Rescues which claim to be overrun.

[WannabeKittens]

Have been looking to adopt some kittens. I have registered with multiple charities, all of which claim to be overrun as it is now kitten season.

I have even put in a query about some kittens which are being shown on the Celia Hammond site.

And none of them ever return my enquiries. Chat actually did send me an email asking for my details in order to do a home check, and I never heard from them again.

I’ve known several other people who have been through the same, charities claim to be overrun, but when push comes to shove they either never return calls or claim that they no longer have any cats available.

Same with dog rescues.

So if these centres are all so overrun with rescue animals, why is it virtually impossible to rescue one?

If I can’t rescue then I just won’t bother as I have no intentions of buying kittens on the internet. But it’s easy to see why so many people do.

I volunteer for a rescue in the east of England and sometimes they have similar complaints - but normally by people trying to rehome dogs. In that case it's because the dogs often have tricky behavioural needs and need really specific things. Rehoming young kittens should be far easier unless you're looking for specific unusual colours or breeds. I would recommend calling them after applying online as sometimes that can get the ball rolling a lot quicker. Where I volunteer kitten season is still very much going despite typically tapering out in September so fingers crossed you still have a decent chance of being able to adopt this year!

Looking at older cats is also worth it IMO - I recently adopted a 2 year old and it meant we could already see her full personality, she's as playful and healthy as a kitten and also would have struggled more to find a home.

Presumably it takes quite a volunteer effort to carry out all the home checks etc, maybe a friendly phone call would help.

Can you visit chat? That's what we did a few years ago iirc. I think they had open days every so often. We didn't have a home check I don't think, just a talk.

Do you need a kitten kitten, or would a young cat be ok? We actually went for a slightly older one (6yrs) and he's the best. Incredibly cuddly and very tolerant of my toddler!

no CHAT don’t do open days any more. Since the pandemic they do virtual home checks, and then you can go in and meet the kittens.

I ideally want kittens as I have a dog, and in the main kittens are more likely to learn to be comfortable with a dog than older cats.

Most of the rescues won’t home adult cats to homes with dogs, or very few of them.

Try The New Moon Rescue, CR5. They're pretty good.

Rescues are tough now.

They have a lot of strict criteria for adopting one of their animals but then they cry about people buying not adopting.

A lot of the big rescues are not flexible at all. Try a smaller rescue centre. They are usually happy to interact as much as possible and are even more flexible in their rules.

Could you try fostering?

I wasn't in a position to take on a cat long term but I did some fostering last year after a friend recommended it, had loads of cats offered to me and had first dibs on adopting.

IMO many of the bigger rescues are all about the ones now rather than the animals.

And especially when it comes to dogs most dogs in rescues just aren’t suitable to be rehomed to your average family because they’re staffies and the like. If you want a specific breed or even a family pet then your best bet is the smaller rescues. And yet it’s the bigger ones who are coining in the cash.

*all about the money

It’s nothing new. When we wanted to reduce despite me being a sahm they wanted us to view at say a random 2Pm work day. My husband works we all had to attend and it was a set day by them when he couldn’t get leave. No weekend viewing or anything after 3pm. I couldn’t view alone so yeah.

rescues wonder why people just buy puppies or kittens. It’s because it’s easier and generally you get a pet without possible rescue issue.

I swear some are just a racket if they regime all their animals they don’t exist anymore.

I used to work at a small rescue. Our only rule was, we didn’t let pregnant women adopt.

This is because pregnant women tended to adopt a cute fuzzy dog during their high hormone period and then return when the baby was born.

We were completely flexible about everything else. Meant we would let families adopt with children too.

We matched the right dog to the right person though.

If someone wanted to come in and adopt Fido, but we didn’t think he would suitable for their family, we would recommend Bob.

We wouldn’t let them take Fido if they refused Bob though.

The kittens I enquired about with CHAT were black kittens who had been on there literally for weeks. For some reason black cats are harder to rehome and that seemed evident by how long they were on there without having been reserved.

And yet CHAT seemed uninterested in engaging with me

Did you call them?

YANBU in one way- I’ve volunteered at one, only dog walking. I’ve also emailed them myself and had no response, but I have inside intelligence….

Just ring them.
If you can’t ring them make an appointment and go in.
Volunteer if only for a short while, it’ll open up pets that you normally won’t get a chance at.

I took my child with me, she’s dog savvy, we managed to get two dogs criteria changed from Adult only homes, to Age 14 plus. (History was unknown).
Both dogs could’ve been rehomed by us, DD is 7. We built a bond and neither dog was aggressive, they were placid, they sat to take treats, gently, they brought balls to DD, they would sit patiently waiting for her to pat them, tails wagging, submissive. It took a few months of us walking them daily /every other day. Both dogs have been rehomed now.

They have sooooooooooo many time wasters. Often volunteers answer queries (some delete emails, they won’t get into answering questions, some volunteers aren’t very I.T literate/ literate at all/ have basic understanding).

So much hatred towards staffies. A friend of mine owned five staffies, together with other breeds of dog, cats and rabbits. They all ran free- I didn’t bat an eyelid at the time. There were never any fatalities. Staffies are not bred to fight. You can abuse any animal and turn it aggressive. Humans did that. It’s often bullies that get mistaken for staffies - that’s when you can be in trouble.

I’ve rescued two kittens with no issue. The most recent was earlier this year, she was a street kitten but adapted super quick and is just wonderful. We rescued her from our local one, which was RSPCA, but I was in touch with a few. I was able to visit her there beforehand.

Tbh I don't think chat are run very efficiently but I really really don't think it's "all about the money". They have very little but probably don't help themselves in the way they run the charity.

I used to volunteer for CHAT. Which branch are you trying, Lewisham? Canning Town?

I have tried and failed to rehome a rescue animal several times it's actually really hard.
First time was a cat. We made appointment for home check no one turned up, booked a second visit no one turned up , phoned and they said they'd looked at our address on a map and it was too close to a railway line , it was a street away so we didn't exactly back onto it!

Second time was a dog but by this time we had DC and a cat so after over 12 months of trying we accepted that adopting a dog or puppy that was ok with children and cats whilst in theory was possible in reality it's pretty much impossible!!
In the end all our pets have either been bought or if we've rehomed them we've taken them in from neighbours, colleagues or friends of friends etc.
I think there is actually a shortage of kittens, most cats ( unless pedigrees and used for breeding) are neutered.
" moggy" kittens are hard to come by, good luck in finding one!

I volunteer in rescue (small furries/ rodents). Generally we always get back to people, but, like the majority of rescues, we are volunteers, I.e I have a very stressful hectic full time corporate job, so responses can't be immediate. "Rescues" are in reality a bunch of regular people giving up their time.

Some rescues will always be better than others and I'm sorry to hear some people have been unable to adopt at all. Rescue is always best where possible.

Perhaps you might have more luck trying to adopt an adult cat? I know how desperately cute kittens are, but the kitten phase is very short in the lifespan of a cat, which might be 15 - 20 years. A young adult cat is still lively and playful!

My cat came from a rescue last year but I'd supported it beforehand and I continue to support it.

To clarify from a previous post there is definitely no shortage of moggy kittens at the shelter I foster for. But if you don't ring them, applications often get overlooked since they are so busy and generally run by volunteers. OP if you happen to be in the East of England I can recommend them (they do also have several adult cats who are suited to homes with dogs available atm as well as kittens).

Rescues want to have their cats/dogs adopted, but they also do not want them bouncing back after a couple of weeks either.

The thing to remember is that you are not owed a pet. Rescues exist to find good homes for their animals, not animals for good homes.

I did but had to leave a message.

I would happily adopt an adult cat but very few rescues will rehome adult cats to homes with dogs. My dog is perfectly used to cats, but often the cats are distressed by dogs, more so if they’ve been rescued and put through the trauma of being rescued, iyswim.