Adopting from abroad

[sueelleker]

Has anyone here adopted a cat from abroad? Not one you brought home, but through a rescue.
We're getting a beautiful ginger boy next week, and I've never had a foreign cat before.(Foreign as in from abroad, not a foreign breed) Will there be any behavioural differences, and how can we make him feel at home?

Why would you rescue a cat from abroad when there are thousands of cats in rescues here looking for homes?

The behaviour would depend on the cat‘s past life and experiences.

I agree with @RushianDisney though. With a local cat, you will meet him or her before adoption and have an idea of what the cat is like.

Has the cat been tested for FIV and FeLV?

The cat has been neutered and vaccinated. We would have loved to adopt from home, but we don't have a car; and there aren't any recues close enough to get to. The rescue (world animal friends) will deliver him right to our house.

My cousin rehomes cats in Dubai and I helped arrange for a rescue place for one cat she was really struggling to find a home for in the uk. He found a brilliant home. I think he was nervous at first but settled well. Like A PP though, I also don't think animals should be being rehomed from other countries. It would be better to educate the people about how to care for them properly and encourage spaying etc.

Not a cat but I rescued a dog from a shelter abroad via a charity. I think it's a wonderful thing to do. They have such a hard life in the shelters abroad, most can barely care for them and they are desperate to rehome them. My dog settled in fine, she's still nervous and a little jumpy but very loving. The charity took care off the passport and she was fully vet checked and vaccinated etc and no health problems. She's been a great addition to our family

Not personally but I've been involved in placing rescues from abroad at a cat charity as we partner with a foreign charity to help some of their special needs cats (i.e. blind cats who easily find indoor homes in London, there are many more indoor homes in flats on offer than indoor cats available and bringing the cats here literally saves their lives).

The cat's personality will of course be individual and depends on the conditions they've been kept. In some countries for example they tend to foster in large groups in volunteers' homes and the cats are usually very sociable with other cats and people.

Your reason for not adopting in the UK is a bit unusual, how are you going to manage vet visits?

Our vet is fairly close, and we can get there on the bus. To get to a rescue we would have had to travel by bus for an hour then walk, or get a taxi.

I went through the adoption process with an international charity last year. It didn't go as well as I'd hoped, and ultimately we could not keep the new kitty.
Looking back I can see how my hopes and optimism obscured reality - I did not have sufficient communication with the charity re the temperament. I did specify I wanted a cuddly, calm lap cat and the cat they recommmended and transported was very nervy, active and vocal. It wasn't a match at all as I have a senior resident cat who was overwhelmed by the new arrival and her fear did not diminish.
The charity collected him after a month and was able to rehome him, fortunately. There was no question of asking for a fee refund (£150)which I put it down to experience.
Even though it didn't work out for me, I'm sure that overseas adoptions can be successful wonderfully rewarding for all involved.

This is a joke, surely? You're not prepared to travel an hour on a bus and walk a bit but you'll happily put a cat through the mega stress of hours of transport?

A) The cat would be travelling to Britain to be adopted anyway
B) I don't mind travelling to meet/collect the cat, but it would have to come back on the bus in a carrier, which would also be stressful.

I don't mind travelling to meet/collect the cat, but it would have to come back on the bus in a carrier, which would also be stressful

You are aware that you will have to take the cat to the vet at least once per year for its vaccinations?

The distance to the vet is a lot shorter than to the rescue.
Thanks for all the comments; I'm going to finish reading them now (just in case someone thinks I've run away)

I think your mad and I would be very worried about any rescue that flies a cat to the UK and then leaves it with a family who have never met the cat before. Its hardly good practice.

As for the cat expect it to be absolutely terrified. He's probably never been in a home environment before or possibly even lived with people. Don't expect him to be a good addition to your family, if he was gong to be a good family pet then someone in his previous country would have adopted him.

Good luck OP. I hope you enjoy your new arrival.

HeadsDown And what experience do you have of cat adoptions, international or UK? The situation for cats in many countries - especially around the Mediterranean, in Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa, and even in some European countries - is nothing like in the UK. Adoption and even keeping pets and offering them a "forever home" is not as widespread or part of the culture. But they have some brilliant charities with dedicated volunteers who foster cats in their own homes. I've been involved in facilitating foreign adoptions through a UK based small charity and 99% of the cats that have come here have been gorgeous, extremely well socialised with people and other cats, and get adopted here quickly.

It is not the case with foreign adoptions or UK adoptions that if a cat isn't yet adopted it has something wrong with it. We have many many UK born cats who have absolutely no health or behaviour problems and still take months and months to find a home, people just aren't adopting for whatever reason (often because it's a black or black & white cat and people find it a "boring" colour).

I have rarely heard of anything as silly and self indulgent as this. What is the point when there are cats in this country? Is just seems like extreme virtue signalling. The waste of money, the terror for the cat, the carbon emissions, the risk of bringing in a disease + that cat is unlikely to be an ideal pet anyway. Some places purposely breed animals in awful conditions so that they can be ‘rescued’. The money could be spent on so many more useful things.