Considering private rescue - what should I ask?

[canIhavethemplease]

Hi

We're considering adopting a 1 year-old brother & sister but I don't know very much about them and don't know what to ask before going to see them. They're a couple of 100 miles away so obviously, much as I'd love to take them, I don't want a wasted journey if a few choice questions might have ruled them out beforehand. We're a family of 4 (DCs 9 & 6), have never had a cat before and are generally out of the house during the school day 4 days a week. All I know about the cats are that they've been in foster care for a few weeks after having been abandoned, they've been spayed/neutered and have never known children.

All advice gratefully received!

A couple of hundred? Surely closer rescues are inundated with cats?

Yes there are closer rescue centres but these cats are currently with a friend of a friend (who unfortunately can't keep them).

Would you be in a position to actually speak to her by phone?

You'd need to take some time off work to settle the cats in, as they'll be totally freaked out and may hide in the smallest of places or mess your floors. You'll want to know if they're wormed and deflead, had their booster and what food they eat. I'd suggest doing some reading up on how to care for them. Are they long or short haired? Long haired require regular grooming to stop them getting knotted up.

I'd make sure you got them fleed and wormed by a vet before you took them home as well. When they get into your house it's expensive to get rid.

Flees I mean. Not cats.

Although I have 4 of them, so am almost overrun.

Is that overrun with cats or fleas?!

How long do you think I'd need to be at home with them for? We'd probably collect on a Friday or Saturday and then be home til Tuesday. Would that be enough?

Good idea about flea/worming thanks. We were planning to get a rescue kitten but not until easter at the earliest as we're away for Feb half term so am all a bit unprepared!

I'm over run with cats. I hate flees, flee them monthly and get a man in to spray the house once a year to protect it.

I would ask:

Are they indoor or outdoor cats
Are they spayed, chipped & up to date with vaccinations
What food they are on
What litter they currently use (so you can buy the same stuff to give them a bit of continuation, see above with the food as well)
Are they moggies or pedigree
Is the seller including their things (bowls, bed, litter tray etc)

Do some pet insurance quotes so that the insurance starts on the day you collect them.

Make sure your DCs know to leave them alone & not chase them round the house for the first few days :)

Ask the fosterer about their personalities & ask whether in the fosterer's opinion they would be OK with older children

Make sure you have everything before you collect them :) This is what I bought before bringing our rescue home: a water bowl & a food bowl (2 food bowls if they are on both wet & dry food), litter tray, bag of litter that they are currently used to, scoop for the poo, supplies of food, bed, toys, cat tree if you want, means of access to outdoors if they are outdoor cats, carrier to bring them home in with a towel in it, brush if longhaired.

Then post pics on here :)