To think rescue centres don't actually want you to adopt their pets?

[lurchersforever]

One of my cats had to be out to sleep suddenly in the summer and I would now like to adopt a young cat to keep us all company - me, ds and our remaining cat. I've only ever had rescue pets so looking at local centres. All have banners like please adopt/1000s of unwanted pets etc, but it is impossible to go and see any.

I have no issues with vetting and saying only certain types of households are suitable, but my issue is none of the centres are actually open. I've looked at about 6 near me and they are a mixture of not open to the public, don't answer the phone, say they're shut while Google says they're open, want you to fill in an application form and drop it off in person but you won't be able to even see a pet until your application has been assessed, don't reply to emails... The most success I've had is a centre that 'might' be able to arrange a video appointment to 'meet the cat' at some point and then I might be able to adopt 'when they open,' - no idea when that might be. This is for a specific cat they currently have - no sense of urgency to get her in a home. What on earth is the point of a video appointment with a cat?! What will it reveal that a picture doesn't? Just more time wasting.

I appreciate they are run by volunteers but this is ridiculous. Last time I adopted (10 years ago) you could go into local centres without an appointment and make the arrangements there and then. Obviously they weren't just handing them out to anyone but you could get the process moving.

At this rate I'll be on Gumtree, which I really don't want to be. What's going on?

I wonder if all the restrictions encourage people to lie on their application form. Say they WFH, say they don't have other pets, pretend their children are older, say no visiting children etc?

I'm in a different part of the country from you OP but please don't tar all charities with the same brush. I foster cats for a small independent charity based in Hertfordshire & it's very easy to adopt from us. We rehome to people with young kids regularly and people with dogs plus rehome single kittens to people with another youngish cat. We rehome to people who will be out at work too (not our 11 week old kittens as they can't be left all day etc but we happily rehome adult cats). Our process is fairly simple. Fill in an (no obligation) adoption/interest form online. Then the person who is in charge of our charity looks up your address online on Google maps. If you live on a very busy main road it might be a no as we like most of our cats to have outdoor access via a door or catflap. But some people have catios or enclose their back gardens (as I have done for my blind cat). Occasionally we have blind or deaf cats and these would be rehomed to an indoor only home. Occasionally we take in cats that have lived their whole lives indoors and again these would go off to an indoor home too. I've rehomed 17 kittens this year alone, mostly in bonded pairs. We don't have a cattery to look round - all our cats are in local foster homes. Maybe look at smaller independent cat charities and avoid the bigger ones. They tend to have stricter rules etc. Also once someone is interested in our cats I set up a quick videocall to chat to a potential new family then I arrange for them to visit my home for 30-60 mins. They can still back out at any point. It's happened maybe twice in last 2.5 years where someone has visited and not ended up adipting the cat/s. I send them tons of photos and videos before they even come meet my cats/kittens so most people have made their minds up before they arrive really. Once someone is matched with a cat we don't let anyone else come visit them until that person has said yes or no to adopting them. People have travelled from Surrey/Reading/Leicester to adopt our cats as they were unable to successfully adopt nearer to their homes which is really sad. Our charity is simply inundated with kittens and lovely young adult cats at the moment. Please try and adopt if you can. Rescues are really struggling as people are not neutering their pets and we get constant calls from all around the country to take in pregnant strays or mums with young litters. It's truly heart breaking tbh.

Yes I felt the same they’ve really upped the bar in the last 10-20 years on who ticks the box to adopt. Ended up on pets4homes for a kitten and dog after my 8 year old chihuahua passed away. No one would accept it if you lived too far for the rescue centre, had you children, god forbid you have to go to work to pay for the costs of pets and a dog. Ended up with a greyhound and kitten who get on so well it’s shocked me and my four year old is happy. Might have had the odd ripped school jumper but that’s the risk you take with a new puppy.
I have even fell out with family members who thought it was the wrong place to get our new pets but simply all the adoption centres didn’t want to know!!

I agree OP. I wanted to adopt two sibling cats from a local charity, but they insisted on them either being kept in or me building a catio outside (I wouldn't know how to start!). Thing is, I live in a very quiet village street without a through road, they would have been perfectly safe. Another case of one size fits all.

If they are a registered charity, the trustees will be a matter public record. Write to one of them and complain.

I volunteer for a small rescue in West London, where all the cats & kittens are fostered in people’s homes - I was a fosterer myself until I adopted last year, after 2 years & 8 rehomings.

Applicants fill in a form & then arrange to visit specific cats in their foster homes, so no, people can’t walk round & pick out a cat, but the cats have much nicer lives while they’re waiting.

We rehome cats indoors only / with outdoor access / to homes with / without children, depending on the people & the cat - and in the knowledge that for every cat who goes, several more will come in.

If anyone’s looking for a cat in London, feel free to PM me for more details.

They want to keep their centres full so they can put out more ads and social media appealing for cash. Yes they need to be more realistic about who can adopt but they also need to put the very old/sick/aggressive animals to sleep.

Some of the smaller rescue centres are basically hoarding.

Contact this charity. They are West Midlands based, but re-home all over the country.

Sally is an amazing lady who has had a lot of things going on in the past few years, but will always get back to you & always wants what is best for cats.

www.facebook.com/share/19mG3TSzY8/

My niece tried to adopt a cat, the volunteer who visited would not approve her for the chosen cat because she 'had too many ornaments' and the cat might knock them over 😬

I also think these rescues are totally unhinged - while they wait for the absolutely perfect adopter who has no children, no other pets, a fully enclosed garden, doesn't live near a road etc etc etc, the cat/dog is in kennels. Which is clearly better than them being in a less than "ideal" house.

Crazy.

I found it easy to adopt! Messages on Facebook. Looked through album on website and picked a kitten.
As the kitten I adopted was being fostered in someone home I wasn’t going to visit.
We had a month trail. Other than he had to be indoor cat( which I agree with) or cat proof/catio. My little guy is now home.
Most local rescues are drowning in kittens from unneutered queens.

We got turned down as guinea pig owners because we rent from a number of rescues, I actually found the whole process too intrusive, so gave up and bought our 2 beautiful girls from a shop.

When we wanted to adopt a cat we were shocked how reluctant some Centres were to let us even near their animals!

One Centre demanded pictures and videos of the road outside claiming it was a main road (it isn't). Then complained the road wasn't busy enough for them to tell.

Several RSPCA ones refused because they weren't in our immediate area (same county or less than ten miles away).

One Centre said we could only adopt a cat with FIV.

One Centre said we couldn't adopt a cat because the area we lived in wasn't safe for cats.

Battersea were fantastic however. They don't bother with pictures of people's homes because they know you can lie. They match the cat to you but you can say which cats you like on paper. Our cat needed a loving home where someone is pretty much there all day and no small children or other pets. It's been incredibly happy with us.

However, at one point I thought we'd have to resort to some free page or other!

If you can travel a bit further, Keighley Cat Care are less restrictive on who they rehome to.
I find it hard to stomach that despite several local cat reduces being so full and underfunded they aren't taking new cats or kittens in, we couldn't get take any off their hands because we live in a bus route. 1 bus and hour and it's a dead end road.

Try this one, run locally in West Bridgford, Nottingham
https://www.facebook.com/share/1D2hAkMLrN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Try lincoln cat charities or even too many tears but it's in Wales!

I voted YANBU. Lots of these centres complain about how overrun they are and have ridiculous rules about adopting their cats (like ‘must’ be indoors for a pair of six month kittens - sorry not justifiable). I understand them doing due diligence as you do hear of nasty people and underground activities where cats get abused for entertainment etc but in the age of social media it’s so easy to quickly check up on people anyway.

Wow. You really can’t make this tosh up. I wonder if there’s an element that it’s attracting people with power/control issues? That’s bizarre.

Sorry I mean attracting volunteers who are absolute a-holes. Your niece must have been flabbergasted.

I’ve wondered the same about a local one near me.

On “cat chat org uk” website there is a section “ Find a Shelter” and they are listed geographically. It’s run by Cats Protection.
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For people looking for rescue dogs try Dogsblog website a lot of smaller charities list on there.

Yep it's bizarre and I'm convinced they just want to make it hard. I got my cat about ten years ago from cats protection league. I was permitted to visit her before I got her but also had to have a home visit to make sure my house was suitable 🤷‍♀️

Peterborough cat rescue lets you meet the cats I think

I gave up with rescues and ended up joining a group on FB and got my cat through that. Not one would let me have only one kitten had to have two.
No wonder they have so many looking for homes.

I had a thread about adopting a ddog a while ago. Big Trust. Can't apply for a particular ddog so why make it a profile? After filling in the form I got a call to say 500 applicants ahead of me.

How many ddogs getting ptsd stuck in kennels when I had that one in mlnd..was literally the twin to my current one... Poor thing prob be dead before it gets rehomed..