Rehoming shelter threatening to take cat away - what are my rights.

[CatLadyLegal]

Residing in Scotland. 2 weeks ago, I rehomed a cat from a registered shelter/rehoming centre. I paid £85 adoption fee and went off on my merry way with the cat. Cat settled in quickly and was happy and affectionate, but sadly, quickly, it became apparent that my husband and toddler were highly allergic to her, to the point my husband had an asthma attack. We have another cat here and everyone is fine around her, no allergies.

So, fast forward to present day, we rehomed the cat to a family we know well in our street. We did not take any money for this and I decided to let the shelter know because they had not yet transferred the chip details to me for her microchip,
So I explained the situation and advised of the new owners. I then got a call from the owner of the shelter and got grief on the phone. She could hear I was upset, but carried on hounding me. She said we should have given the cat back to the shelter instead, but I didn't want to put her through the experience again and she's already really settled and happy in her new home.

I accept responsibility I may have handled this wrong and I hold my hands up for that, however, the shelter have made contact with the new owners and told them they are going to their house tomorrow to take the cat back!

Where do we stand with this? I thought as money was exchanged with me and the shelter, that a contact was entered and I am now the legal owner of this cat, so it's my choice what to do with her. There's nothing I can see in the paperwork that they can take her back etc, so I just want to see where we stand please! Can she take the cat back or am I actually the legal owner still and can stop this? Insurance is in my name, it's just the chip which was still to be transferred. Their argument is because the chip is in the shelter name, she is still their cat!

What was the written agreement with the shelter?

@MumChp it was the Petplan insurance form that i signed and forms from them asking us to set up a standing order to donate to them monthly. Nothing about ownership etc

I think your money is classed as a donation. Shelter animals must be rehomed through the shelter usually.

IDK about Scotland but down here it's fairly standard that the refining contract works that way. That's why the money you pay is a rejoining fee and not a purchase price.

I can see why you're neighbour is disappointed but why are you so upset?

@AGlinnerOfHope but she's not a shelter animal now? She left the shelter almost 2 weeks ago and has been living in my home as my cat

Rehoming not refining^

When you adopt a cat, there’s usually a clause about not passing it on, but returning it to the shelter. That’s what you should have done.

They always remain shelter animals.

There must have been something in writing, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if the written agreement required you to return the cat to them if you had made a mistake in adopting it.

£85 is a small amount of money, a contribution to their costs. And since it is called an adoption fee rather than a purchase price, I would imagine that their written agreement clarifies their continuing rights to keep some degree of control in relation to the cat.

I'm upset because I've been getting so much grief from the shelter

It is normal. Check your paperwork

They want to ensure the ongoing safety of the animals- you could have passed her to someone who wouldn’t pass their home check.

@AGlinnerOfHope just checked the paperwork and there's nothing at all in there about re-rehoming

completely normal for rescue dogs and cats and with good reason

@AGlinnerOfHope I was never had a home check - despite them saying they would. They also never followed up with me after I got the cat.

Can the neighbours refuse to return the cat? This is definitely not in the cat's interest if he's happy and settled with them. Fine if they want to check that the cat is doing well and remove him if not, but if he is it's very cruel to put him through the stress of taking him back to the shelter and rehoming him again. Poor cat!

It’s really unusual for there not to be an explicit clause in the contract saying you can’t re-home and that you have to contact the shelter or rescue. Are you sure you have all the paperwork?

I think I would try to negotiate/establish common ground on this one. "We all want what's best for kitty; would you consider letting her stay with neighbours while you screen them? I'm sure they'll meet your requirements just as we did."

I'm amazed there's nothing on their terms about returning the cat?

Have you checked the terms and conditions on the website?

The FAQ?

Which shelter is it?

I accept responsibility I may have handled this wrong and I hold my hands up for that

You really did.

Can the new owner try to connect with the shelter and ask to quickly fill in the application (even just to foster) so that the cat can stay there?

They sound very unprofessional if they didn’t do a home check or phone/message you to check all was going ok after a week or so. If there’s nothing in any paperwork about rehoming after the adoption, I’d imagine it would be very difficult for them to try insist on. The cat has the chip from the shelter but unless it was made clear to you that this meant you could only rehome her via them, I’m not sure how this would give them rights of ownership now . Do they have the name and address of the cats new owner? If not you could refuse to pass this on. If they do, then I don’t think they’d have to let them in or to remove their cat.

I'm another who is genuinely shocked there's no clause in the paperwork. With both our rescue cats and dog the pets chip shows us and the rescue centre. I'm also really confused as to why your first instinct would be to give her to a family who live in the same street as you and not speak to the rescue and return her? You've only had her 2 weeks!

You said that you already have a cat. Did they do any checks to see how the new one would get on with the existing one? Just sounds odd they never did a home check and supposedly don't have wording around not rehoming yourself.

We adopted a cat from the local cat and dog home at the start of the year (also in Scotland) I've just checked our paperwork and there's no clauses about rehoming him either. But they transferred the microchip right away. Not sure why yours didn't. We had one week to return him if it wasn't working out and if we didn't the understanding was that we were going to keep him, Which we have. It's a shame your car didn't work out for yous. You will have paperwork that proves you own him though so I'd doubt they have much authority to try and reclaim him

This. The shelter would want to vet the neighbours and their home just like they vetted you on suitability. This neighbour can still apply to adopt the cat from the centre once they have passed the vetting. You should have checked the small print, rescue centres always insist you take a cat back if you can't keep it.