Getting a cat from a sanctuary - advice please

[penguinplease]

My DD has been wanting a cat for the last 4 years and I told her if she waited until my DS was 3 she could have one.
He was 3 in late Nov and the first thing she said to me was "can I have a cat now".

So we have talked about it and we have decided that although she really wants a kitten we would like to go to a sanctuary and give an unwanted kitten/cat a home.
Does anyone know what I have to do, can we just turn up and take one or do I need to be checked? I have had a cat before and we aren't entering into this lightly so we are quite prepared but any advice is appreciated.

Well done for thinking about a rescue cat, penguin!

I think most rescues would want to give you some sort of checking out. Some of their cats might have come from difficult situations and they would want to ensure that they were going to a good new home. I think some also are reluctant to give cats new homes with families with young children - but I suspect that for many rescues, this (and your home situation) would be assessed on a case by case basis. (There are people who post here who work for rescues and they might be able to comment.)

Why not find a local shelter or two and ask? If you look on the list at catchat

\link{http://www.catchat.org/\catchat}

you could see who is near to you. Many of them have websites, nowadays, showing cats who need new homes so you could also look at those.

PS - the websites will also, frequently, mention any rescue policies on rehoming, including home checks.

We adopted a kitten from the Cats Protection League in Dec. We had to be vetted first, which involved a home visit (!) and a questionnare. We have already got a cat, so that wasn't a problem. I think they get a bit twitchy if you live near a main road, and they like you to promise to keep the cat in at night.

All their cats are innoculated and neutered - unless they are too young. Our kitten had had her first set of jabs (they need 2 in the first year), but the second set were prepaid for at the local vet. We have to agree to have her neutered when she's ready, and we have to send a form back to say we've done this. I'm not sure what the consequences would be if we didn't - maybe they'd take her away (eek!)

We had to make a "donation" of at least £60 - £30 goes to central CPL, and £30 to the local branch. Ours didn't have a dedicated centre; the volunteers kept the cats in kennels at their own homes. The innoculations would cost around £25 - 30 anyway, so that money is saved. If we had an older cat that had already been spayed, the donation would be pretty much cost neutral (although the donation might be a bit more for nettered kittys)

Our kitten is very sociable - she was raised by humans (I think the litter was abandoned), and she's litter tray trained, so it's all been very straightforward! Good luck!

PPS - or if you're anywhere near the North East, one of the posters on this board has some half-Siamese kittens who will be ready for new homes in a week or two?

Thank you for the advice, I have found a local rspca centre to me and they do a home visit and match us with the right cat according to our circumstances.

I have 3 dc and so I am thinking if I get a kitten (or 2..) then they will be easier to integrate into our friendly but a bit noisy house! I work from home so must admit I'm quite looking forward to a bit of 4 legged company myself!

Best of luck then, penguin. I'm sure you'll come through with flying colours.

Let us know how you do.