No Kittens available for adoption. Please read!

[MrsCatE]

Please don’t encourage people that are selling Kittens by engaging.

We lost BastardCat in March and literally, I have a little sob every day; MrCat’s worse - and he’s the one determined to adopt another Kitten (I’m happy with cat of any age). Started to investigate charity rehoming sites near to me and lovely, involved people advised ‘intake’ of Kittens was very low and I thought how lovely; more responsible owners plus feral / farm colonies capture and release going well. Nope. People are keeping the litters because now money making enterprise instead of annoyance. Please don’t encourage by buying off evil websites.

Well we've got fucking hundreds of them. There are certainly lots of people trying to sell them too, but we are picking up mothers and kittens every single day, I think more than ever before. These are the cats that were bought in lockdown, not neutered, and then abandoned to have kittens in the street or in gardens. There are so many listed in our 'problem book' that we are barely scratching the surface, despite being full to bursting.

Bloody hell @thecatneuterer! I’m so sorry and wish I could help! I was hoping to get more proactive with your organisation and will PM you. X

This makes me so sad, and angry. I despair of humans sometimes (ok, a lot of the time).

If I decided to buy another kitten I would have to buy privately as the local shelters would not allow us to adopt a kitten. The rules imo are far too stringent. We were declined by our local shelters so bought two lovely kittens who have been very well looked after.

I wouldn't even try a shelter next time after the experience. That sort of bureaucracy drives me mad.

@RavingAnnie

If I decided to buy another kitten I would have to buy privately as the local shelters would not allow us to adopt a kitten. The rules imo are far too stringent. We were declined by our local shelters so bought two lovely kittens who have been very well looked after.

I wouldn't even try a shelter next time after the experience. That sort of bureaucracy drives me mad.

And this is why BSB will continue to flourish. Not having a go at you RavingAnnie. Can understand your frustration.

I really think that some of the more well known rescues/charities need to come together to rethink their guidelines and criteria.

I fully understand and support the need to ensure that an animal goes to a loving home. But I think they are, in a way, exasperating the problem. I’m sure that a lot of cats are missing out on homes due to kids being under a certain age, a dog in the house, etc etc.

So, people look elsewhere and end up lining the pockets of the bastards that exploit how frequently a cat can churn out kittens.

The larger rescues/charities seem to have checklists that discount many homes straight away (children of a certain age, a dog, unsecure garden or no access to free roam etc).

Would be great if they could all get together and pool resources across all the charities/rescues with regards to volunteers for home visits. I’d bet that, from the huge pile of automatic “no’s” that are generated by questionnaires, a home visit would probably find at least 30% of applicants actually could take on one of their cats. And by having a pool of volunteers that would do visits for ALL rescues, rather than each charity sourcing their own personnel, it would be much more efficient. And would hopefully start to reduce the amount of people turning to unscrupulous BSB.

This would also ensure that so many more cats, going to new homes, would be health-checked, neutered, vaccinated etc.

I’m a bit extreme, but I think sites like gumtree etc should be banned from allowing pets to be advertised. Should be available only through registered breeders (with regs in place so they don’t exploit the market), or through registered rescues/charities.

Maybe easier over here. All mine came from rescues but folk know I adopt and care for my cats. And many things are less commercialised here in deep rural Ireland. See the ads on adverts ie and donedeal.
Being on mumsnet is somewhat of a culture shock to this expat in so many ways and I have no intention of returning to the UK. I hope you succeed in your plans.

@Furries you are the voice of reason. Hopefully, you and @thecatneuterer can get together to merge the simpler rehoming issues. I would think trying to tackle all options in one ‘tranche’ would be beyond anyone’s concept. X

@MrsCatE - it’s one thing that is always at the back of my mind, but I never “do” anything about it - apart from plop onto posts on various sites to try to discourage people from impulse/irresponsible purchases.

I think, like with lots of things in life, systems get put in place and then are accepted as the norm. So nothing changes - the treadmill keeps churning on. Completely understandable, life is blooming busy.

I’d actually love to explore the idea more, but I have no “on the ground” experience in rescue centres. If anyone would like to chat, then feel free to pm me. Things need to change.

Just to add, I probably understand more the restrictions in place regarding renominates puppies/dogs. These are, obviously going to be around people more, issues around aggression etc. Dogs NEED the right home for the right breed - consequences can be disastrous.

That’s not to say that cats don’t matter! And it certainly doesn’t mean that they are “an easy pet to get as they don’t need much”. But there is much less risk to the wider population from a cat. Plus, a coordinated base of volunteers could also impart/ensure info regarding being a responsible cat owner - cat-proofing your garden etc so that neighbours are not impacted too much.

*rehoming, not renominates! Why does my iPad decide on a completely different word to the one I’ve typed?!

@MrsCatE - also meant to say I’m sorry re the loss of your darling cat. It’s such a horrible thing to go through. I found the first year the hardest - it’s all those “first” dates that come up. Will be 18 months for me tomorrow, I still have sob days, but it has got easier.

Thank you @Furries for your virtual cuddles!
I agree, I think a more pragmatic methodology could be applied to ensure a smoother approach to rehoming cats x

I really, really don't want to offend anyone, but the idea of creating a centralised homing team across all charities can only be even considered reasonable by people with no experience whatsoever of what is involved. I could write a really long essay on why that would be a completely unworkable idea, but I don't have the energy right now.

I agree that some charities are too rigid in their criteria (while some others are frankly not picky enough). For us it's about finding the right cat for the home if at all possible. Homes with young children are fine, but will require a 'childproof' cat - and those are the cats - the very confident, unfazed, chilled type - that are homed almost the minute they come in, so it often appears there is a shortage And of course lots of families don't want an adult cat - they want a tiny kitten for their toddlers to play with, oh, and it must be tabby and pretty or some such, and will not listen to advice that tiny kittens and toddlers are a bad mix.

Then there's busy roads. Again, if they cat proof it's fine. Even if they can't, providing the access to the road isn't particularly easy then we would still home - but it would need to be the right cat - preferably a streetwise cat over 3 years old. It's the young cat (between 6 months and 2 years) that are most at risk of road accidents as they tend want to explore and are impulsive and don't have the experience of older cats. But again, many people won't listen to this and because we won't give them kittens go around saying we won't home to them - we would, be it would have to be the right cat. I remember the people in one such home, and it really was a dangerous situation, saying 'but it's just a risk you have to take isn't it? (after rebuffing our idea of an older streetwise cat and insisting on kittens). Well, no it isn't, and it certainly isn't a risk we're prepared to take with the cats and kittens we have spent time, money and emotional investment in saving.

And then some potential owners you meet are just so evidently unsuitable as owners of anything that, even if you think they might get cats/kittens elsewhere, you just can't bring yourself to commit one of your cats or kittens to their (lack of) care. And that is something we have to wrestle with - yes if they got them from us then at least they'd be neutered, and they wouldn't be lining the pockets of backstreet breeders - but on the other hand we put so much into rescuing each and every cat and kitten that it's very, very difficult to hand them over to someone who you know will be a dreadful owner. Imagine doing that with your own cat ...

3 years ago we wanted to get a rescue kitten though we were told by cats protection we might have to wait a bit. 3 months later we found one (via them) and she’s the best thing ever.
We did have to go through some thorough checks though but to be honest we chose our house so that it would be cat friendly, that was absolutely one of the requisites of buying a house.
I can see why the checks are needed. There’s a road not far from where I live and the cats dash out in front of cars, omg I drive so carefully down that road as I feel it’s only a matter of time before one of them gets hit!

I wonder if it's worse this year because of vet issues (supply shortages, staff shortages etc).

I've read lots of things online about vets refusing to register new patients and refusing to neuter during the first lockdown because it wasn't deemed a priority.

Keeping a female cat in heat inside can be really difficult - especially in the summer months when people have windows and doors open.

I do understand why the rescue have rules (even if they seem strict) but it’s to help that the rehoming works and less likely to be returned- that’s their aim.
They are flexible with them, when we rescued a
our 2 cats a few years ago our younger daughter wasn’t the right age BUT we said keep us on your books we not fussed with what they looked like or age etc (they shocked as usually people want a kitten certain colour etc)
Two black cats that had come from a large family with young kids etc arrived. The rescue sadly knew black cats harder to adopt and very nervous having been neglected. They didn’t think they cope long term in a fosters outside cattery.
We rehomed them and whilst I’d wish they understood time at 4am and that a pile of towels is not a litter tray …they living the best life!

I wish I could like this! People who CBA to spay but instead choose to let cats have litter after litter and take in the money make me so angry. Placing money above the health and welfare of their cats.
Rescues have rules for a reason. Young children can kill kittens. Busy roads can also be fatal. They want what’s best for the animal.

@icedcoffees

I wonder if it's worse this year because of vet issues (supply shortages, staff shortages etc).

I've read lots of things online about vets refusing to register new patients and refusing to neuter during the first lockdown because it wasn't deemed a priority.

Keeping a female cat in heat inside can be really difficult - especially in the summer months when people have windows and doors open.

Yes, that is indeed a major factor. The shprtage of vets in London at the South East at least (probably everywhere but I don't have experience) is acute. We should have nine vets in our East London branch. We currently have only three and have been trying to recruit for months.

Some practices in London have had to close as they can't get vets. Most practices are doing only emergency treatment or are not taking new clients. It's the biggest crisis in animal welfare I've known in my 20 years of involvement.

I also think more people are at home and wanting to buy a pet. Supply and demand. They can’t be bothered to wait for rescue. So pushing the price up. So people don’t neuter. It’s a nice earner.

If anybody wants to adopt a kitten or cat, but lives somewhere where it is not suitable for a cat to go out, there is a charity called world animal friends which brings in cats from abroad for people to adopt.

These cats typically come from the streets in Eastern Europe or Egypt, where they have very little chance of ever being adopted.

While I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from adopting a cat already in the UK that needs a home, it is worth noting that world animal friends have a lot of special needs cats needing homes (cats with a missing leg, deaf, blind or partially sighted).

If you live on a main road or are unable to offer a cat access to the outdoors, then it might be worth considering a special needs cat, as it would likely be unsafe for these cats to roam anyway. In the right environment, cats with these kinds of disabilities cope remarkably well, and could make a loving family pet someone.

Could workable legislation for this be something like:

It becomes illegal to pay or accept money directly (indirectly ok via the scheme below) for any cat under the age of 1 year unless one is a licensed and registered breeder. Licences and registrations for breeders are strictly limited with stringent welfare standards.

If one isn't a registered breeder then kittens/young cats can only be sold indirectly via a neutering and welfare scheme - if your unneutered cat gets pregnant you can sell the kittens but the purchase price has to be paid into trust with the scheme which then pays for the spaying operation of the mother cat and keeps the remainder of the proceeds to run a catch-and-neuter programme for any feral cats in the area.

Would that be workable?

We bought kittens from someone who swore she'd never intended to let her cat get pregnant but she escaped when in heat, and she was planning to get her spayed asap. We have no way to know whether that spay actually happened though. We had previously looked at a different litter of kittens but walked away as the owners were clearly doing it deliberately for the money, and the kittens parents were father and daughter.

It becomes illegal to pay or accept money directly (indirectly ok via the scheme below) for any cat under the age of 1 year unless one is a licensed and registered breeder. Licences and registrations for breeders are strictly limited with stringent welfare standards.

I know this is a completely non MN opinion, and I dont even know why I am bothering to write this and will not be replying to any shitty comments. But here goes:

When we bought our kitten we went everywhere. Agencies were a no for us for numerous reasons, the registered Breeders we visited were weird because it was like choosing a cat from a cattery; better conditions than a kitten farm in that their was no neglect but apart from that their is no difference. They are also breeding for money.

We chose to get our kitten from a family home, were the kitten grew up in its first 3 months of life in a normal family environment. Young children, dogs and everyday family noises and smells.

Our boy was well adjusted, sociable, confident and all the things you wish a young kitten to be.

I have no regrets. Dont believe I have contributed to anything evil whatsoever. And if I were to get another kitten it would again be through an occasional home breeder.

@KihoBebiluPute That's bloody brilliant!

We've brought all our kittens (3 in the past 2 years) because no shelter would let us adopt.

Our cats are stupidly spoilt healthy cats but local shelters wouldn't let us have one. The reasons included living in a maisonette with no garden ( we live a 15 sec cat sprint from green areas that our cats love), both working full time (I can WFH most of the time) and renting (we are in the process of buying).

It was all so ridiculous when looking for our first two I didn't even bother with our most recent addition.

And lemonswan - if you believe you haven't contributed to anything bad or evil it's because you haven't got the whole picture of cat welfare issues in this country.

And why exactly did you discount rescues? Ah, but you won't be answering any questions will you ...