Rehoming cats

[mnmnddddd]

What are people's experience of re-homing cats from personal ads or sites like pets4homes?

(I've have rehomed a couple of cats from charities in the past so this is NOT a question about that.)

Ends in abused, neglected or dead cats.

I think OP is asking about people's experiences of taking on an unwanted cat from Pets4Homes etc, rather than surrendering her own cat to an uncertain fate?

OP, I don't have personal experience of this, but I have heard that people aren't always very honest about problem behaviour in the pet that they're giving up via these sites, for example urinating indoors. A reputable charity, particularly one that fosters the cats in volunteers' homes beforehand, is more likely to be honest about any issues and offer support in dealing with them.

I think it’s always preferable to adopt from a proper rescue if you can .

I know - it goes both ways, as a lot of animals offered for sale actually have serious (and expensive/not covered by any new insurance) health problems, are unvaccinated or they're lying and the animal concerned is for many reasons, including potential aggression, one that will end up being put to sleep.

@NeverDropYourMooncup Seeing as I'm not going to abuse or neglect any cat I rehome, I don't forsee any premature deaths. But you'll just have to take my word for that.

@TheSeaOfTranquility A fair point about undeclared behavioural/health problems.

@Floralnomad Thanks. But not the question I was asking. As I said, I have experience of rehoming cats via charities; currently, I'm interested in learning about others' experiences of private re-homing.

No, I don't think you are as you're thinking of taking a cat, not rehoming one - but you could well be handing money over to somebody who has abused and neglected the animal you're thinking of rehoming.

Things like innocently bringing home a cat with any and all of the infectious diseases they should have been vaccinated against, severe parasite infestations, cerebellar hypoplasia due to maternal infection, inbreeding, untreated fractures, gum disease or even pregnancy.

My DD 'rehomed' a 'pet bengal' that way. She turned out to be a worn out breeding Queen who had never been inside, never interacted with in a home environment - and had to have both ears excised due to necrotising infection on top of a lifelong mite infestation - which was probably the actual reason for being rehomed (the thousands that cost her) rather than the 'We're moving house and the breeder we got her from's toddler turned out to be allergic so she couldn't go back there' they claimed.

Add up the cost of vaccinations, spaying/neutering, flea and worm treatment with the vet then compare that to the fee at a proper shelter. Approx £85/120 from a shelter and they will know the cats temperament and any issues.

I wouldn’t. Decent people don’t flog their animals on such sites.

We got one of our cats from Gumtree eight years ago. He was free and has been a wonderful addition ☺️

MN hates sites like that but I know plenty of people who have had no issues whatsoever.

But it’s not about the people. It’s about the ani animals.

The animals have all been fine too 🤷‍♀️

I know you have strong feelings about breeding and rehoming but not every animal on Gumtree or similar is abused or goes on to be abused.

It is about encouraging those who breed for money. About the mothers of the cute kittens and puppies that are sold like this.

Ours wasn't a kitten and no money exchanged hands.

It's really not helpful to lump everything in one category as "bad".

I’d worry that you don’t know what you are getting in terms of behaviour or history. Is the animal healthy and has it been vet checked recently? Has it been well socialised? Has it been neutered? If the seller says it has, can they prove it? Does it have a medical condition or behavioural issues that the seller isn’t going to tell you about because they are keen to get rid.

I know a few people who have got animals that way. While they love the animals they have and wouldn’t want to be without them, it was not unproblematic, eg

• Cat which was supposed to have been vaccinated and health checked but seller suddenly wouldn’t produce vaccination card and became very evasive when asked about medical history. Cat needed quite a bit of expensive vet treatment when it was all investigated properly.
• puppy that was a different sex from what the seller said and much younger (too young to have left mum).
• Cat that turned out to be quite destructive/aggressive and hard to manage.

We adopted our lovely last cat via Gumtree. The cat we’d been hoping to adopt through a rescue fell through, and I was upset and googled “cat adopt ‘our city name’” and there she was - I knew she was our cat. I have never looked at Gumtree for anything before or since.

In our case it worked out great. She had been with her family since she was a kitten, but they then had young kids and she was stressed by noise. We went to meet her, and they brought her here a few days later. They didn’t ask for money, but we gave them vouchers for the Disney Store to buy a present for their little boy. We were given her vet card (I think this is probably a digital thing now but it showed she was up to date with jabs etc) and her bits like her bed, litter tray, bowls etc, and gave her old “dad” a tour of our home so he could see we were genuine.

She was three when we got her, and lived happily in our quiet home with a lovely big garden which suited her perfectly - she was treated like the beautiful queen she was! Early last year she started vomiting frequently which tragically turned out to be a massive abdominal tumour. We very sadly said goodbye to her after seven years with us, aged ten. We miss her so much. I actually still keep in touch with her “old mum” who was equally devastated that we had to have her pts.

Our new boy we adopted from CP. He is an absolute racket (just turned two last month, ginger) and DP frequently threatens to send him back. We love him and I am sure our girl sent him to heal my broken heart.

one of my neighbours rehomed a cat from (I think) pets for homes and this cat is absolutely gorgeous! The new baby was apparently allergic to the cat. I would chop my right arm off for this cat, he’s so so lovely, a bit older but so much character!

I think as long as the person is happy to provide vet details & you meet the cat, it’s all
ok.

My old boss got a cat then decided it was t for him & rehomed on Gumtree. That cat was also gorgeous.