I emailed them:
Dear sirs,
for the past 2 days, I have been anxiously following the adoption process of Princess by Simon and Sean Stone.
I know Simon through a cat rescue forum, and I have a great regard for him, for his love of his cats, and for the sensible and consistent way in which he always lets the cats' interests prevail over what might be most convenient for him.
I think you couldn't find a better home for Princess, with better, more loving and caring owners, anywhere un the UK.
So, as a cat lover AND as a rescue worker, I can only say that if you let your guidelines get in the way of this adoption, there must be something fundamentally wrong with your guidelines.
I read your description of Princess (on your website). According to you, Princess has always been an indoor cat, and is very timid too, so you - quite rightly - state she should be introduced to the outdoors with great care. Your demand for a cat flap is in flagrant contradiction with this (your very OWN) demand for a gradual and careful introduction to the outdoors. A cat like Princess could get spooked by strange sounds and smells only too easily. She is not accustomed to a garden OR a cat flap, so she would probably bolt in the wrong direction and get herself killed.
The method suggested by the Stones, on the other hand, the method they also applied when introducing their king and queen Archie and Ella to the garden, seems to be tailor-made for a cat like Princess, and fits your description of the ideal approach to a T.
So what IS your problem????
The only reason I can imagine for this shambles is that someone in the rescue spoke way out of turn, and you are now protecting that person. For if this is truly your policy: no adoption of an INDOOR cat unless you have a catflap, and rather keeping the poor blighters cooped up in a pen with no outdoors at all, you make no sense at all, and are completely out of touch with reality.
What is your aim?
Rehoming cats to spacious homes with lovely gardens they can play in, and adoring people to cater to their every need, or hoarding them in little pens untill a prince on a white horse comes riding in to take them to his chrystal palace????
If so, you missed something, as Princess's prince came in last saturday and the saturday before, his name is Simon.
Be fair, admit you mistake, and allow Princess to be adopted into cat heaven, being the Stone family home!!!!!
Anja van Weeszenberg
cat owner and rescue volunteer
The Netherlands