Rescues don’t actually want to rehome cats

[WannabeKittens]

I posted last year about how I’ve been trying to rescue a cat, actually at the time it was kittens.

Nine months on I’ve had no luck. I’ve registered with every rescue around, and have never even got as far as a home check, apart from Celia Hammond who told me that because of my disability they were unlikely to let me rehome from them.

I am cynical because the woman who came to do the home check then went on to tell me she has seven teen cats of her own, which just makes me think that one of the reasons why people can never rehome a cat is because the fosterers and home checkers all have the cats themselves In fact if I remember rightly that’s why the CEO of Cats Protection resigned.

So near me I have contacted celia Hammond (no from them), cats protection, (never heard from them), Battersea, Crockenhill Animal rescue (I am in Bromley area and they are always supposedly crying out, never heard back from them.) And I’ve heard the same from numerous other people who ultimately end up going to gumtree.

I have no intention of buying a cat from gumtree, I am prepared to adopt an older cat instead of a kitten and have made that clear,but nothing.

I find it impossible to take the claims of these rescues seriously when they talk about how overrun they are with cats, perhaps if they actually rehomed some of them they wouldn’t have such a population issue.

A long time ago now we tried to adopt two cats from our local big rescue org, refused as we weren’t married!!

Quite right too, how scandalous 😂😂

@WannabeKittens what reasons have you been given for not being a suitable adopter?

I’d be curious as to the reasons. I knew I couldn’t adopt from Battersea etc because I don’t have a house with a secure garden. I know they are wary adopting if you have other animals - we had Guinea pigs or have a FT job outside the home or young kids. I was unsuitable to adopt previously and got a cat from Gumtree - though I was very lucky in hindsight. She was healthy and died suddenly after 8 years.

However I was easily able to adopt an FIV cat from Cats Protection, once I was WAH and my kids were adults and we had no other pets. The whole process was online and they delivered the cat to my door. All they asked for was a copy of my Council Tax bill.

I used to volunteer for a rescue and have friends who still do. Most people who get turned down either don't bother giving much detail, have unreasonable expectations or want a cat that doesn't suit their lifestyle. Running a rescue is so expensive that no one would do it for the money!

But when you see the reasons cats are being given up, then you don't want to send cats to homes that are not fully committed. For example, young people who live in houseshares, those wanting to adopt a kitten for their 89 year old mother... People with communal gardens only by a busy road. Rescues also need to know adopters understand the costs involved in having a cat. Many homes have safety issues adopters are not willing to address (a flat on the 5th floor and adopters don't want to catproof the balcony or claim they will never open their windows so there's no need to secure them with screens...) Lots of enquiries are about the pretty cats that disregard personality. That long haired grey cat that families with young children and two dogs want to collect tomorrow, never mind the cat is shy and/or aggressive and only used to living with a single elderly person in a quiet home... In my experience people who were open to learning and thinking through options with the rescue staff were most likely to be successful in finding the right cat for them even if something about their situation wasn't 100% ideal to begin with.

I also came to recommend Romney House which is local to you. Owner does have loads of cats but her house is part of the shelter and there are also lots of feral cats that they feed so it's part of the territory. We also found them very pragmatic - none of the strict questions and rules about adopting kittens just made sure we had really thought about keeping them safe. Also DM adopted a cat when she had only a flat and they helped her find one that they thought would be ok being indoors rather than say no (she has been really happy). It's a lovely happy place and I would highly recommend. Our 'kittens' are 6yo now!

I foster and this is not my experience at all. The rescue I mainly foster for deals with colonies of cats in the area and therefore takes in lots of pregnant mums and kittens and also slightly older cats who need a lot of socialisation before rehoming. Adoption criteria is mainly around main roads and railways (and if that is the case just say they will be indoors) and other cats have health needs/need a quiet home/ hate other cats etc. There are loads of cats waiting for rehoming and we are not hoarding! Little kittens raised to be purr monsters are not an issue but I currently have young cats who came in at around 16 weeks from outside who are bloody taking some taming. The problem is by the time we get there they are too old and no one wants the little savages 😁

@willstarttomorrow · tbh I think there’s a difference between feral cats and those which are ready for homing. I imagine that a lot of feral cats might be better suited to e.g. farms and premises where they can remain mousers etc. Wasn’t Larry the Downing Street cat a feral?

In some instances where certain criteria need to be considered, e.g. it’s understandable if you live on a main road, but there are posters here who have been told they can’t adopt a cat because they work. These are cats not dogs. It’s absolutely not the same.

Some upthread told me that there is obviously a reason why I am not able to adopt, and that is pure rubbish. Nobody has even ever returned my enquiries. I have stated where I live, I have a cat flap, I am an experienced owner. I don’t know whether lockdown may have made things more difficult, because it used to be that you could visit these rehoming centres, but now it’s all done by appointment and you can’t just go there any more.

I adopted two kittens from RSPCA in the past and an older cat from Battersea. And on both of those occasions I went down there and engaged with the cats and the staff, and there was never any question.

But my own situation aside, turning people down to adopt because they work from home or because keeping a FIV cat indoors is apparently cruel or because they have children is ludicrous. And when it transpires that those in charge of making those decisions have upwards of ten cats themselves, it’s not a huge distance to come to the conclusion that this is more about the rescuers having cats than about them actually finding homes for cats.

My parents successfully rehomed two feral kittens from a farm but they had them from 8 weeks. And nobody else gets near them.

Try The Scraching post. My friend got me from there and she live miles away. She also took a gorgeous friendly toothless fiv ginger boy there recently if you are interested! Give them a call they are very open to adoption http://www.scratchingpost.co.uk/

I don’t really understand why no children with cats. Unless cat is terrified of them, most cats are ideal with young children.

Ours we already had, they were around 2 years when our Ds was born. He loves them, and they happily lie next to him when he’s playing. He’s 3, and very gentle with them, doesn’t chase them, and the cats can also just move away whenever they like.

The woman who did our home visit wanted to see the WHOLE HOUSE. What did she think was in the bedrooms? A kitten murdering fur farm?
I swear it was just her hobby

I volunteer at a small rescue and have volunteered at cats protection in the past.

At cats protection, we were rehoming cats daily and now at a smaller rescue it’s a few each week. I don’t think it’s really a case of them not wanting to rehome.

Can you go and visit a CPL? I did that,chose a cat, picked him up the following week.

Try Foal farm at Biggin Hill

Romney cat rescue
Foal farm

Go back to Celia Hammond and question the decision.

We were black listed by all the local rescues because we had to rehome my parents in laws older cats when they went into a home. We couldn't take them on because we already had senior cats. DH didn't think and used our details rather than his parents when he asked the rescues to take them. In the end the in laws carer took one and her brother had the other as non of the rescues would have them.

When our cat died we had real trouble adopting kittens as it was on record we'd tried to rehome older cats. Most wouldn't even listen to our explanation.
Celia Hammond came through in the end.

Getting a dog from a rescue was impossible and I had to give up my principles and buy from a breeder

I have contacted all of the above. Celia Hammond were the only ones who ever came back to me and then they said no.

The others all have their own fb pages and post on the local fb groups.

Safe Haven animal rescue go between posting that they’re desperately short of money and they need x amount by y date or they don’t know what will happen to their animals, to talking about the kittens they have up for rehoming which are desperately in need of homes. But they don’t ever actually respond to contact.

I’ve given up now. Clearly it’s not meant to be and I don’t want to buy a cat from gumtree or the like.

But the talk of rescues being overrun with kittens is clearly either bollocks, or they’re overrun because they don’t actually rehome them.

Now see if I wanted to go nosing around people’s houses I’d just go to Rightmove 😂

We've just managed to rehome a kitten via Cats Protection, and from talking to the kitten's fosterer they are pretty overrun. We border several different CP areas, and found a huge variation in response times and how realistic demands (such as age of our DCs) are between branches. One took nearly 2 weeks to tell me no for a specific advertised kitten, and another didn't respond at all, despite the enquiry with that one giving our details and what we were looking for, not for a specific kitten. A third called me back 20 mins after my online enquiry and matched us there and then with a kitten they felt would best fit into our family. Our home was checked by WhatsApp-ing photos over, and I was told if I didn't feel like this kitten was a good fit, another litter would be available for rehoming the following week. I met the kitten a few days later, and brought him home exactly a week after my initial enquiry.

I have to say I was worried this would be the case and do seem to be experiencing it. I have young DC but 1) they have grown up around pets and 2) I work from home so have a dedicated kid free space and 3) live in a nice quiet area with lots of nature around.

In the end I've had to buy a kitten from a litter (well hopefully, they are ready next week!) I would have been more than happy to take a rescue cat and applied for older ones. They are clearly being overly cautious about rehoming to their own detriment; to be honest I am relieved, I'm not comfortable their insistence and obsession with ensuring cats can free roam without even acknowledging that there is even a conversation around what's best for cats

Can't remember if I posted up thread, but Rolvenden Cat Rescue are fab(Facebook page) . Got my original 2 there, then when my poor boy had to be PTS due to CKD, went back for a companion for the girl.

Ruth who runs it is fabulous. Despite there being upwards of 70-80 cats there at any one time, she remembered my first pair from 6 years previously. You don't go on line & see a list & pics of all their cats, they only show a few as otherwise it would be a full time job just updating the web site!

But if you call & talk to Ruth you tell her what you are looking for, and she will tell you if she has any that she thinks may be suitable (hint - almost guaranteed there will be!). You then go down to visit and she introduces you to all the cats that fit the bill for you - this time round I needed an adult cat who could be an indoor only cat, would be suitable to come in to a home with an existing cat, no major health issues. I was introduced to at least 8 different cats and picked one up the next weekend. If I'd wanted a indoor/outdoor family friendly cat (or a pair) there would have been a much larger choice.

Ruth has a lot of common sense when it comes to suitable homes. No she won't let you take a pair of kittens if you have a toddler (dangerous for both kittens & toddler), and she won't let you take a very shy cat if you have a noisy household. She knows which of her residents get on with other cats and even what types they do & don't get on with e.g. my Tobias got on fine with girl cats, but wasn't so good with boys. If you have the right facilities for indoor only cats like I do (3 bedroom house, Flatcats & screens on all windows, both front & back doors have porches to act like "airlocks"), then she will happily allow the right cat to go to that home. If you have children who have grown up with cats and are past the "grabby" stage, she'll re-home a suitable cat (or cats) to you.

Yes you will get "interviewed" so she can be sure you understand about having a cat (costs, insurance, lifestyle etc), but the chances of her not letting anyone well prepared adopt there are exceptionally slim as she understands a good loving home is a) better for the cats than living in the rescue and b) means another space for a cat in need to go there.

BUT - Ruth is out an awful lot of the time e.g. when I called to give her an update on Tobias last month she was out until 9:30pm with the cats. And yes sometimes a voicemail can be missed - she is VERY busy just her, her husband & a handful of volunteers. But persevere and when you do get to talk to her I'm pretty sure she can find you the perfect cat 😎

I wonder if OP volunteered at a shelter or for a charity (as fosterer) if that would the foot in door she needs. Cinnamon Trust (on facebook) is regularly advertising for homes for "foster" animals, all over UK. They pay the bills, you just deal with physical needs, fab deal !!

If you wanted to hoard felines, given they can each live 20 years, 17 is a drop in the ocean compared to the need.

I know a bit how local cat rescue operates.
So can understand why the rescue can seem so uncontactable.

Local CPL lady, I'll call her Sally, works in the way she always has. Which means she simply doesn't do social media. She also gets way more phone calls than she can answer. She answers them in groups when she can, starting with most recent (last week's callers have found other solutions). She also interviews the prospective adopters individually. She has always worked that way. Our CPL is quite generous (pays for neutering kittens), so I play by her rules.

Sally's fellow CPL volunteer Ann does some SM, but basically has to defer to Sally, so Ann is just helpful for getting Sally to ring you back.

Once Sally is engaged with you, then she does answer calls & coordinate meeting the cats at fosterer & interview & do site visits, but it's hard work to get hold of her.

Most the cats never get advertised, CPL would get inundated with requests for the pretty kittens. Only the tougher-to-rehome cases get pics onto facebook or website. I am pretty sure local RSPCA is same, only the tougher-placements get advertised. You need to talk to staff or visit a shelter to see the real range of animals that need homes.

Each time I have wanted a pair of 4-5 year old cats, ideally spotty black and white although plain black fine too. Each time I got kittens because Sally's hunch was the kittens would work well: and they did. This time I got the pretty kittens: neurotic, skittish, not greatest pets, but settled well with our resident old cat, which was very important.

Anyway, given Sally's volunteering takes so much of her time, I go with what she suggests & how she works. The challenge is simply getting hold of her.

Have you visited a CPL @WannabeKittens ?

I tried to adopt a kitten for company for my older rescue cat last year.
Genuine phone conversation with a small rescue:
Her: you sound young
Me: oh no its just my voice I'm 27
Her: do you want to have children
Me:??
Her: just because if you do you can't have a kitten
Me: I have no immediate plans to have children?
Her: you'll definitely change your mind, I couldn't give a kitten to a young family, and you'll probably have to rehome your cat as well, children are really stressful for cats
Me:????
Her: Yes I don't think you'll fit our criteria

I actually wish I had recorded the conversation, it was the most insane thing I've ever heard.
We had success with the RSPCA, but sadly the kittens died before adoption.

Hi OP, I volunteer at Cat's Protection and we definitely do rehome, all the time. I get you may be feeling disappointed, I remember the RSPCA wouldn't let me adopt a new kitten, despite being a cat owner for 20 years at the time, simply because DD (who was away at uni) couldn't visit and approve the new pet. Apparently everyone in the home had to approve it! I got my beautiful black kitten from Cat's Protection.

I will say though at CP, you don't just pick a cat, we like to match cats up with people and not let them just go because the owner likes gingers or tabbies etc. sensible given their massive personality differences. For example, we would never let a young kitten go to a home on a busy main road or a flat and be an indoor cat. We might let an FIV cat who cannot go out again or an elderly cat go to that type of home. It's about providing the best possible life and suitable home and family for that cat, even if it takes a little longer to find a home.

Please contact Cat's Protection again and engage with them about your situation, your home, your requirements, your ability to look after one etc. so they can put you in touch with the right cat.

One last thing, do you rent or have income limitations? they may have reservations unless you have landlord approval to take a cat or concerns that due to the cost of keeping pets now it may impact on your own standard of living.

We get a LOT of cats through the doors that are rehomed due to finances and are underweight, covered in fleas and have untreated medical conditions.

I've always "picked" a CPL cat, but then again I go for the unwanted ones. I'm always happy to offer a home to those that are long term residents. My last cpl cat I chose, he was huge, and black, and had been there for almost a year ❤️