To think animal shelter charities push potential pet adopters towards breeders with their absurdly stringent adoption criteria?

[Thepeopleversuswork]

OK so I’m probably being grumpy about this because I have had bad experiences and maybe unfair.

But I have just been turned down for a third time in five years trying the adopt a cat, apparently (as far as I can tell) because I have a job and live in a city.

I’m a middle aged woman living in a quiet street on the outskirts of SE London with my own home and a teenager and partner. I have sufficient income to support a cat. I have a large back garden. I am an animal lover who has had cats before.

The last two charities I have applied to had ridiculously detailed diligence procedures including several home visits and a dodgy quasi isometric test. Another agency which imports stray cats from overseas required me to send videos of the traffic on every street within a half mile radius and character references.

After weeks of consideration I was told in each case that I couldn’t adopt due to traffic risk.

I get that the volunteers at these places become very attached to their animals and of course it’s only right that people are vetted before taking an animal, especially one that has been mistreated. But the rigmarole in the application process is ludicrously over the top and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that they basically don’t want you to adopt a cat unless you live in a huge rural stately home and don’t have a job. As soon as they hear the word “London“ or any indication that you work outside the home they basically rule you out in my experience.

I’ve now gone down the route of getting a cat via Gumtree but it makes me sad and it seems so self defeating; these charities are putting well meaning and committed animal lovers off applying and making it far easier for unscrupulous people to breed and sell animals.

Can anyone who works for one of these charities try to explain why it’s so difficult?

Agreed.

Guilt-tripped into adoption being the only acceptable way to acquire a pet, and then you aren’t allowed one unless you are a childless, unemployed person who never goes on holiday and lives in a large rural property with six foot fences around it.

We got a young adult cat from Battersea and at the registration appointment the first thing the staff member wanted was our address, which she looked at on Google earth. We said that we know it’s near a main road and she said that’s fine.

The only restriction we had was that we could only have a cat that was categorised as being ok for having under 8 year old DC in your home. It was about a month before a suitable cat became available.

Hyperbole. Why are you exaggerating? It doesn’t help your case.

I’ll fix it for you

Use reputable, responsible breeders not found on gumtree if buying a pet.

Having an animal with older children and not leaving the animal for too many hours regularly is okay but younger children and leaving the animal regularly for long hours isn’t ideal. The house doesn’t need to be huge but there should be space for the animal to get away to relax. With dogs, fences should be high.

Seems sensible to me.

My cat managed to survive without his own room so I’m sure another cat could. He also survived us going out for the day or going on holiday for 2 weeks at a time.

What about people who already have animals before they have kids?

I don't see a problem with young children and cats. When DS1 was born we had three 6 month old kittens and a much older adult cat. When DS2 was born the three kittens were five.

The result was happy cats and children who understood from an early age how to interact with animals. I think it's a shame that some rescues seem to have blanket bans for homes with young children.

@AlwaysRoomForMoreDogs

Like millions of others, I have managed perfectly well to live with a dog/cat in a flat, in an urban environment, with young children, with a job etc.

The OP is correct, the rules are a blunt instrument and don’t encourage people to adopt animals.

On the other hand, the criteria for being classed as a 'responsible breeder' seems pretty lax. You can look for puppies that are 'KC registered' which seems to actually not count for that much. I've seen some adverts quote health test results, but as a lay person that means very little to me and I wouldn't know how to check whether they're fake just from preliminary online research. I will speak with my vet nurse who I know is more knowledgeable about breeding dogs, but I can see why it's a minefield to some potential owners.

3 cats too many!

Whole point of rescuing an animal is to ensure it has a better life than before.

Whilst agreeing some of the reasons given for refusing to allow folk to adopt seem tenuous, it is up to every individual organisation's criteria, policies and procedures.

The rescues know their animals and have in mind the adopter and the environment that would best suit.

I have turned down adopters of our rescue dogs purely on the basis they didn't seem to listen to what they were being told, they lacked empathy, or patience, had unrealistic expectations, or no knowledge of the breed they enquired about and on one occasion the adopters were just so fucking arrogant that I wouldn't have rehomed a dead flea to them.

All reminds me of this ...

Half the reasons given for animals being put into rescue is child allergic, that’s probably why they’re reluctant to rehome to families with children.

Totally agree OP.

I'm another one with a very dim view of Celia Hammond. They'd rather keep a zillion cats cooped up in tiny cages in their shop than adopt them out to loving homes for absolutely batshit reasons.

Half the reasons given for animals being put into rescue is child allergic, that’s probably why they’re reluctant to rehome to families with children.

Yet there is evidence that children brought up with animals that go outside are less prone to allergies. Just one peer reviewed article from 20 years ago enclosed but you can find many more.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/195228
Maybe rescues would get fewer animals if they were prepared to rehome to families with very young children?

I hadn't owned a dog before, and after a lot of research for two years, went to a local Dog's Home.
The manageress said as we were leaving ''Nothing for you here today?''...and I mentioned that the Lurcher I'd been interested in was reserved by someone else.

She said ''I think I know who will make a good pet for you...have you seen the Lurcher Puppy?''
I said I was after an adult, not a puppy, but the manageress said ''I think a puppy will be easier as a first time owner''

We had to get very high fencing put up and a check and interview by the Dog warden.. But it was a superb match.

The manageress said she looked at people as they were going round on CCTV to see if they were touching the dogs or not, and how the dogs reacted to them {strict instructions not to touch them through the bars} - I do feel truly blessed to have had this dog in out lives...almost 12 years together. A dream to train...I still miss her years later.

I do wonder if rehoming has got stricter? or maybe there just wasn't a right ''Match'' - the staff at the dog's home said they get a feel for which dog will match well with a human.

Seen here on her very first night...Son was sleeping on my bedroom floor to be with the puppy...at about 1am! Too excited to sleep -as was I!

Not doubting you but I can find no evidence for that statement. Everything I've read points to either too little time since Covid, or money issues being the main reasons for pets being put into rescue.
Could you direct me to where you got that stat from please?

I’m not arguing with the evidence, personally I think a lot of times it’s just an excuse, but they crop up all the time on Facebook and in the rescues I’ve visited.
i can see why they stipulate no children on that basis alone.

Finding something frustrating because you do not get the result you want, does not mean that the rescues are not doing what is best for the animals in not homing them near busy roads, to posters who work a lot and have little children.

I got the result I wanted 9 years ago when I adopted my dog, but if you read my previous post, you'll see how the process was made unnecessarily complicated. We then went on to adopt another dog from the same rescue, who would have died, miserable, in the same rescue had we heeded their advice over our own determination and exercising of common sense. Rescues aren't always right, despite how much we'd like them to be. I speak as someone with no kids and a lifestyle which means a pet isn't unattended for any real length of time. Money is also of little relevance. We've paid 4 figures for our iguana to have a hysterectomy and we are paying our rescue dog's ongoing hydrotherapy costs which have exceeded the limit of our insurance for the year.

Young children can be 'rough' with pets- they don't meant to be, but I have seen some dogs absolutely tormented by young children. Faces grabbed- climbed all over, and it's not necessarily the child's fault.. the parents need to supervise, but too often don't.
I'd not have any dog with a child under 9, or until the child can be ''sensible'' around a dog.
Cats can defend themselves without doing too much damage to a child- but I don't think any animal should be subjected to young children..They pick animals up awkwardly, and can tease them unintentionally.
It does depend on the child- a careful nurturing only child is different to a large rowdy family.

Allergies also given as a convenient excuse for giving up on a pet.

Some kids are allergic - but surely you'd check before getting a dog or cat first.

I agree. I understand they want the best home for animals but its too strict.
I work and leave my cat and dog at home for 5/6 hours they are fine..have food, go out before I leave and I have a camera in my house they just sleep peaceful until I return

What a ridiculous post. Going out for more than 4 hours on occasions doesn’t mean you are unable to look after a cat. Mine sleeps all day. Literally the whole day. I am retired but I have a life too. I go out for more than 4 hours regularly and my cat will hear the key in the door and wake up to greet me. No pining or neurotic behaviour. I think some of you who work in the charities are living in a parallel universe to the rest of us.

It’s based on my own experience, and I’m pretty sure that rescue centres don’t publish peer reviewed articles and stats anyway.

Agreed. Whilst I understand wanting to ethically place rescue animals, the restrictions are bloody stupid in some cases. It's easier to get an animal off gumtree, where you have no idea of the living conditions of the parent dogs, because you don't have a three acre garden with a 10foot fence, and you have children.

I'd never adopt from an organisation, too many hoops to jump through for my liking. Half of my pets have been "rescues" in that they're adults I've found on pets4homes or similar going for 100 or less in the case of dogs or free for cats. They'd end up in a rescue if they couldn't find another place anyway, so I'm doing my part.

I agree 100%. What I don't understand is when the charity has a shelter in inner London and seemingly refuses to allow anyone in it to adopt one, and not just cats due to traffic but dogs also as they are "too nervous" (but not to nervous to be in shelter in the same city).

Exactly. I don't really understand how the London-based charities square this circle: unless they require that all adopters live in a 40 bedroom mansion with a private road.

There is definitely a massive bias against people who live in London on the part of charities. You can hear a sharp intake of breath when you say you live in London, it's a bit like you'd said you were a former drug abuser.

@Newphonnearlythere Of course it's three cats too many, but is three cats being run over in one road with 150 houses and a couple of blocks of flats in the almost FIFTY years that I've lived here particularly surprising? I realise there may well have been more that I don't know about but I've been a stay at home parent and have then worked from home for over 30 of those years so am around to be aware of accidents etc. none of the other cat rescues refuse to rehome cats because of our road - just Celia Hammond. My previous two cats were both outdoor cats and managed to live into their twenties without being run over on the supposed death trap of a road I live in; likewise their two predecessors who lived until their mid/late teens.

When I was looking for a kitten two years ago I called in to my vet to ask if they were aware of any kittens that needed a home and mentioned that I'd been told my road was too busy - the practice manager told me that I must be talking about Celia Hammond as they were always telling their clients the same thing.