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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Cats on gumtree

24 replies

NeffSaid · 05/10/2018 09:37

Is it ever ok to get a cat from gumtree?!

Local rescues won’t rehome with us because we have small children. A friend’s cat that needed rehoming (we have been looking for a good few months now) wouldn’t have worked out because we are urban.

I had a look on gumtree and there are several older cats (ie we are not particularly looking for a kitten - have always had adult rescues in the past) whose owners are looking to rehome them. Some are charging and some are not (the more elderly ones!). I guess I’m just wondering if there’s anything particular I should be looking out for - I feel uneasy paying for a cat that someone is looking to rehome because their circumstances have changed, but am also aware that owners will have put money into vax etc... just wondering what more experienced cat owners think.

OP posts:
MsOliphant · 05/10/2018 09:43

Oh god, it infuriates me when people give animals away for free in there. Loads probably end up as dog-fight bait.

Vinorosso74 · 05/10/2018 09:51

It makes me both sad and angry when you see pets being given away on Gumtree and the like so wish it cold be banned.
Early this year the CP centre I'm at had space (yes I know rare) so the staff went through Gumtree and took some in.
I disagree with buying kittens on there from the dodgy breeders but older cats free to good home you are potentially saving them from a worse fate. Only issue is they may have health problems hence being given up or not vet checked etc which a rescue would have done.

Vinorosso74 · 05/10/2018 09:54

As an aside rescues will home with children depending on both the cat and the children so getting one off Gumtree doesn't mean the cat and kids will get on.
My DD tests out some of the CP cats to see how they are with kids and the staff also watch how cats react to other kids coming in the centre to view cats.

Original poster
NeffSaid · 05/10/2018 10:00

Oh no I know there’s no guarantee on the cat and kids getting on - obviously I’d do a few visits beforehand to attempt to gauge suitability.

Sadly we’ve been to all the rescues in our city and they were pretty sniffy about us wanting to rehome with little ones. There weren’t actually many cats available - masses and masses of dogs though - so I wonder if we’re an anomaly where not many cats here wind up in rescues and are quite sought after!

I hadn’t thought about the dog bait issue (naive, I know). That makes me keen to take one, though I am wary of health problems as we’ve had a very expensive and sad few years with both our old rescue boys dying after lots of illness and operations.

OP posts:
viccat · 05/10/2018 10:35

You could ask to see a copy of the cat's vet history... Someone looking for a good home for their cat would be happy to oblige although I suspect a many of them are not responsible owners to begin with and won't have taken their cats for regular check ups. So you potentially risk not being able to get insurance and having expensive health issues to deal with.

Rudgie47 · 05/10/2018 10:41

You could always go along to see what the score was. If the person was genuine and the cat was o.k then I don't see why not.
I wouldn't get a kitten off Gumtree because people just continually breed for money and its wrong.
I've seen older cats advertised where the owner has passed away or they are going abroad etc. Something like this would be o.k.

Vinorosso74 · 05/10/2018 10:49

That's a bit rubbish of them. How old are your DC?
Roughly whereabouts in the country are you as someone may know of somewhere where they will home with children.
It does annoy me when some rescues are black and white about these things as they need to be flexible. I mean toddlers and kittens isn't wise but a 4 year old cat might be used to children and perfectly happy with them.

Mummyoftwo91 · 05/10/2018 11:38

I got my cat from gumtree, do your research and visit the cat before you commit to buying, I was lied too about my kitten she was way too young to have been given away, luckily I looked after her and she's amazing and thriving now but I do wonder what happened to the rest of the kittens in the litter

MrsCatE · 06/10/2018 05:55

May be worth asking at the local vets if they know of any kittens or cats that need a home.

Whatsthisbear · 07/10/2018 19:41

Try the pets 4 homes website. They often have pets for adoption and the owners tend to give a bit more history so you will know if they have been around kids etc. They aren’t always free, some owners ask for money so they know they are more likely to be well looked after. After all who would hand over cash for an animal they don’t really want to bother with? But there are usually some for free or only a small amount. You just put your postcode in and it will find ones nearest to you. If the link works this is just so you can see. I didn’t specify area.

www.pets4homes.co.uk/search/?type_id=2&advert_type=2&maxprice=100&results=10&sort=datenew

Original poster
NeffSaid · 11/10/2018 12:49

Thanks for the additional responses - sorry I’ve been away from MN for a few days. We are in Scotland.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 11/10/2018 12:51

If people are giving away their cat for free on the internet then obviously they are callous shits. But think why they would do his? Behavioural issues? Expensive medical issues?

Original poster
NeffSaid · 11/10/2018 12:59

Wolfie of the 2 I saw recently, neither was actually their cat - one had an owner who’d died and the other had temporarily taken in a neighbour’s cat after they’d gone abroad.

I suppose when I first started looking at this I couldn’t imagine charging someone for my beloved pet, they’re a family member and not a transaction. But I also can’t imagine rehoming a pet (our late cats moved house and country with us several times) and especially not with a stranger. I was naive and hadn’t even considered the dog fighting thing - anyway I don’t object to paying for a cat, I guess I just was coming to this from a very different mindset!

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 11/10/2018 13:16

So they say.
I don’t know where you are in the country or how old your kids are but I would be looking for a rescue solution. Either waiting if you have a toddler or looking for a cat that would be happy with a family. I think my youngest was 5 when we took on tiny kittens.

Original poster
NeffSaid · 11/10/2018 13:29

Yes, we are now waiting for a rescue that would be happy with a family. I messaged a couple of the gumtree people and the responses were a bit off somehow.
It is tough waiting as I haven’t been without a cat for this long my whole life! My 4yo and I miss our boy that died in April tremendously.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 11/10/2018 14:02

A tiny kitten and a toddler is a bad idea but a 4 year old who is used to a cat? I can’t see a rescue cat being an issue.
I really hope you find one. It’s awful being without a cat. I found it so hard when we lost our old girl.
Obviously don’t post your address! But any hint of whereabouts you are? Some MN posters are very involved in rescue.

Original poster
NeffSaid · 12/10/2018 08:18

We do also have a toddler! He is extremely gentle and loving with animals too but of course rescues don’t know that.

We are in NE Scotland.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 12/10/2018 11:05

But they will know that if they know you have had a cat already and they allow you to maybe visit fostered cats!
I wouldn’t go for a kitten but our first cats came from a family. When we got them we didn’t have kids and they would sit by the window watching children. I think they missed kids. (We later went on to have our own family!)
Good luck. (And sorry but all my contacts are South of England!)

belfastbosoms · 12/10/2018 11:22

Years ago I got a cat from a classified ad in the local paper "owner deceased, good home wanted". No home check, nothing. Clearly he could have ended up as dog fighting bait, but instead he lived a long and happy life with us. Cats shouldn't be placed on Gumtree, definitely not, but if you can provide a lovely home for an unwanted pud then you should.

prettybird · 13/10/2018 14:46

We got our current pair of Siamese boys from Gumtree to keep our old Siamese company (she'd been lonely since her "brother" died 7 months before). We got a pair because we felt it wasn't fair on either a kitten or the old lady (13.5 at the time), as the kitten would just want to play.

The boys were 6 months old at the time. I had to pay for them (£250 each iirc), which technically, under breed "rules" I shouldn't have done, as they should have been "rescue" cats. However, I bought them from someone who himself had bought from what I suspect was a kitten farm. Any reputable breeder would have said that they should be returned to be re-homed.

The guy was devastated to be selling them: he was a Siamese cat person (had had Siamese before when he lived in a house) and had bought these 2 with his new wife (who was not a cat person) and they were being kept in the living room of a flat, with no access to outdoors.

He said he'd had lots of responses from Gumtree but it was the fact that I rang and could talk about our many years of Siamese cat ownership and the fact that we wanted to let the cats go outside (which was actually what was giving us difficulty in finding new kittens as our old breeder was not currently breeding and many Siamese breeders now won't sell to people who let their cats got outside) is what "sold" us to him.

The boys now happily go outside and the old girl (now nearly 15) is no longer lonely.

The guy we bought them from had used the same vet that we go to anyway, so all we had to do was change their name and add in their "outside" jabs.

fenneltea · 13/10/2018 15:06

If you have a look on the Cat Chat website, they might have sanctuaries listed that you haven't tried. My local rescue is happy to rehome the right cat with young families. Hope you find one soon!

RaisinRainbow · 13/10/2018 22:09

Agree that Gumtree is a bit of a wild frontier, whereas Pets4Homes does seem to be a solid site as it is used by charities for rehoming.
You may also find a local facebook group for cat rehoming, although I don't have experience of those.
I hope you find your new family member soon - 6 months without a cat in the home would seem long to me too.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 14/10/2018 23:19

We adopted our lovely cat via Gumtree. We were in contact with the local rescues, but I happened to browse Gumtree one evening, and there she was. The family who owned her had a toddler and another baby due, and couldn’t give her the attention she deserved. We went and met them and her, and I brought loads of photos of our home and garden. They actually brought her here so they were able to check out where she was going to live.

I am still in touch with her previous “mum”, we message one another regularly, met up recently, and we follow one another on Instagram, so they know how loved and happy she is. I appreciate we all got lucky. Our girl is quite nervy and would have been miserable in a rescue centre - although she would have been snapped up quickly as she’s such a beauty, and a funny, gentle wee soul.

Wolfiefan · 14/10/2018 23:22

Pets4homes isn’t a “solid site”
Avoid!!

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