Surrender | Misty Eyes Animal

SURRENDERING YOUR PET

The decision to surrender a pet is difficult. As hard as it may be for you, it’s also hard for your pet. Going into a shelter can be very stressful, particularly for older animals. They don’t understand what has happened and why they are there. Even if they go to a foster home, there’s a period of grieving and confusion.

It’s a myth that most pets are surrendered because of behavior problems. The truth is, most pets are surrendered because of changes in peoples lives. Before making the decision to surrender a pet, please give it some thought and consider some alternatives:

Having financial difficulties? There are programs that may be able to help with veterinary expenses, as well as pet food pantries where you can obtain food and supplies. Please don’t give up without checking your area for available resources.

Don’t have enough time? Believe it or not, your pet can’t tell time. They don’t know if you’re gone 5 minutes or 5 hours. It is possible to live a busy life and still have your furry family member. Consider ways to provide your pet with more enrichment – perhaps a pet sitter/dog walker, doggy day care, or ask a friend to help out. Take a look at your schedule to see if there are ways to set aside more time to spend with your pet and ensure that the time you do spend with them is worthwhile. Visit a dog park, designate time to play, entertain your kitty with a variety of toys. For older animals, often all they need is some time with you doing absolutely nothing. If you travel and have cats, a timed food dispenser can be a great benefit. Cats seem to adapt very well to timed feeders and it eliminates the need to hire a pet sitter for a few days away from kitty.

Moving and can’t take your pet with you? So many properties are pet friendly. Please make every effort to choose a place that will allow you to keep your family together.

Behavior problems? Please have your pet examined by a veterinarian to determine whether the behavior is related to a physical issue or illness. If not, your vet can recommend a behaviorist and/or trainer that can work with you and your pet to overcome behavioral difficulties.

If you have no other option than to surrender your pet, please be aware that virtually all shelters and rescues are overcrowded and it may take awhile to find a place for your pet. Misty Eyes is a foster-based cat and dog rescue, which means we can only take in animals when we have foster home space available. We are not a shelter and are not affiliated with animal control. Pets cannot be dropped off for surrender. Because we need as much information as possible to determine whether we can accept your pet, an OWNER SURRENDER REQUEST FORM must be submitted for review. Please allow several days for us to respond. Please submit a separate Owner Surrender Request Form for each individual animal. For mama cats/dogs with litters of kittens/puppies, please read the next section below and submit a Litter Surrender Request Form.

If you find a stray animal who appears to be sick or injured, please contact animal control as quickly as possible. If you find a stray animal that appears to be in good health, please contact your local shelter first. Owners often contact area shelters to see if their pet has been found or turned in. If your local shelter is unable to take in the stray pet, please attempt to locate an owner prior to submitting a surrender request to Misty Eyes.

SURRENDERING LITTERS

Misty Eyes is a foster-based rescue, which means we can only take in animals when we have foster home space available. During kitten season (Spring through early Fall), we may require additional time to determine and arrange foster home space. Misty Eyes is not affiliated with any local TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) programs and cannot assist with trapping feral or semi-feral cats and kittens. In such cases, please contact your local animal control to identify resources for neighborhood/community cats in your area.

If you find what seems to be an abandoned litter of kittens, be aware that the mother cat may just be away hunting for food. Leave the kittens where they are (unless it’s an unsafe location) and check in several hours to see if the mother has returned. If the mother cat does not return, the kittens will need shelter, food and water (if they are weaned). Kittens that are still nursing urgently need to get to a shelter or rescue ASAP where they can be bottle-fed.

If you take in a litter of kittens with no mother and they are eating on their own, try to interact with them as much as possible so that they are not frightened of humans. Adoption is much easier for friendly, socialized kittens. Outdoor kittens around 8 weeks or older may be difficult to socialize. When possible, it’s best to begin working with them at 4-6 weeks.

If you take in a litter of kittens, but the mother is feral or semi-feral, Misty Eyes may be able to take the kittens. However, the mama cat will need to be spayed and vaccinated through a local TNR program and allowed to return to her home “territory.”

It’s rare to find a litter of puppies, but it does happen occasionally. There are also times when several puppies from a litter have been re-homed, but the family may need assistance with the remaining puppies. Misty Eyes does take puppies, but it depends on the availability of foster home space.

To surrender a family of animals such as a mother cat and kittens or a litter of puppies, please submit a completed LITTER SURRENDER REQUEST FORM. Unless your surrender request is urgent (very young kittens or puppies), please allow us time to determine whether we have foster space available. If you find kittens or puppies who appear to be very ill or injured, please contact your local animal control immediately.