Before your cat comes to our centre
When your cat comes to our centre
Whilst the cat is at our centre
Adopting a cat Adoption FAQs
Kittens
Fostering Cats Fostering FAQs
Stray cats
Before your cat comes to our centre
It is likely that we will not have a place available immediately due to the heavy demand for our services, so you should inform us as soon as you know that your cat needs to be rehomed. We strongly recommend that you approach as many cat rescues/rehoming centres as possible and put your cat on their waiting lists too.
We also recommend that you advertise the cat in such places as vets' waiting rooms, pet-shops, local shops and by word of mouth - for example if you work for a large organisation, use their notice boards and/or intranet. You should take care not to publish details of your address and make it clear that you will want to discuss with the potential adopter the sort of home they're offering before they meet the cat.
If possible you should have the cat neutered and vet checked. It is also worth asking your vet to provide a print out of your cat's recent medical history for the benefit of new owners. Giving details of the cat's likes, dislikes and personality will help to avoid calls from unsuitable prospective owners. If you need to rehome more than one cat, any posters should indicate in the title that the cats can be separated (if that is the case), or even better advertise each cat seperately.
When a place becomes available at our centre we will telephone you and ask you to bring the cat to us. If you accept the place, but subsequently change your mind, please tell us so that we can pass the place to the next person on the list. It is incredibly frustrating for our volunteers to have to turn callers away whilst there is an unoccupied pen at our Centre.
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We will ask you to bring the cat, a print-out of any medical history from your vet, any vaccination certificate and any belongings, including if possible something he or she has slept upon. This will be given to the new owner to help with settling into the new home. Once
at our centre you will be asked to complete a form handing the cat over
to us (you can download a form here if you would prefer to fill it in
before you come, however we will want to check it with you). |
The cat will be given a pen to him or herself unless you're bringing more than one, in which case they will share. You will be able to spend as much or as little time as you wish settling the cat down, however please be prepared for the cat to be somewhat unsettled or distressed - s/he may hide or try to run up the sides of the pen. This is typical behaviour and is displayed by the majority of the cats coming into our centre when they first arrive.
If you can afford to make a donation we would be grateful, although we will not make a set charge. Alternatively, you may wish to donate by standing order each month. You can download a standing order form here.
Whilst your cat is at our centre
Whilst your cat is in our centre, s/he will remain in a pen for the whole of his or her stay here (the exception will be for mother cats who will be placed in temporary foster homes until their kits are big enough to be rehomed). Our pens are built to a high standard with insulation and night time heaters for winter, and the cats have access to their own covered outside run. They have a defined sleeping/eating area with a window from which they can watch birds and other wildlife. Most cats settle down to life at our Centre after a couple of days.
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Unless already done the cat will be neutered and microchipped and treated for worms and fleas. Any other necessary veterinary work will also be undertaken. Our volunteers spend time stroking and playing with the cats and they are fed twice a day (unless veterinary advice dictates otherwise). The pens are cleaned daily. The cats have access to the outside via a cat flap (and open door in summer) but are only be able to go into their own runs, and cannot mix with other cats they don't know. |
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Should the cat display any behavioural issues, we will work with these to try and improve the cat's confidence and behaviour. Once we deem that s/he is ready to be rehomed, we'll allow potential new owners to go into the pen and to spend time getting to know the cat. We only show each cat to people who can provide a home that suits the cat's requirements/personality.
When you approach us to ask about adopting a cat, we will ask you questions about your home to enable us to match an appropriate cat to your requirements. It may be that there isn't a suitable cat when you first contact us, in which case we will ask you to wait a couple of weeks and try again.
When you visit our Centre you will be shown the cat(s) who are suitable for your home, and we will expect you to spend some time with the cats in question before deciding.
| You will be allowed to take the cat home as long as you have a suitable carrying basket (we sometimes have second-hand ones on sale). We will ask you to sign an adoption form and invite you to make a donation towards our costs. Our suggested minimum donation is £50 per cat, which makes some contribution towards the costs we are likely to have had for the cat, and will save you between £100 and £150, as well as giving you a guarantee that the cat has been health-checked. |  |
Many of the cats we rehome qualify for four weeks pet insurance, courtesy of Petplan. We strongly recommend that you continue to insure your cat, and we would recommend a whole life policy (which generally does not stop paying for treatment after a given period or amount, or when the cat reaches a certain age).
If the cat is elderly or has a chronic medical condition we may assist with certain vets bills. We will discuss this with you when you visit, as this will vary from cat to cat. Such conditions may not qualify for pet insurance.
Please note, we will only reserve cats for a couple of days (unless they are undergoing veterinary treatment), so you should arrange to visit us when you are ready to take the cat. Please don't visit us just before your holiday and expect us to reserve and hold a cat for you for the two weeks you're away - it just blocks a pen here and means we have to turn away other cats.
Can I adopt a cat if I work full time? - Yes. Most cats will spend over three quarters of their day asleep. We would expect you to provide indoor shelter for your cat and in most cases easy access to the outside (cat-flap), although for some cats these conditions may not apply.
What if I live in a flat/near a very busy main road? - We would ask you to adopt a cat which is not used to going outside or which has shown a marked preference for staying indoors. We would not consider as suitable a cat which has been able to roam freely.
Do I have to pay? - We ask for a donation towards our costs and suggest a minimum of £50 per cat. This helps to pay for the treatment the cat may have had whilst it has been in our care, and demonstrates to us a commitment on the part of the adopter.
If I adopt an elderly or sick cat, would I get help with vet bills? - In most cases, yes. We would expect you to pay for regular treatment such as vaccinations, worm and flea control, but we would pay for age-related and/or chronic conditions. We will discuss such treatment on a case-by-case basis.
Have the cats had any medical treatment whilst at HCR? - Yes. All cats are neutered, microchipped, treated for worms and treated for fleas. We also check their teeth and have any necessary dental work undertaken. If the cat is suffering from any other condition we will treat this. In some cases we will rehome the cat with appropriate medication; in other cases the cat will stay with us until the treatment is completed. We will tell you about any treatment that the cat has had.
We are committed to reducing the number of unwanted cats and kittens by humane methods. This means that we do not put healthy animals to sleep, nor do we abort pregnant cats.
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We do, however, neuter all kittens as well as cats who come into our centre. We neuter kittens at the age of 10 weeks, and until that time they remain in temporary foster homes where they are handled and learn to trust people. If you need us to take a pregnant cat, or a mother cat and kittens we may be able to take them sooner than normal. If you need us to take a litter of unweaned orphan kittens (for example if their mother has been killed), you should contact us as a matter of urgence. |
We will reserve certain kittens on the clear understanding that the person reserving the kitten will collect it on a date previously agreed with us. We will only reserve kittens once we are confident that there are unlikely to be health issues.
We use foster homes to care for mother cats and kittens, and orphan kittens until they are old enough to go to new homes (at about 11 weeks). The cats and kittens stay in a family environment to ensure they are used to being handled and socialised. The cats and kittens are not rehomed from the foster homes - they return to our centre for neutering and final vet checks before they are released for adoption. If you are interested in becoming a fosterer, please read the FAQs below, and then contact us for a chat.
What sort of cat(s) would I be caring for? - Normally we would only foster out kittens, with or without their mother, but sometimes we have cats with injuries or long-term medical conditions who would benefit from staying in a home rather than our centre. We will discuss with you whether or not you would be able to take on such a cat. We would not expect any fosterers to care for a feral cat or a cat displaying overly aggressive behaviour.
How long would the period of fostering last? - We ask you to return the kittens (and their mother if applicable) to our centre at the age of ten weeks, so typically you would have a litter of kittens for up to ten weeks. If you foster an injured cat, it may be longer, depending on the injury and the recovery time. Sometimes the kittens don't come into our care until they're several weeks old, so you would have them for a shorter period of time in this situation.
Will the kittens already be born, or will I have to take a pregnant cat? - this is entirely up to you. If you feel capable of handling a pregnant cat that's fine by us, but if you prefer to wait until the kittens are born, that's OK too.
What happens if I want to keep a cat or kitten? - We ask you to return the cat and kittens to us for neutering and final vet checks, however we will give you first refusal. We reserve the right to deny a cat to anyone who, in our opinion, has too many. We ask you to sign an agreement to the effect that all cats will be returned to our centre.
Do I have to live locally? - We prefer our fosterers to live within about half an hour's drive from our centre, although we may consider applications from fosterers living further away.
Do I need experience? - Usually we would prefer you to have experience of being a cat owner, although we would not expect you to have experience of newborn kittens. We would not normally allow an inexperienced fosterer to take a pregnant cat - we would probably start them off with an older litter to enable them to gain experience.
Where do the cats live whilst they're at my home? - We would recommend that you start tiny kittens off in a quiet room to enable them to bond with their mum, and to develop good eating and behaviour patterns. This is less stressful for the mother cats. At the age of approx five weeks we would expect you to start introducing the kittens to the main household, to get them used to household noises etc. We would not want the cat and kittens to live in outdoor accommodation, and we do not recommend that they go outside at all unless the fosterer has a cat-proofed garden.
And what if I have children? - We encourage famiilies to become fosterers. It is great for kittens to have children to play with as they learn, and it is great to teach children both the joys of cat ownership and the hard work involved!
How much will it cost me? - Nothing! We pay for all food and vet costs, and any other expenses you may meet.
What happens if I go on holiday? - We will contact you when we have a cat or a litter of kittens needing to be fostered. We will tell you their estimated return date. If you have a holiday booked during this period, we would offer that particular litter to another fosterer and wait for another litter that would fit in better with your arrangements. It helps us if our fosterers tell us their holiday plans.
Did you know Petplan donates 10% of all premiums generated by Haworth Cat Rescue to us? Click here to find out more about Petplan insurance.
Registered charity 1058218