Weird experience getting rescue cats

[CatlessKatie]

My old cat died a year ago (of old age, she was 20) and I have recently started to look into getting a new cat - companion. My old girl was a rescue, but so far I have had really weird experiences contacting other rescues.
RSPCA never got back to me
Battersea rejected me because I did not have a cat flap (I often leave my window open so cat has free access most of the time)
A local farm rescue place never got back to me, when I sent 2 inquiries about wanting to adopt cats. I went to the farm to speak to them and expressed my interest, but they were too busy to speak to me and told me to email. I did again and they never got back to me.
A London rescue rejected me because they thought I had too many windows and that the cat would fall out of them.

I live in leafy suburbs, fairly big house, on a quiet street, lots of experience with cats, responsible owner, no young children, other pets etc I am really gobsmacked to find rescues think I am unsuitable.

I have now called CP back who was delighted to hear from me and I was also approved straight away by Celia Hammond who did a house visit, but I find the experience so strange. All the people who interviewed me were incredibly rude and condescending and treated me more as a cat murderer!

Has anyone else had the same experience?

People are strange. Surely anyone is better than having a cat put down. It's a cat - what ulterior motive could anyone have for getting one?

Yes, which is why I avoid the main cat charities at all cost like "Cat Protection" and the RSPCA. They're shit, "must be a rural home, no kids, no other pets, etcetcetc", they are extremely strict and unrealistic on needs. I went on facebook for a few locally run charities that have been fantastic and they understand that these cats need homes but their expectations aren't as unreasonable as Cats Protection etc.

They get inundated with requests, mostly from people who want kittens and don't have a suitable home. So you do tend to get ignored a bit. I was turned down flat by CP but other rescue shelters have been fine. We've adopted - hang on, let me count - five over the years, and currently have several long-term fosters.

Yes. This is how I ended up with an overseas rescue despite not really being in favour of them.

I don’t want kittens and have made it clear I would take an older cat up to 10 years or so. I cannot remember it being this difficult last time as we got approved by CP straight away and we also had young children then.

Yes it’s bloody annoying isn’t it! I’ve been looking for an older pair, also more than happy to have FIV positive cats or ones that need a bit more love to feel happy and haven’t been approved by a single rescue because of similar reasons (no cat flap for an FIV positive cat??? Make it make sense)

Glad you’ve managed to find some that got back to you.

I had the same experience. Then you keep hearing how full they are and they post cats on social media saying "I can't believe Roxie hasn't been adopted yet" etc etc

From the RSPCA I asked about an older, disabled cat. I could see him still available on their website last time I checked, but they never came back to me🤷🏻‍♀️

They do sometimes seem unrealistic.
On the flip side, though, you also hear/read about cats being adopted and then returned because they're 'too playful' and for other spurious reasons, so maybe they're right to be super-cautious.

This reminds me of the meme about rescues, where the advert says "This adorable little guy is Pissflaps. He is a senior at thirty years old. Unfortunately he has no kidneys so needs regular medication. He can't live with any humans or other animals whatsoever, must not live within 100 miles of any road, can only eat fresh salmon and caviar and must have his own house key.'

People are weird.

Animal charity people are even weirder.

’Too many windows’ 🤣🤣

Yes I understand the need for vetting, but I have been a cat owner for 30 years. I am clearly not just getting a kitten for Christmas. The worst was the rudeness and just how they spoke to me as if I knew nothing about cats.

Battersea also didn’t like how I kept my cat inside while on holiday. I have people popping into feed them. I mean it’s a larger than average house and if I took them to a cattery, they would be somewhere they were not familiar with and in a smaller space. Or perhaps they reject people who put their cats in a cattery too? Is that another rejection reason?

The mad cat lady I got mine from had a very common sense approach.

Yes she wanted references and I had to video a tour of the property.

No she wasn't bothered that I'd had a cat killed on the road as she felt her street cats already had crap lives and my poor cat had been living it's best life until the last second. She was realistic about what cats are like and what makes them happy.

Most helpfully she steered me away from the cat I was looking at to one that would live happily with a highly territorial female. He's been perfect for her.

Refreshing

They seem to want your money, rather than to re-home cats. I tried a while ago and gave up, we had cats until a few years ago but when the last one died (at 21) I couldn't face getting another for a while. When I did try, it's like they're handing out gold bars. We have a cat flap, a big garden, are cat lovers, have had rescue cats in the past, but they make it so difficult, if not impossible to adopt a cat, why? If I try again I will probably go to a breeder (and get a posh cat) rather than adopt, although I would prefer to adopt a cat in need. I know they don't want to give a cat to anyone, but what I've read on here and from my own experience it seems they have got ridiculously picky to the point of depriving cats of a good home.

I was lucky really. Adopted a cat who was FIV positive so indoor cat
Except he turned out not to have FIV so he then became indoor/outdoor
He was fostered by a woman who worked for cats protection called Sam (NC)

When he was PTS, I rang Sam to tell her and she had started her own rescue
She said "it's a bit too soon but..."
3 days later I was taking another cat home with no home check, she said she could see from my previous cat how adored he was

100% agree with OP. I ended up buying kittens.

No she wasn't bothered that I'd had a cat killed on the road as she felt her street cats already had crap lives and my poor cat had been living it's best life until the last second. She was realistic about what cats are like and what makes them happy.

See, I had similar from the Blue Cross and, more recently, the RSPCA... I live on a mainish rural road and my three-ago cat was run over in her old age. I was realistic about which cats I was interested in and picked cats who likely had street smarts - last boy had never lived in a house before, and lived to 18+, never went near the road, current girl (adopted in lockdown so everything was done by email and phone) was a young semi-feral stray who also stays away from the road.

This is why I ended up with pedigree cats, I got refused from all the rescues because I lived in a flat, despite being a very experienced cat owner and living on a private road (gated community sort of thing) so the cat would be able to go outside safely anyway.

People say 'adopt don't shop' but the rescues are totally unrealistic, judgemental and intrusive. I completely understand the importance of providing good and safe homes, but I have had cats my entire life and know what I'm doing, I love cats and work from home so they are never left and it still wasn't good enough.

Just to add, since I got my first two original pedigrees from a breeder I have also adopted two others. One who was used for breeding so much that it nearly killed her, and the other who was passed around several homes because she wasn't good enough quality for breeding and was basically dumped. It's actually relatively easy to adopt older pedigree cats unfortunately, and there are a lot of charities that will help with the process.

We had a very good experience recently with cats protection. We have a young child and not has cats since I was a teen but we adopted one very quickly. Perhaps it's a London thing to be stricter?

I adopted 2 young cats this time last year from the RSPCA and it was extremely straight forward. I think it must depend on the people running the branch. My gorgeous boys came from a small, local branch that does not have an animal centre. All of their cats are fostered in volunteer homes and the branch is staffed totally by volunteers.

My son experienced this recently. No charity would respond to his enquiries. He/we have had cats for 50 years. He has Aspergers and lives independently with his own house. Works full time (funny hours) but has cat flap. Quiet cul-de-sac. Wanted a middle aged/older cat which helps enormously with his mental health. After about 18 months a cat was 'found' for him and duly delivered, but there was no choice of bonding allowed. All very off putting for future adoptions.

I wouldn't take it personally OP. I've also had weird experiences with cat rescues despite have a large comfortable house, cat flap, decent sized garden, quiet road, experienced owner of individual cats etc etc
One woman made me feel like an animal abuser simply because I enquired from the next town over. She told me to stay away from her towns cats 😳😳

Just as balance, our experience with Cats Protection was very positive. I filled out an online application form, the lady called me the following day, and I did a “video tour” of our home which I sent her on WA. We don’t have a cat-flap but I showed the back door access to the garden. In the application I had stated that we had recently had our lovely 10-year-old girl PTS because of a sudden and unexpected cancer diagnosis, so I showed her her favourite garden spots on the video tour, and how perfect it is for a cat. She messaged me the same day saying she was happy for us to go ahead, then arranged for me to meet the cat who was in foster care.

My DP was away with work and she said they could “reserve” him until he returned to meet him if need be. DP was happy to trust my judgement, and cat-face was delivered (along with his litter tray, some toys, food bowl, and a blanket) a few days later. I was a bit concerned about him being very withdrawn after his initial rampaging and excitement on the first couple of days, and messaged her asking advice, and she put me in direct contact with the foster carer.

As you can see, he’s settled in just fine now!