criteria for adopting a rescue, and no exceptions can be made.
As Viktor said above Let’s Adopt has a great track record for adoptions and so do I. The reason for this is simple. We don’t bend the rules for anyone.
Aysen — I have been rescuing and rehoming animals in Canada for over 20 years. If you think Viktor is tough when it comes to rules for rescues then you most definitely would not like my methods. I do home inspection visits before even considering a person or family for adoption. There is a fifty question adoption application to fill out. You must have a veterinary reference as well as three non-family references. Finally, there is an adoption contract to be signed once a prospective adopter is approved (not everyone who applies is approved.) I also do a follow up maintenance visit two to four weeks after the animal has been adopted. If at that time I do not feel the animal is being properly cared for, I have the right (as laid out in the adoption contract) to remove that animal from the home and bring it back to the training center for rehoming. As I said if you think the Let’s Adopt criteria for adoption is tough, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Point is we have to be tough and there have to be rules. You may think it is ridiculous, but if you do, then you obviously do not understand the dynamics of animal rescue. You are on the sidelines looking in, you have not seen the things we have seen, and for that you should think yourself lucky. No these rules and criteria are not ridiculous, they are necessary.
Allright guys, I had worked for animal rights and animal lives for so long in Turkey, officially. Believe me, what Viktor does is absolutely necessary. There’re many bad stories out there in especially Turkey. We’re living in a country where people buy pets just because to honour their kids’ grades, or just because of a momenary will…or, because important people have pets why not them?
Living with a pet, sharing a lifethime with it is not easy. When people ask me whether it’s difficult to keep a pet at home, I always say, “Yes, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT!” and at that moment people start complaining about the walks you have to take, the furs, and pee training and all that.
and there are only three rules. living at home ( I can’t imagine the otherwise), fed by raw ( at first people can disagree but it’s a scientific fact which have been approved by REAL vets.
and the third one, in Turkey, yes essential. Because if you already sharing your life with one, you know about every difficulty so we can trust you.
People do not ADOPT pets here because they love them, they are predisposed to adopt pets because they do not have money. Otherwise, believe me, they will go to a pet center and find the most attractive one to show off!
I would love to have homed these 2 cats. But I live in Ireland. I have 2 house cats and a rescued disabled cat that does go outdoors but doesn’t leave the garden. I am a cruelty inspector and have rescued a number of cats (and dogs).
thanks Heather.. the only reason why I cannot send them to you is because of the ridiculous quarantine laws over there.. otherwise they would have been gone from Persian to Celtic cats without a problem.. 🙂
To Anne Hoesh who thinks she understands cats Ä° have 10 cats. I am lucky to lıve in the country so yes my cats have the possibility to spend time outside but all of them sleep with me at night. Ä° guess your cat hasn’t bonded with you and always two animals are better than one; cats, dogs and people are not loners, we need company. and by the way Ä° also have 9 dogs as well and support from 5-10 fosters they all get along splendidly. Mornings especially are wonderous watchimng them all play together and you can take Victors words seriously because many people adopt animals as a status and when it doesn’t grow up or turn out to be what they were expecting they dump it. So yes, he needs to put stipulations on adoptions and thanks to Victor many dogs who would perhaps wind up ust tied to a stake neglegted in someones garden have found a happy forever home!
I hope you find somebody with a big heart for them.they are precious! I would love to take them but as I have read above it will be hard to be sent to USA where I live:( my two babies would have had some friends to play with!I wish you luck and thank you for creating a FB page Let`s Adopt( Bulgaria).Thank you for Mima as well!
comme je l’ai dit, j’ai peut-être un amateur sous la main, il a déjà nombreux chats et chiens et ne “demande sûrement qu’à se laisser convaincre. Pour bien les connaître, je sais qu’ils pourront difficilement tomber mieux. Mes amis amateurs habitent en Belgique. laquestion est: les deux chats sont-ils toujours à adopter ? Réponse urgente souhaitée… Merc
I think viktor is doing all he can to help these animals he rescues, I currently have 4 dogs, one of which is a rescue, I see day to day the conditions some of these poor babies come in look like and it tears my heat out to see them that way, I would take everyone of them if I could, i dont understand how some people can treat them the way they do. For a dog or Cat they only see love for their owners regardless of how they are treated by them. I could not imagine being put through the cruel and thoughtless ways some are put through.
trop ralant….3 fois que j’arrive presque à trouver pour eux…je ne désespère pas
It is all a matter of your point of view. Of course Let’sAdopt has any right to dictate the terms for animal adoption. Of course I can relate to all the disappointments and failures that happen when dealing with humans. Or what is supposed to be a human… I myself have been treated like shit from the beginning. But I still think the rules are too strict and I can only judge that from my point of view. Those rules are for rich people. What about those people that only have a small apartment and cannot keep four cats at the same time, people that have to work 10 hours a day, that have no garden and cannot afford buying raw meat from a trusted butcher? Like me. Still, I personally say I’d rather see one or two cat(s) that is/are loved in a small home with not a perfect but an average life, than a cat that is kicked so hard and left to die or processed for the fur industry or used for cat fishing or whatever cruelty you can think of.
But what is with all those people saying that you don’t know anything about cats, just because you don’t have 2+ of them? I lived with cats all of my life until I moved from home and now I have to let myself be told only those cat owners that care for more than two cats are the right ones with all the proper knowledge? That is sad. The elite of cat owners deny many a cat a good and average life just because they deny people that cannot give a lot but what they can give is good.. they deny those people common sense, the ability to love and to care. I feel offended and I feel like a monster and I feel I am not welcomed among those super elite club of rich cat lovers.
And besides, what other case than exactly this one, where a rich couple breaks up and the mother and son are left to their unknown fate, shows that there is never ever a perfect solution, never is there a guarantee that those adopted animals are living a happy life until the end of it. Who is to judge if an animal isn’t stressed too much if it has to live with two more or even 30 other animals in one house and plus has to stay home at night? Did those animals talk to you and told you that this is the only right way to love them and care for them? I wouldn’t know…
Still, you save them and thus it’s your rules. I am sad to see that you save those animals only to give wealthy people the opportunity to help. I wish you all the best of luck and that you may never run out of these rich and perfect people that would never abandon their animal friends and always know best what is right for their symbol of “best animal lover” status.
Take care and forgive me my irony.
Cait.. those two cats will be home together.
The only way we have to be sure the new owner knows how to handle two cats is… when they have two cats already.
Pure logic… until a good family is found they will stay here with me, at home, sleeping in my bed.
xx
Cait.. I missed a point in my reply…
It’s actually the other way around.. usually wealthy people only keep one cat, max two. It is us, rescuers, that end up in houses populated by more than one or two animals.
I can assure you the vast majority of our adoptants is FAR from wealthy. But what we all are is true animal people that will NEVER dump an animal just because our circumstances change.
Stay in the group, see our success stories on the right link at the blog and tell me what you see…
For all you people who think Victor should change his principles; Ä° have to say; when you have rescued and homed as many abandoned pets and care for no less than twenty at a time. You can make a judgement, but until then as the saying goes; if you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem! And in the States you have to pay to rescue, we don’t charge, but the person should be able to properly support the adoptee.
Viktor, i would love to foster these babies if possible please let me know or email me and i will send you my phone # and we can discuss it further thank you for all you do,Amy
Dear all,
Nader and Maheen are with us as fosters since the beginning of April. So many have said that they are beautiful and sweet and they should quickly find homes. The reality is that nobody wanted to give them a permanent home so far.
Amy, by the way, thanks for yor offer to foster them but they are currently very happy in their foster home with us, with the remaining 19 of our cats and dogs.
Let me tell you a little about them:
Maheen (The Moon) is a very aloof little lady. She is very slender and she only lets anyone touch her when she chooses to. But, when she does pay you attention, it is perfection. She is sweet 🙂 A picky eater, she is still struggling with raw and preferes canned food, especially salmon.
Nader (The Beloved) is a big boy and very loving. He loves to sleep cuddled up to a person, usually on top of the pillow, near your head. He talks, and I mean talks. In Turkish he says “Mammaaaaa” which means “food” in child lingo and “Anne” which means “mommy”… He loves to eat and is healthy, definitely not fat. He loves sitting in the sun, on the windowsill or the terrace. He enjoys being brushed and stroked…
They are wonderful in every way, like all cats.
When their time comes to go to their final home, I want this house to be the perfect place for them to spend the rest of their lives. They deserve, again, like all animals, nothing less.
They will, with them, bring peace and beauty, love, affection and plentyt of strong character to any home.
As much as it is extremely hard for me to say goodbye to this little family, as much as I love them dearly, I’d rather they had the complete attention and love of a good family than 2/21 of my love and care.
PS Please, if you never had cats before, this is no “starter kit”…
Fulya
Good luck with these two sweet loves and God bless you –I have shared them and pray that they get a forever home really soon…
Well, the cost of raw depends on where you live. In America, a 20 kg bag of ProPlan is $27 (50 TL), and it lasted my 20 kg dog 3 months. So it’s less than 1 TL/day to feed ProPlan, and my last two dogs lived to age 16 and 14 1/2. Not too bad.
Conversely, when I tried raw there, it was 5+ TL/day, and wasn’t balanced nutrition. Why not? It’s impossible to find anything but “cleaned” meats. They don’t sell kidneys, sheep heads, tongues, tripe, or most other things available in Turkey. Even at a (rare) specialty butcher shop, the choices are packaged beef steak, roast beef, ground beef and cleaned chicken pieces (no organ meats). Even the fish are sterilized, cleaned, breaded and sold as “fish sticks/ fish fingers.” So finding enough organ meat is almost impossible.
I’m on a raw feeding forum, and it seems like most raw feeders in America really are very rich… or willing to drive up to 600 km each way to meet a truck selling organ meats (as my friend does)… or are friends with hunters who can provide offal.
Here in Turkey, the opposite situation is true. Kibble here is super expensive: 20 kg of good stuff costs 170-300 TL. This works out to 3-5 TL/day for my dog. At the same time, uncleaned meats and organ meats are readily available. For anybody wanting to feed raw here, this is what I get:
a bunch of “corbalik tavuk”–chicken backs with organs attached.
a bunch of the cheapest whole fish I can find.
individual packs of turkey or chicken hearts, gizzards, liver
packs of turkey necks and beef or lamb heart
I mix and match these into bags and freeze them for 2 weeks before using. Currently, I have a bunch of bags of “turkey necks + lamb heart + fish.” And another bunch of bags of “chicken backs + gizzards + liver.” I alternate feeding the bags for breakfast and dinner.
I’m able to feed our dog, our foster dog and our cat combined for <4 TL/day. This is the same cost of feeding kibble to just ONE dog. So in Turkey, there is no financial excuse NOT to feed raw unless you're feeding one of those AWFUL brands like "Goody" or "Love Dog" that are actually cheaper than real meat… because they contain only 4% meat themselves.
Where are the cats now? Are they still with you or have they been adopted.
What would it cost to get them to the states?
i can give them plenty of good, fresh raw fish and other seafood which i obtain here in florida from local fishermen. I only have one cat now as the oher one was older and passed away. I am experienced with many cats. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I kept and bred persians, siamese and burmese.
Please email me. Let me know if they have been adopted. Thanx
Hi Lily…
Yes… Maheen and Nader have been adopted in Holland. They are waiting for a flight volunteer to take them there.
Please join our core group on
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15520956297&ref=ts
and contact me when you see one of our animals still needing a family.