Cats Protection

By this point you will have made your choice from the list of Cats available on the Cats for Adoption page, and are now wondering what to expect.

Well your next move is to fill in an application form, which is sent to me.  I read the form and if all is OK, I email you back with the phone number of the fosterer who has the Cat or kitten if its kitten season.

You then phone the fosterer, who will give you further details on the cat, and arrange a Home Visit for you. 

Very soon after this either the fosterer or a Home Visitor will come at an appointed time. This visit isnt to check if you have fitted carpets, its to meet the family and any other animals you may have, and to answer any more questions you may have etc. We find this is a really good idea, as picking a cat from a description on a website is great, but we need to be sure that its personality will fit into your lifestyle, and by doing this home visit we have found that very few cats are returned as not being suitable.

You will then be invited to meet your chosen cat, and indeed any others we feel may suit your needs.

You should then bring a suitable cat carrier with you, if the Home Visitor indicates that your chosen cat is available to go home with you. Although dont buy in any food or litter until your visitor tells you what the cat has been fed on, and what litter it is used to. Changing any of this at this time is a recipe for disaster.

Many people who havent had a cat before think that they can apply dog rules at this point. The rule I am referring to is the one where they say, and this is especially true of those who are picking a kitten, pick the one that comes to you.

Wrong....cats are not dogs, they are independent creatures and not like dogs at all.

Dont expect too much from the cat at this point, this is where the trust in Cats Protection becomes very important. Cats in cages or outdoor pens, can be very shy of new people, but that doesnt mean they will always be like that, unlike a dog you have to earn the love and respect from a cat, and at this point in this poor animals life, it doesnt know who to trust, its upset by the smells of other cats all around it, and in some cases, it cant understand where its owner has gone, and why its been imprisoned, so listen to the fosterer, they know the cat, and can tell you much of its personality and will have a very good idea of how it will settle into your household.

Forms to Fill in and Donations

Once you have decided to give the cat of your choice a home, forms need to be completed.

You will be asked to complete an adoption form, this form also doubles as a free 6 weeks Insurance certificate. You may also be asked to sign a form for Royal Canin food, should the cat of your choice be fed on that, if this is the case, you will receive a voucher which will give you money off your next bag and a sample pack to take home.

If its a kitten you are adopting,  you will also receive a blank neutering certificate, this you must give to your Vet to fill in once you have had the kitten neutered, and return it to us. You may also be given a voucher for microchipping at the time of neutering, although we wont be starting this till around August time this year. If you take this voucher to the Vet nominated by us and have your kitten neutered between the age of 4 and 6 months at the latest, we will have your kitten chipped free of charge !

Remember in the case of a kitten, you have agreed to neuter the kitten, and as such if this isnt done, legally we can demand the return of the kitten, under breach of contract.

Lastly you will receive your Vaccination Card and a form for the second vaccine to be administered, should the kitten not have had this one yet. This is a full Vaccination, not just for Flu and Enteritis, and its very important that you have the second vaccine done to ensure complete protection. Also please DONT mix vaccines, DONT just go to your local Vet for a second Vaccination, its important that the same one is used not to cause any ill effects to your kitten or Cat.

All forms completed, we will now expect a donation from you.

We do ask you to consider giving us a donation, and are always asked, "What kind of amount do you expect?", the answer is, we don't, but obviously a donation enables us to assist the next cat to come into our care, so we can tell you the average donation is in the region of £50 for your cat or kitten, but that doesnt mean we expect £100 should you take two, but if you take two, we would appreciate anything extra you may be willing to give.

Without the donation we cannot continue doing the work we do.

Check out the costs

Neutering - Males £40 Females £50 -£112

Testing - £38

Consultation Fees - £20 upwards

Vaccination Costs - £49 - £69

Microchip - £ 10 - £20

Food.......endless cost and the same with Litter

Many people think we dont pay Vet Fees, this isnt true, of course we do, Vets are in business and cannot give their services free.

Once You Take Your Cat/Kitten Home

Our relationship with you doesnt end there.  By this time you will have got to know the fosterer fairly well, and they would have told you, any problem, phone them.

We mean this, we will phone you after a few days to ensure all is going well, but we are always here for you should you have a problem.  If you dont want to contact the fosterer, you can always email me.

And if you cannot keep the cat for any reason, you can contact us and when we have a space we will take the cat back into our care.

I must emphasise, that you need to be patient, as spaces dont happen daily, and often when a space comes up due to a cat being rehomed, an emergency comes along and fills it.

So I hope I have helped you decide to adopt a cat from us, and that reading this has given you an insight on how we work.

Now if you havent looked at our cats please do so.....