A Cry for Help Rescue

After grieving my amazing ragdoll mix cat Chloe for months (and still not getting over her death), I decided to start checking Petfinder for a kitten or perhaps even a ragdoll. Not because I thought I’d be able to replace her, but because I knew that part of what made Chloe so special was her breed – ragdolls are among the most affectionate of felines. I have a tabby cat named Frida who is very sweet and fun, but she is not a lapcat. She sleeps with me but not ON me, and I really missed that kind of exuberant companionship and, well, I knew a ragdoll would give that to me. Getting a ragdoll from a breeder can cost well over a grand, and I wouldn’t go the breeder route anyway (why do that when there are already so, so many perfectly sweet animals who need homes?)
After a couple months of checking Petfinder and having no luck – either finding possible new feline friends but they were too far away OR emailing/​calling about cats and not hearing back from the shelters – I found a listing for a guy named Aspen, a two-​year-​old ragdoll housed with A Cry For Help Rescue. He was left, the story was, at a fire station in Chicago with another cat who was euthanized at the first shelter they were brought to.
One thing I really appreciated about A Cry For Help is that they have a one-​week trial. I think that’s such a good idea since adopting a pet is a huge commitment, especially an adult animal who already has his own quirks (and we had the special consideration of already having a cat who was probably not going to be pleased). A friend of mine recently brought home an adult male cat from a shelter and had a terrible experience – she was mislead about his issues and it did not go well. So I was nervous about the whole thing, especially because Aspen was two.
A Cry For Help isn’t a shelter in that they have no actual facility, but it’s a small network of fosters. Aspen’s foster mom brought him to my house with a Ziplock of the food he’d been eating and some of the treats he likes. She was genuinely sad to say goodbye to him and she wished she could keep him, but she said he knew that with his need for attention, he’d get more of it with us than her place where he had to share one human with eight other cats and five dogs. His foster mom and I don’t see eye-​to-​eye on some parts of pet care (like how to introduce pets, for example) and I was a little uncomfortable with some of the rescue’s rules (I’ll get into those in a minute), but Aspen won us over in minutes. He was immediately curious, affectionate, and fun, so we agreed to the adoption. (In a week, I was to call and have them cash the check for the adoption fee or ask them to come back for Apsen and return the check). We kept him – it’s been over a month now – and he’s wonderful. Even Frida mostly thinks so.
I’ve never gotten a pet from a shelter or rescue before (my previous cats were given to me by friends who had rescued neighborhood cats themselves) so I don’t know how normal these rules are, but l found some of the rules a bit odd, invasive even. First: He is micro-​chipped by the rescue which will not change to my contact info, so if he’s lost, he’ll be returned to them (and then it’s questionable if I’d be able to get him back from them). Next, I can’t give him to anyone unless they approve them. It’s like I have guardianship but he’s never really mine. Also, I had to promise that he wouldn’t go outside. If they find out I broke their rules, there’s mean wording that says I’d be sued and have to pay for their court costs.
Is this normal? I don’t know. Frankly, their terms seemed a bit odd but basically were fine with me because I don’t take pet guardianship lightly and this sweet fella is worth it. I’ve made a commitment to Aspen (now called Will) to care for him his whole life, and I will (unless I die first). The microchip does bug me a bit, but I got him a collar and name tag even though he is an inside cat because he’s sneaked into the garage a couple times, so in case he does get out, I want the neighbors to call me. He’s so friendly and trusting that I know he’d let someone read his tag. (Plus, it is pretty cute to hear the jingle of his bell coming down the stairs).
We are a testament to the fact that you don’t need to pay a breeder for a sweet cat. Or even a designer cat. You can add sweetness and joy to your family for a reasonable adoption fee and a little patience.