AIBU about “adopt don’t shop”?

[totallybonafido]

Yes I know it’s better to adopt rather than to buy a kitten from some random person online - but rescue places make it so difficult! I’m trying to get a new friend for my cat and I’m not getting anywhere.

I've contacted all local rescues, big and small, who claim to be inundated with cats and kittens, and been told:
• they only re home kittens in pairs
• you can’t adopt if you’re out at work during the day
• you can’t adopt if you don’t have a cat flap
• if uk you adopt, you have to agree that the cat will be indoor only
• we won’t give give you a cat if you have children
• we don’t have any single kittens at the moment

These are just the ones that have responded, many don’t.

If they really are inundated and struggling to rehome cats, you’d think they’d be a bit less picky? I got my current cat from a random lady online whose 2 cats had litters at the same time, so she had about 10 kittens at once. I’ve just seen on pets4homes that she has another 12 kittens to re home now, it’s beyond irresponsible and she has no idea who she’s giving them to. I want to do the responsible thing here, but I probably am going to end up buying a kitten off some random again as the alternative has too many obstacles.

Most people can't get animals from rescue centres because they are not perfect enough, only certain people are allowed to have a rescue animal. Maybe you are that perfect person OP

I’ve found the Cats Protection brilliant for rehoming. They didn’t do a home check, they were just grateful to have found a home. I got a single kitten from them (he was 4 months old at the time). I rang them and enquired as they don’t list all the kittens online. Might be worth a phone call.

It would also be worth calling around the local vets. A few local to me get kittens handed in all the time and they will look for homes for them without directly advertising. They also have contacts for very small rescue places who happily give their numbers out to possible new homes.

I’d just like to say as well, whilst I know it’s easier to buy than adopt and totally understand why people do when there’s so many hoops to jump through. You admit that the lady having repeated litters is irresponsible, and it is massively - you could end up with a poorly kitten with problems if she’s just being mated with a local feral Tom whose disease ridden and not vaccinated. It’s a form of backstreet breeding and you wouldn’t knowingly buy a puppy from someone like that. At the end of the day, if no one bought the kittens the she would probably get the cat spayed!

I’m actually torn because imo probably 90% of dogs or cats (I include myself in this) shouldn’t be in the homes they’re in- how many are left for hours all day, or don’t get played with enough, plus possibly they’ve had so many puppies handed back because people can’t handle that stage (aka hell on earth!!). I adore my dog, he’s my right arm, but looking at us now, I wouldn’t have given him to us (he’s broken out four times, although to be fair a padded cell possibly couldn’t hold him!!)

Our local rescue is constantly posting about being overrun with cats/kittens on Facebook.

Articles in the local news paper etc. Every post has hundreds of people who have been turned down or ignored because they would like to keep them indoors.

I know lots disagree but my cats are indoor cats. There has been too many instances in my area in just the last year of people poisoning, pouring kettles over cats and one disgusting individual who captured them and set them on fire, not to mention just generally being horrible to them, traffic incidents or people taking in cats that aren't theirs.

It baffles me how rescues consider allowing these cats to roam free as being the best option. If they eased their restrictions lots of lovely cats would have lots of lovely homes.

My cats have the best quality food, litter and I work hard and spend a fair bit to make sure they receive the enrichment they deserve. Yes in an ideal world they'd be able to go outside and explore but we don't live in an ideal world and unfortunately there's many cruel people out there who hate cats. My cats are both black as well so people tend to hate them that bit more . I've had them since they were kittens and they are now 13 and 14 and they are happy and healthy.

It's funny you say this.... A few years ago I was desperate for a rabbit. My rabbits husbun had died unexpectedly and she as depressed and rapidly deteriorating, in case you didn't know - bonded rabbits will die without a mate .

Not a single rabbit rescue would allow us to adopt a rabbit because "space"....the rabbits live an absolutely blissful life with us. They have full run of the house and the rabbit proof garden, including an underground burrow we made.

I drove for hundreds of miles one day, and ended up having to buy one. Who is THE most spoilt boy ever. The original rabbit is, we think, about 10 now and we were so desperate to adopt her a friend....but nope, could get no where.

I feel like charity shop volunteers and animal rescue places staff all go hand in hand . Too many rules and not enough common sense and add into the mix a charity shop raising funds for an animal shelter and they think they are the god of animals ! I feel like you give them a bit of responsibility and the rule book comes out and it’s the animals that suffer but then they moan that not enough people are adopting but you can’t have it both ways .
like if you have too many rules about donating to the charity shop people stop giving you anything .

You couldn’t be arsed to do a 5 minute video?

We just bought 2 little bunnies last week . Didn’t even entertain a rescue just went onto Pets4homes . Went for 1 come home with 2 . They literally have full use of the whole of my DDs bedroom and they are the most confident little fellas ever . They’ve bonded so well with my teen DD . On paper a rescue would’ve said nope , but in reality my DD has spent the whole week with them , on the floor with them . They are eating and drinking loads .One thumped his foot earlier coz she took the food box off him . They skip around the room quite happily . She’s been to pets @home and bought toys and treats and yet the rescue would’ve judged a book by the cover and said we don’t tick their wishlist .

I never said that...

Wow a whole room they can use….. I really hope there is a but we are rabbit proofing the garden and further space for them. Not to mention what is going to happen when your teen leaves home and possibly goes to uni or somewhere unsuitable for the buns? This really doesn’t sound great

Last time we were looking to get a cat the first shelter outright refused us because we both worked outside of the house at that point. The second one said they would be in touch about a home visit then ghosted me. I ended up getting a cat from gumtree instead.

totally get they need good homes but agree. I’ve tried to adopt some guinea pigs recently. Kept them successfully for years and have a good outdoor set up - eglu with a two metre run. But most won’t rehome unless you buy an exact cage they specify on their website. Or won’t rehome outside or don’t respond to messages or have other crazy requirements like only rehoming if you have a fleece bedding.

Agree OP, we had this when we wanted a kitten, cat charity ghosted us when we said we only wanted one, they had to come in pairs.
I went and got one from FB in the end, most loving cat ever and she is treated like royalty here.

Just as balance, we had a very good experience with Cats Protection, so it must really vary by branch.

I saw our boy online on Saturday, filled out an application, and on Sunday had a call back. I did have to do a video of our home and garden, and then they called back to say if I met the cat and liked him they were happy for us to adopt him. We had just recently lost our previous cat to cancer and I hadn’t expected it to move so quickly. Anyway, I met him on the Wednesday, and he was delivered here in a CP van on the Friday.

He’s our mad little orange prince, an ex stray kitten (he was one so not a tiny baby, he’s two and a half now) who is now the boss of this house. Really he rescued me when I was broken hearted after losing our girl.

Are you aware you will need to get them neutered as soon as they are old enough? Their baby bond is likely to break down irreparably when they reach bunny puberty if you don't get them done asap. Lots of advice online.

Rabbits do actually need space and (rabbit) companionship. It's amazing how many people just don't have a clue with them. I volunteer in rabbit rescue and it's so sad the situations they come from.

@JustFrustrated

That sounds insane! Our rescue would have likely thought you perfect to adopt a bunny!

Cats protection rehomed an indoor cat to me as he had FIV, it turned out he didn’t in the end
when he died I contacted a local rescue who it turned out had been set up by the woman who fostered my old cat.

She basically said “just give her whatever cat she wants” and I didn’t have a home check or anything. Just said I wanted a black male cat

We have the perfect home for a cat. After our darling boy died this Feb aged 20, I started contacting agencies. Just far too many hoops to jump through without even finding a suitable cat. I would have taken any cat, 3 legs, 1 eyed older cat, no problem.
Anyway I decided to cut out the middle man and just asked everyone and anyone if they had a cat that needed rehoming. The results were this specimen. He is absolutely perfect for us, has really settled in and we love him so much. He is so sweet natured.

I foster for a cat rescue. We rehome lots. Homecheck yes, but just to rule out red flags. Kittens in pairs most of the time but occasional singles, which we prefer to go where there is a resident cat. Lots of the fosterers have dogs so many of the kittens are socialised with dogs. Kittens need to be kept indoors (or cat proofed area) up to 7 months and older cats for the first 3 months. There is an adoption fee but this covers the cost of neutering (and that is a very strict policy) and chipping. The neutering is the only non negotiable issue and rightly so.

Going against the grain, maybe potential pet owners should have higher standards themselves if they want to have a pet. Most of the things on your list seem basic. I wish dog owners were subjected to stringent terms.

Spot on. I've volunteered in rescue shelters and very much support adopting rescue animals over buying from breeders. We wanted a dog and can offer vet references, fully fenced large section, someone is home a lot, the dogs would want for nothing. We didn't even hear back from the rescues most of the time. After a few months of trying to adopt a dog, we gave up and got a puppy from a breeder. I feel it's totally against my ideals but it was what we were left with after trying to go the rescue route. That dog has spent the last 7 years living the life every dog should have. Eventually, when we are ready for another dog, we'll try to adopt again and see how it goes.

As a child my parents got two kittens from the SPCA. They both died shortly after they arrived - both were sick when we got them. I was devastated watching them both die despite the best efforts of my parents and the vet. My subsequent pets have largely come from breeders. My current Tonkinese cat was bought online and flown in. She is a lovely healthy cat and has a great life. I'm not embarassed about her origins.

Personally, I refuse to be lectured or guilted on this subject, though in my case it's been dogs instead of cats. It's a personal decision with ramifications that affect your life for many years. I do what works best for me and my family. Besides, I consider a pet 'adopted' regardless of where it comes from, whether that's a rescue or a breeder.

It's infuriating, although I've found they're most picky about dogs. With cats (and dogs), I've found it can help if you let friends know you'd like to adopt an animal. We got our cat from a work mate of my husband's who had rescued the cat from a bad situation and passed him on to us. With our dog, I got him from the RSPCA who were much less picky than the rescues, but I am in Australia. Friends have had luck with regional pounds.

I agree.
When we got ddog I wanted to be sure as possible that she was not previously traumatised in any way and that she would be dc friendly as we had a small dgs.

Our ddog came from a really caring person who made us sign a proper contract and a month after we bought ddog the breeder visited to check ddog, house and garden.

I am adopting at the moment - I didn’t need this as have adopted from them before but the volunteer mentioned they do video tours / home visits so they can point out obstacles that people should kitten proof before they get them - if you had never had a kitten would you know it’s best to block up a fireplace…….