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?

Sorry, I’ve not read all your posts. Do you mean you would want to keep the cat indoors? Or you have a catio type thing?

Old Windsor branch are totally different to the main Batterea ime

I have adopted 2 cats from smaller indy rescues and they were absolutely fine with my set up. It's far more personal and they are just keen to make sure it's a good home rather than a set of rules.

One cat sanctuary rejected me because after I visited and chose a cat they said they would phone me to book a home inspection before they would let me adopt it. I waited for 2 weeks without hearing from them so phoned and asked when the home visit would be. She was offended I had phoned and said that I couldn't now have the cat.

I concluded that the people who choose to volunteer there are barmy, and they would prefer to keep cats in cages the size of rabbit hutches, stacked on top of each other round all 4 walls, instead of letting a family adopt them.

I was looking for a pair of kittens last summer. First rescue I tried questions and submit a video/ photo of the house with location so they could look at roads etc was approved. Applied for various kittens was told I was too far away for them to do a home check (but was offered single older cats). They were advertising in our area and based about 10 miles away.

Next rescue was advertising daily on the local Facebook page about how inundated they were with kittens. Rang them to get the ball rolling, we were going on holiday the following week so I wanted to do the form filling etc with a view to rehoming after the holiday. Got told I was wasting their time as we couldn't take kittens immediate despite their add stating there was a process to go through and you couldn't just pitch up and chose a kitten or two.

The third one we tried said no because we have children but they are secondary school age not toddlers.

Number 4 was happy to give us kittens but wouldn't allow any sort of choice on our behalf so when you hit top of the list you got the kittens that were top of the list regardless of their coat length, colour, breed etc. We weren't mega fussy but didn't want long hair or pure bred or the same colours as our last cats.

I was starting to reach the end of my tether when a friend had a stray adopt her and produce a litter. We took one kitten from her (only one was available) and found a same age kitten from an ad. In the local pet shop and collected them on the same day. They are a beautifully bonded pair living their best lives.

I would have preferred to rescue but it was just too much stress.

The day before I was collecting the boys a rescue I had contacted but not heard back from called to ask if we wanted two kittens.

So only the one with the blanket no children rule thought we weren't suitable but still none of them actually seem to want to hand over any of the kittens they were all claiming to be over run with!

But some rescues don't like people being out of the home at all!

I'm being made redundant later this year so who knows whether I'll be a better bet because I'm not working or turned down for being unemployed!

I do personally agree that cats should be allowed to roam.

However how in the world is being an indoor-only cat not preferable to being kept in a cage for months, which is hell for most cats.

Barmy.

I have netting on top of the fences to keep my cat in the garden and others out. The cat can then come and go as it pleases through the cat flap.

Same with us. Dogs Trust said the garden had to be fenced in and we would need to get rid of our rabbit. Bought a puppy in the end. Glad we did - he’s a great dog.

Agreed, dogs not cats in my case - no to anyone who has a child under 10 we were told - dd was 9 at the time. Also no if you work outside the home, I worked 3 hours a day and could take him with me and finally another charity said no due to "living in a city" I could see the park leading to open countryside from the front door and could see the the "welcome to XXX city" sign! Oh and house sat on over 1/4 acre land, hardly a city courtyard garden!

Even with road danger, pissing off the neighbours and any other risks. I'm not a fan of keeping cats permanently indoors (although I know many cats are happy and it's better than a cage) but cat proofing or a good sized catio is a good compromise for most cats.

In that situation, it’s just about finding the right rescue who are open minded about the need to roam and the right cat.

Some cats really would be miserable being closed in, others would be absolutely fine. We had to take back a cat not too long ago when the owner contacted us to say the cat was unhappy and it turned out she wasn’t letting it out. The cat had stopped eating and had recurrent cystitis caused by stress. Your situation would not suit all cats so rescues are right to be cautious.

Lots of rescues do believe cats need to roam, but even they have cats that come in who gave previously been happy indoor cats or cats who had limited outdoor access which would be perfect for you. I’d advise working with the rescues even if you’re finding it frustrating.

Very much so
Mine can go outside but he isn't really bothered
Currently WFH but if I have to go back to the office and leave him for 9hrs I'm not too fussed as he mostly sleeps during the day and watches the birds out the window
I don't have a cat flap but I've managed perfectly fine!

The reason I was given was I live in a city and I work full time. The lady was also unhappy that small child visited my house! No other pets or children in my house.

I didn’t even get to the home visit stage. My house at the time had six foot fences and was surrounded on all sides by other gardens.

I was told retirees or part time workers were ideal - as a full time worker I was unsuitable!

I have no reason to lie😊.

Well I accept that people hold differences of opinion on this issue. Personally I am not a fan of catios because it isn’t just a matter of fresh air, cats like and need (in my opinion) the space and freedom to explore. But we can agree to differ on that point.

I do agree some rescues are ridiculously OTT.

We got our two cats from The New Moon Rescue which is based in Coulsdon so not a million miles from you I think? One home visit and we live on a road off our local High Street which was no problem.

https://newmoonrescue.co.uk/

I completely understand that. I was enquiring about older cats but it was still a flat 'no' from Battersea and the RSPCA unless I remove the cat proofing. To be fair, Battersea offered me a sick cat that needed to be indoor only but there was no help with the vet fees, that was going to be down to me. I haven't heard from them since.

The smaller rescues seem to be the ones worried about a spare room, whether I'm planning on having children in the next 10 years or what I'm planning on feeding the cat. When we start looking again I'll find some different rescues!

But if you worked full time, the animal would have been alone for at many hours a day. Then people obviously go out at other times and sleep 8 hours so the animal is alone for much of the time. Unfortunately for you, there are other more suitable owners who are around more.

I love animals but we only got then when there was someone in for most of the day.

I had the same issue only with a dog (I work in the veterinary industry). When we first applied we were told no as we lived in a flat so I thought fair enough, although found it unfair. If I have no garden then surely I will have to walk the dog, with a garden many people just put them out constantly and the dog never leaves home.

The we applied again living in a house with a private garden with high fences etc. again I was told no as we both work full time, they didn't even ask what we do for work whether we worked shifts or how we were planning on caring for a dog.

Tried a different rescue to again be told no. They did ask about work etc and I explained he'll be coming to work with me plus I was going to try daycares in the area. On top of that my DH works shifts so some of the time the dog would be at home with DH and alone for a few hours depending on his work. Again wasn't an option (apparently it's cruel taking a dog to work).

Another one asked about kids, I explained we have none of our own but will have visiting children. That was a big no! I understand their reasoning but they don't look at the whole picture. Also asking about other pets of visiting pets, it was exhausting.

Anyways perseverance and following a charity I have worked with in the past (or at least sent strays to) I found my perfect boy. They did all the regular checks etc but being known was likely not as intense as normal. They didn't care about where we lived or if we worked just that he was the right fit for us.

My boy now loves coming to work daily, huffs if left behind and much prefers it to staying at home with DH. Not sure. Why they thought this was cruel. We have no issues with kids visiting (took is slow but turns out he lives the extra food and games) or other animals for that matter.

It just takes time. I would recommend trying a smaller rescue rather than national or well known ones

Definitely and to be honest I'm not a fan of catios either. We can't have a catio which is why put netting on the fences. It's not the biggest garden in the world but I know the cat is safe and it can potter around to its hearts content. No traffic risk, no getting into fights, no danger from the little shits with catapult and no using the neighbours' gardens as a toilet!

We will have to agree to differ. Most vets advise cats can be left alone for about eight hours. My cat sleeps in my bed so is not alone at night and spends hours with me during the day.

when she was a kitten she only did a few hours alone. But now she is fine to roam and bird watch and sleep during the day. A lot of cat owners work full time.

do shelters have 24 hour company for cats? I am pretty my local one staff leave at around six and then open up and eight?

The large organisations are more likely to have blanket rules due to time constraints. Get out there and volunteer if you want it to improve because they’re struggling to get through the applications.

Rescues worry about people having children in the future because so many animals get returned to them when a child comes along. There’s examples on here weekly where the OP details how the animal has suddenly become too much for then and then in the next paragraph the pregnancy or new baby is revealed and I think ‘ffs, another one’. It’s really common.

You sound lovely and responsible and I’m sure you’ll give the right cat a lovely life, but unfortunately rescues deal with a lot of irresponsible people who aren’t like that. Many people love the animal until something more interesting, like a baby, comes along. Utter fuckwits that they are.

The rescues I’ve worked with really are trying their best to match animals with a suitable person. It’s a shame people start these threads without understanding what’s actually going on because then the idiots believe it all without question and use it to justify buying an animal, often from an unscrupulous breeder. Volunteer and you’ll see for yourself very quickly that things are not as presented by many on this thread.

@GraveyardWhistling I'm not an idiot, thanks. I know how tough it is for animal charities and how shit the general public are.

I will not be jumping through hoops for one ever again, absolutely ridiculous process that lacked any basic critical thinking skills on their part. They could choose to make their lives and adopters process so much easier.

A cat charity not wanting the animal to be in a home and alone for a few hours, but are happy for it to be caged and always alone, at their charity 🥴 or are cats in rescues under 24 hour supervision?

I, like the other posters on the thread, am delighted with my dog that I ended up buying ☺️

It’s not just the 8 hours of work though, most people spend hours out of the house shopping, seeing friends etc on top of work. I’ve worked with a lot of vets and none have said it’s in the cats interest to be left for 8+ hours a day regularly. There are other more suitable owners who can be around more.

A lot of rescues I’ve worked with have staff overnight, or staff leave very late and others start very early. Rescues are only for a short space of time usually, a home is hopefully forever so rescues are right to not settle.

I have a rescue dog. I was surprised how pragmatic the rescue centre were (and they're a national one) - it's fine that I work part time, use a dog walker a couple of days, don't have a high fence and have visiting children. But that's because my dog is older, used to live with kids and is OK being left. They would've turned me down for a pup or a dog with separation issues - as they need someone home more. They also would've said no if the dog hadn't been around kids before or had shown any sort of aggression or resource guarding - because that's not compatible with small children visiting. And I also would have been turned down for my fence if I'd asked for a younger dog with the ability to jump. So it is also very much animal specific.

I live in London and have adopted cats no problem, I just had a phone interview and house visit. Can I ask what shelters you used, perhaps I can recommend a couple more to try before you give up? There are so many cats needing a home at the moment 🙁