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?

Yeah, my friend had this when trying to adopt a dog.

She only had a back yard (terraced house) but large park opposite, her DH home for lunch to walk the dog. Rescue refused her and said “You’ll just buy one now won’t you?” She said yes, as their criteria appeared to only fit if you were an unemployed millionaire who lived in a rural castle!

The spare room thing is said when a rescue feels there is no room in the home where the assessor believes the cat could get peace and relax. So it’s not a spare room as such but this is a way of saying your house is chaotic and not suitable for a cat ime.

Not having a cat flap is something some rescues aren’t happy with but it’s usually in conjunction with other things like the potential adopters being out a lot and concern that the cat is stuck in the house or having unruly young children that the cat can’t escape from etc.

Going out to work and leaving a cat with no access to indoor/outdoors is hardly ideal. When the potential adopter is out of the house for 9 hours at work plus will have other commitments, the assessors havd go look at how much time the cat will have some company.

There’s rarely only one reason for not seeming you/your home as suitable, it’s usually a few that interlink ime but rescues often only give one officially, leaving people to think their reasons aren’t strong.

my local cattery is busting at the seams. The cats are feed pretty low quality food and spend all day in small cages. Many find it hugely stressful.

my cat has free roam in a four bedroom house, a cat flap with access to a medium sized garden with trees to climb. I live in a quiet cul de sac. She is fed a high quality diet and gets regular medical care. She is safe, warm, well fed and in excellent condition for a cat of her age.

do you honestly believe I could not have given a shelter cat a better life than they get in the cattery. The last wee one I looked at had been at the cattery for over a year and was pulling out her fur because of the stress.

How long would the dog be at home alone? Most rescues have no issue with a few hours, dependent on the dog, but popping in for an hour at lunch and the dog otherwise being left all day wouldn’t be acceptable to rescues I’ve worked with for obvious reasons. If the dog would have only been left for a few hours, there was likely other issues with the dog or your friends circumstances.

Your friend bring willing to buy a dog is the issue, not the rescues. They shouldn’t lower their standards because humans care more about their wants than a dog’s needs.

A specialist rescue my friend is involved with, makes you sign a contract saying that you won't TTC for then years! And they you will only feed the food the rescue has them on. Not supermarket
Food. How on earth they enforce this, I have no idea. But they they've allowed her to have 3 Maine Coones, a BSH and a moggy. And we're going to let her have a Persian, in a small bungalow.

SIL bought a Maine Coon kitten from
an online ad

Poor cat was breathing very rapidly-She was beautifully socialised BUT back yard ( London Flat) bred with zero health testing of parents for heart issues.

This young kitten had cardio problems as a baby.

So sad and irresponsible.

Vet said to return the kitten.

SIL did…. The breeder tried to persuade SIL to keep the sweet kitten- But she was uninsurable and would likely have a reduced lifespan

I feel so sad thinking about this cat.

Why do people breed without testing parents??
It’s easy money if they cut corners and the animals suffer.

The spare room thing is said when a rescue feels there is no room in the home where the assessor believes the cat could get peace and relax. So it’s not a spare room as such but this is a way of saying your house is chaotic and not suitable for a cat ime.

Well they are wrong. It's just DH and I so definitely not chaotic. If it wasn't an issue when we adopted years ago I don't see how it's an issue now.

There’s rarely only one reason for not seeming you/your home as suitable, it’s usually a few that interlink ime but rescues often only give one officially, leaving people to think their reasons aren’t strong.

Maybe they should explain rather than fobbing people off and then complaining their cats have been with them for too long.

Incorrect. In my case, we are the absolute perfect home for a dog, as I said, childfree, no cats, no visitors, always home, high quality food, secure gardens etc. I got sick of jumping through hoops for a charity who are always whingeing about how many animals they have. No loss to me 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know the rescue you mean. I didn't even bother applying as I decided my reproductive plans are nothing to do with them! And as for only feed the food they give them? Don't they know cats are fickle creatures?!

What was the reason they gave you?

I’ve never worked with a rescue that doesn’t have good reasons for not rehoming. People are often not honest.

For example, 1 rescue I worked at was left a few negative reviews by people claiming they wouldn’t give them an animal despite having the perfect set up. They were lying.

One family had 4 children under 10, 2 of whom were chasing their existing dog when the dog was clearly unhappy, during the home visit. Dad did nothing to stop the children. Another parent had acted aggressively to their dog when the assessor visited, presumably trying to show the dog was trained and listened to him. Another family who wanted to adopt a cat had a large house and garden but the fences were low and there were at least 3 xl bullies next door. They wouldn’t higher the fences. I could give hundreds of examples. There’s always a good reason ime.

I was thinking this exact same thing yesterday and almost posted a thread about it.
In our case, it’s doggy adoption frustration. We’re currently in touch with three charities and rules with them all are strict and non-negotiable. For example, no children under 12 in the household/visiting the household, must have a secure private garden, must have a house and not a flat, often no other pets allowed… It does seem to restrict 9/10 people from adopting. We actually tick all of the boxes (apart from the no pets one, which seems to be slightly more relaxed than the others) but it is still taking an age to move forward with an adoption. I can understand why people give up and either shell out for a puppy or turn to Gumtree or other dodgy sites.
Totally accept that they have to do their due diligence, but often the process does seem to become a case of jumping through firey hoops.

Then try another rescue because if you’re as perfect as you say, you will be chosen to adopt. If multiple rescues tell you no, there’s a problem whether you agree or not.

Or maybe the rescues need to look at individuals rather than their checklist.

My cat chooses to be an indoor cat which I highly prefer as we live on a main road. She’s less likely to hit by cars, less likely to be attacked by other animals and less likely to pick up diseases, fleas and ticks.

Some cats can’t tolerate an indoor life and that’s that but some cats do enjoy being an indoor only.

The real problem is the lack of regulation around breeders.
Also breeders should be much more stringent about the checks they do on the people buying their puppys.
The rescue shelters criteria should be used by breeders as well

I do agree that they should give a full explanation as then people would realise quite how unsuitable they are. There are reasons they don’t fully explain, one is time which they feel is better spent on going through applications which may be suitable rather than on ones that have proved not to be. One rescue I worked with did give a full explanation to persistent people but it ended up in a massive back and forth which took up a lot of time. One family accused the rescue of bullying her family. 🤔 So I can see why they’re reluctant to fully disclose their reasons.

I agree with you op. It’s very important that animals go to good homes but plain common sense seems to have disappeared in some of these shelters, especially when some of them are far from ideal environments themselves, especially for long term placements.

Also, imho there is too much dependence on environment as opposed to owner knowledge and commitment.

I know someone living in a small flat in a city with a St Bernard which you would think would be a disaster except the dog goes to work with the owner and spends most of the day outdoors, has two very long walks (with stops) every day and they visit the owner’s family farm at weekends and the dog is thriving and as happy as Larry. Its owner consistently failed shelter assessments though which were based on the size and location of her home. Ridiculous!

That would be great, but I can’t see it happening. People are selfish, they want what they want and so many breeders are happy to give that to absolutely anyone if they’re making money. Any laws put in place are easily got around, it’s shameful.

I'm seeing a lot of adopted dogs being completely unsuitable for the families or people who have adopted them. High energy dogs given to the elderly and families with boisterous children being given nervous dogs.

Totally agree. It took me 3 months through various rescues to even get anyone who would speak to me! She then gave the one I really wanted to one of the volunteers even though she knew I wanted him. I was having his brother as well and didn't want him to be on his own. You would think they would be pleased I was willing to take two cats but it was such a strange experience had to basically cajole to get another one to keep him company. So weird. Yet all the woman did was moan about how over full they were!

There's obviously no excuse for that. The thing is I know we can give a cat a good life, we did it for Harry so we'll do it for another cat. We've been given different reason by different rescues so it's clearly the batshit rules some (not all) rescues have. The only reason we've been given more than one is cats should be allowed to roam, which is rubbish

Also had people turn me down because we have a job - yes that's how we pay for things!

Its not the job, it’s the time away from the animal. They’re right to consider that and if you can’t see that, I give up!

When we tried to adopt cats, the rescue centre took exception to our road, children, pond, foxgloves, were we planning an extension?
We did eventually adopt rescue sisters who are alive, kicking, scratching and living off sheba fine flakes.

Completely agree. I got my kitten on Pets4Homes because I didn’t have time for the malarkey of applying to a rescue and jumping through hoops. I adore animals and am a committed pet-parent. I didn't adopt from anyone unscrupulous, I was the one doing the interviewing and vetting and chose a kitten from a good home (friend of a friend) where the litter was accidental (stray mother had been taken in pregnant) and paid only £75 to cover the initial vaccinations and worming etc.

I feel sad that I couldn’t support a shelter, but they make it far too arduous.