At Catcuddles, we always stress the importance of careful planning before bringing a cat into your home, in order to help prevent the need for rehoming further down the line.
However, we understand that circumstances may arise that make the decision to rehome a cat unavoidable.
In those instances, we have often heard from the public that they have struggled to initiate rehoming proceedings for their cat, or that they simply don’t know where to start.
Here are some of our top tips for rehoming your cat safely and responsibly.
Contact reputable rehoming organisations.
The safest way to rehome a cat is via a reputable rehoming organisation. They have the resources, expertise, and experience to match your cat up with a home that is best suited to their needs, ensure that your cat is healthy and up to date with all veterinary treatment at the point of adoption, and rule out prospective adopters who are not prepared for the potentially twenty-year commitment of owning a cat. Many rehoming organisations will also offer full “back up” should an adoption break down at any point during a cat’s lifetime.
Don’t leave it until the last minute.
If you have a deadline for rehoming your cat - for example, if you are moving to a property that doesn’t allow cats - it’s important to initiate rehoming proceedings with plenty of time to spare; we suggest one to three months before your deadline. This is because most cat charities receive a large number of rehoming requests each day, and many maintain waiting lists in order to be able to offer every cat in need a place with their organisation. If you get in touch just a week or two before your deadline, you may find that there are no organisations able to offer your cat a place that quickly, leaving you - and your cat - in a terrible predicament. So do not delay - get your cat added to waiting lists for reputable charities ASAP!
Have your cat added to more than one waiting list.
As mentioned above, charities are often inundated with pleas for help with rehoming cats, so you may find it difficult to identify a charity able to offer your cat a place promptly. We, therefore, recommend identifying a number of reputable organisations in your area and having your cat added to multiple waiting lists; that way, whichever charity has a space open up first will be able to take your cat into their care and find him or her a loving new home. Essentially, don’t “put all your eggs in one basket”. You can find a list of cat charities in the UK and their contact details here.
Beware of online rehoming.
We strongly advise against rehoming animals via Facebook, or online selling platforms. Animals advertised online are often easy targets for people with bad intentions, such as those hoping to source cats as bait for dog fights or obtain animals to breed from for a profit, so it simply isn’t safe. Even if you vet potential “adopters”, it can be easy for such people to present themselves as genuine, especially if you have no prior experience of assessing adoptive homes - something volunteers or employees for cat charities will have in abundance.
It is important that vetting of prospective adopters is done by someone with expertise and experience, who is able to quickly identify red flags, and pull out all the stops in ensuring that anyone wishing to take on a cat is ready for a potentially twenty-year commitment, and can offer a home environment that suits a cat’s individual needs - not every home is right for every cat.
There are many important factors to consider that may not be obvious to someone with no experience; like ensuring that a cat is registered with a vet after adoption, or questioning adopters about their future plans and whether this will affect their ability to care for a cat - like any upcoming property moves, or plans to have children.
You wouldn’t trust a stranger with your purse or wallet - please don’t trust them with a vulnerable animal.
Research.
Catcuddles is a no-kill charity, meaning that we never euthanise a cat because he or she has special needs, health, or behavioural problems, or simply because a cat is difficult to rehome. Not all cat charities share this stance, so before having your cat added to the rehoming list for a rehoming organisation, ensure that you understand that organisation’s policies clearly, particularly if your cat is elderly, reactive, or has a chronic health condition.
Have a realistic view of rehoming charities.
We have often heard from the public that they are reluctant to rehome their cat with an animal charity or organisation, due to fears that their cat will be in a “cage” for many months at a time whilst waiting for a new home. This perception of rehoming organisations is perhaps rooted in images of animal shelters in the US, which are state-run and may house hundreds of animals at a time. In the UK, we have no state-sanctioned shelters; all rehoming organisations are privately-run, often by teams of volunteers whose sole goal is to help rehome cats, dogs or other animals. Many are far smaller operations than you might imagine, meaning that the animals are able to enjoy plenty of daily attention and fuss from employees or volunteers. The housing offered to cats also varies widely from organisation to organisation; many utilise a set-up similar to that of a commercial cattery, whilst others may have no “base” as such and rely entirely on foster carers to care for cats on a one-on-one basis. Catcuddles, for example, operates across a network of foster homes, with one main hub for the fostering of multiple cats in Greenwich.
It’s very important to approach the rehoming process with a realistic and open-minded view of what cat rehoming organisations can offer, and as mentioned in our previous point, to research each one individually before initiating rehoming proceedings.
Create a detailed adoption profile.
Assessing each cat behaviourally takes time, so by creating a detailed profile of your cat, describing their personality, habits, likes, and dislikes, as well as any behavioural issues, you can help give a charity get a headstart in identifying suitable new homes. High-quality pictures are also great for adoption profiles, which are used by rehoming organisations to match your cat with the right home, and may be shared on social media.
Ensure your cat is up to date with their veterinary care.
Ensuring that your cat enters the care of a charity with a clean bill of health not only saves the organisation time and money, it also means that your cat will be ready to go to a new home right away, so the search for an adoptive family can begin without delay. We advise getting your cat up to date with flea and worming treatments and vaccinations prior to being surrendered, and of course, neutered, which is a condition of rehoming via Catcuddles. We also strongly advise that any cat over 10 years old is given a blood test prior to being rehomed, to ensure that they have no untreated medical issues to address.
You can contact Catcuddles about rehoming a cat by completing this enquiry form.