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?

Wrt dogs I think the reality is that most dogs which end up in rescue aren’t suitable to be rehomed rather than people not suitable to re home them.

no kill is IMO not necessarily a good thing. There are worse fates than putting a dog to sleep, like keeping it in a cage for the rest of its life.

plenty of rescues fundraise on the basis that some dogs can never be rehomed and they “never put a healthy dog down,” well if a dog can never be rehomed then it’s not a healthy dog and actually the kindest thing is to put it to sleep, rather than keeping it in a kennel as fundraising bate.

Sigh.

No, I’m obviously not saying that. People lie to rescues about how much they’re home. People buy pets to get around it. These people make up a lot of pet ownership numbers.

We live a very normal life I’d say. My partner works at home so is in the house most days til 6pm. He goes out a couple of nights a week, spends a few hours on Saturday out of the house, sometimes Sunday too. I’m out of the house 4 days a week between 10 and 2 when my partner is home for the animals. If we’re both out in the evening, one of our teen/adult kids will often be around. If we’re out for the day the dog’s come with us and one of the older kids will be around for a few hours. There’s rarely more than a few hours without someone in our house. Friends are similar.

So are you telling me that enough people don’t leave their house for more than four hours at a time to home all the cats and dogs in the uk

I know that question isn't addressed to me, but you're right of course.

But think about it - how would a rescue centre know how long you're out of the house? The answer is that they won't, so these type of 'rules' are not even worth thinking about.

Unfortunately some (not all) rescue charities are overly keen on finding the perfect home, rather than settling for the good enough home. If they refuse families with young children, anyone out at work all day, anyone who lives near a road with traffic on it, they are going to home very few cats. Fortunately as others have said above, there are rescue centres which are more realistic.

Wrt dogs I think the reality is that most dogs which end up in rescue aren’t suitable to be rehomed rather than people not suitable to re home them.

Have you worked with any rescues? Because that’s really not true.

I actually feel a bit sad that I may not have another dog due to what appears to be a blanket ban on rehoming to anyone living in a flat.

I’m sure my spaniel had a far more interesting life because of it. There was no putting him out in the garden for a quick wee, we’d go for walks where he could sniff and mooch about, see other dogs and people. We’d often spend up to three hours a day outside. Didn’t always walk that far, especially when he got older but it was a change of scenery.

I don’t think I’ve been particularly unrealistic with the dogs I’ve applied to rehome either. Don’t want a puppy and am happy with a small to medium size dog up to about 8 years old. They’d get a nice life, with good quality food, plenty of company and weekends spent walking and camping. Obviously being in a kennel at a rescue centre is better than I can offer.

I used to work at a dog rescue kennel, and whilst there were blanket rules, they were incredibly flexible depending on the dog.

For example, a couple adopted an energetic staffie despite living in a flat. However, they worked outdoors and took the dog with them to work every day.

But think about it - how would a rescue centre know how long you're out of the house? The answer is that they won't, so these type of 'rules' are not even worth thinking about.

If someone is the type of person that would lie about being out of the house for 8+ hours to get a dog that might get a few hours of their company a week, they really are an arsehole though aren’t they. They want a toy for when they have nothing better to do.

This just isn't true. Yes, there are dogs that are next to impossible to rehome due to their issues, but the majority of pets end up in rescue because: the original family doesn't have the money to look after them, they had children and lose interest, got a new job, or just can't be bothered with the responsibilities that come with looking after an animal. It is through no fault of their own.
The problem is some rescues - a lot in fact - operate a black and white policy and instill arbitrary rules.

Lots of rescues don’t have a blanket ban on flats. You do need to show you have a plan in place for toileting, getting outside and for if you were ever housebound ime. I’ve worked with rescues that have rehomed dog’s to people in flats.

Thix is why these threads are damaging, they’re full of bullshit from people with no experience of rescues other than being refused an animal. They get bitter and chat rubbish!

I’m not talking bullshit @GraveyardWhistling I’ve been turned down to rehome three dogs recently and have just been spending time looking at other rescue centres. There are an awful lot who state quite clearly on their websites that they will not rehome to anyone who doesn’t have a private garden. That counts me out immediately.

I’ve gone into great detail on my applications about how I’d deal with toileting and my back up plans should I ever need them but it’s just never enough for some rescues.

Thix is why these threads are damaging, they’re full of bullshit from people with no experience of rescues other than being refused an animal. They get bitter and chat rubbish!

So people can't discuss their experiences? We can't all be chatting rubbish as so many of us have had similar experiences

But this thread is about a cat! I have been talking about cats! Not someone rejoining a boisterous dog and leaving them!

cats and dogs have different needs

Blimey! I thought Cats Protection were bad but they sound good now. They wouldn’t let us have a kitten as we were both working full time but we did get (our lovely older) cat after one home visit and buying a set list of items (which came to about £150). We also had to promise to keep her on the same food they’d had her on! Maybe try Cats Protection as we are also in south east. Good luck OP.

It is ludicrous though. When we went to collect our cat there were about 20 waiting for homes and that was just one of their foster places!

Plenty of people can provide a home that the animal is rarely left for more than 4 hours. Retired people, SAHMs to older children, people with adult kids living at home, people who work from home, people who don’t work. It’s quite common in my circle of friends and we find plenty of people like this to rehome to. And if you can’t commit to that because you’re busy and out a lot, then certain pets aren’t for you. People just ignore that and buy one though

So you are basically saying people have to fit an incredibly narrow and limiting set of criteria to be considered eligible for an animal? Are you therefore surprised people circumvent this by going to breeders?

I’m sorry I just think this is absurdly restrictive. In London, for example, the vast majority of families have both parents working because they need the joint income. Are you saying people with jobs shouldn’t be allowed to adopt animals?

I just don’t buy this. I have known dozens of situations where a family with both parents working has acquired a cat which has gone on to a great and happy age. I can think of several now.

Cats are relatively independent and yes they need food, shelter and affection and oversight but it’s lunacy to suggest that someone who owns a cat should be limited to only being allowed to make short journeys outside the home.

This simply isn’t realistic for the average person, it’s not necessary and it’s driving a lot of loving and committed people away from shelters.

The thread has been about animal shelters in general. People have talked about cats and dog’s.

I talked about cats earlier. They still shouldn’t be left regularly for 8 hours plus and I’ve never worked with a vet who thinks that ok.

I do understand it in the sense that some people view pets as being disposable and of course it's distressing for a dog or cat to be returned to a shelter several times. However, I don't always think rescues always help themselves. For example, we adopted our greyhound 9 years ago as an older lad (thought to be around 7) from Dogs Trust. He'd already been in kennels for 3 years with just one unsuccessful rehome. He was getting sent to 'sponsor me' and taken off the list of dogs people could adopt, if he hadn't found a home by the end of the month. They'd basically kept him away from other dogs for a year, so he was extremely reactive to other dogs, due to an 'incident' which we weren't allowed to know the full details of for some reason. They were also allowing him to pin staff to the ground and hump them because it was an understandable way that he would express frustration in kennels. Apparently it was against policy for them to firmly tell him 'no' and gently push him back which is all it took to get him to stop. He learnt not to do this in the first few months of living with us and has never done anything to make us think he is an aggressive dog.

We also had to visit our dog every week for a month before we were allowed to adopt him. We even had to send our lodger over a couple of times to meet our dog despite him being fine with us getting a dog and that he was moving out a couple of weeks later as he was buying his own flat.

I now find myself in the situation where I'm looking for another dog as my 'hard to rehome, must never live with another dog greyhound' misses our GSD who sadly passed away recently. She was adopted as a puppy by my MIL at the same time as our greyhound and we took her in after MIL sadly passed away last year. There wasn't a chance I would send her dog back to Dog's Trust as it's likely she would end up dying there. One rescue I looked at filling out an application for wanted to know the ages of children living next door to you?! One side does have children, but I wouldn't know their age and I'm not sure that's information a lot of people would know. I am thinking it would be easier to buy a puppy from a breeder.

Well not necessarily.

I was talking about cats, and the timespan referred to was 4 hours. I don't see a problem with leaving a cat for 4 hours, or more. It depends on the cat and the circumstances, and the rescue centre needs flexibility to acknowledge that.

In terms of dogs, obviously I agree with you re the extreme example you gave. But if the person is sometimes out for more than 4 hours/ 8 hours, it could still work well if they arranged for day care/ a dog walker on those days.

An adopter not agreeing with/obeying draconian and inflexible rules doesn't necessarily mean they aren't offering a good home, it may mean there is a problem with the rule setting.

I talked about cats earlier. They still shouldn’t be left regularly for 8 hours plus and I’ve never worked with a vet who thinks that ok.

When we went on holiday we used to leave our cat at home with a cat sitter coming in a couple of times a day. Funnily enough that's one thing rescues seem happy with despite the cat being alone between visits

Rescues look at what’s best for the animal. Obviously. That is not really going to be an owner that is out for 9 hours at work each day, because add on top of that shopping and socialising, when does the animal get any company? Oh, when the human has nothing better to do. 🤔

We’ve never struggled to find suitable owners for animals, it just takes time going through the applicants. We’re not going to give an animal to a person who is only at home and awake for a couple of hours a day, when we know that if we go through a few more applicants, they’ll be someone who doesn’t work full time away from home and is more suitable.

You may not like it, but it’s reality and along with other criteria, it’s about maximising the chances of a successful adoption.

When you’re on holiday. Not every day.

@Shellingbynight

An adopter not agreeing with/obeying draconian and inflexible rules doesn't necessarily mean they aren't offering a good home, it may mean there is a problem with the rule setting.

Exactly. Honestly I know dozens of responsible and loving cat owners. None of them would have agreed to have to return home every four hours because someone at an animal shelter told them to.

There seems to be an assumption on the part of many of the charities that they make all the rules and failure to jump through the most ridiculous hoops is evidence of capability for neglect or abuse. There seems to be no sense whatsoever that different people apply different styles and approaches to caring for animals and there can be variations within this but still within a framework of commitment and love for the animals.

It’s so ridiculously black and white.

But you change your lifestyle when you have a dog. Night out, you make sure you give your dog a good walk first and then maybe end your night a bit earlier. Pub lunches, you either chose a dog friendly pub (if your dog is well behaved enough) or go to one near your house and then go back and get your dog before the walk. Visiting friends or family, you take your dog (if appropriate), or use kennels/dog sitting if an overnight, or a dog walker if you're going to be out all day. I work part time, some times at home, with a dog walker days I'm in the office so my dog isn't left 8 hours. If you're someone who values being out and about a lot and don't want to change your lifestyle, then a dog isn't for you.

Try Battersea, they let us pick the cat and take him home the same day. I think they checked our address on Google maps, that was it.

Lol at not leaving cats for 8 hours a day. If I'm wfh I don't even see the cat, he's either sleeping or in the garden. He does not care if we're there or not. Plenty of cats live happily on farms etc where they never come inside.

Every rescue I’ve worked with would be ok with a cat being left for a few hours.

They would also be ok with some dogs using daycare.

As I said, there’s a lot of pissed of rejected adopters on this thread and lots of info being spread that isn’t my experience having worked with rescues for 25 years.

The rescue I adopted my cats from wasn't like that. They visited the house and that was it. At the time we had no kids and both worked outside the house, but we did adopt 2 kittens. This particular rescue insists on 2 kittens together. I think they have since changed to indoor homes only. Ours are indoor cats though so that wouldn't have affected us