What questions should we ask at the cat rescue?

[Lonzo]

We have been approved to adopt a cat and can go and meet it. But what questions should we ask about it? There is no commitment at this stage so I wonder if there are any ‘red flags’ I should look for that might put us off, or just more practical questions that we should ask and know about. We already know age, background, outdoor cat, fine with kids, etc. Many thanks in advance!

Are they good with their litter tray/ toileting.

Any special diet?
Are they on any medication?

How long the cat has been there, has it been re-homed before and returned and if so the reasons it was returned.

Usual litter & tray type, what feed & how much.

Possibly take a towel or blanket in with you so if this cat IS the one it can have that with it until it comes home with you. That way it will smell familiar to the cat when it has the upheaval of moving. The rescue I got mine from has a group of lovely ladies who crochet little blankets, and these get put in with the cats as soon as they have a home agreed and comes with the cat.

Good luck. Don't be in a rush to get the first one you see, if it's "the one" you'll know, and if you aren't sure take time to have a think. First time I went I was thinking about which 2 out of 3 I'd liked were the best pairing, then a sibling pair I'd almost bypassed came back in my mind and I was 100% sure about them. And when I went to get Tobias recently, I must have looked at 10-12 cats thinking they were OK then I saw him & no other would do.

We got our cat during COVID, our ‘meeting’ was online and the first time we met Dcat is when I collected her🫣😻

It’s all worked out brilliantly and she is our bonkers little fluffball but glad to hear things have gone back to ‘normal’.

I would ask about their background, good to know as much as possible about their story. And how they are with other cats.

Thank you all very much - that’s really helpful. And thank you @Allergictoironing for your thoughtful post. It’s helpful to be reminded to trust our gut rather than feel that we ‘ought’ to take the first cat we see.