Would you like a free kitten? UK only!

[lionessrampant]

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

With all these requirements, sorry, you could end up raising these kittens yourself. Most registered breeders don't do all the things suggested, probably because they figured out they would end up with hundred of cats and no customers if they do a home study on their clients. Obviously, those are all good ideas if you want the kitten placed into a good home. All of this however assumes there will be a lot of potential clients to choose from. Is it realistic to expect that?

Registered breeders may not, but those of us who work in rescue do. These things are commonplace. And if a person weren't willing to sign a contract that enabled us to do visits, then they wouldn't get a cat from us. Breeders and purebreds have the advantage of those expensive little sheets of paper and the high price tags. Unfortunately, with a capacity of 300 kits at my shelter, for instance, home checks are a far cry more convenient. We don't want our cats to end up as dogfighting bait or test animals. Truthfully speaking, it DOES happen, at least where I live. And since it seems like the breeders you speak of are above the idea of going the extra mile to place mangy riffraff kitties, it's probably good that they've decided to work with purebreds.

Anyway. DO the home visits. Do write up a contract. Heck, disallow declawing in the contract if you want seriously compassionate/informed owners. Personally, I'd rather go that extra mile and make sure that my kittens were well cared for then lazily see them off to sub-par homes. But that's me. The way I see it, a life is a life and is worth that extra effort.

And don't worry: Treehouse does home visits, calls and has a contract against letting the cat outdoors and declawing. Also, ALL (all of them, no cat left behind) are spayed or neutered at 6 weeks (yes weeks, not months) or at admission. And we adopted out 535 cats last year, so obviously, it's possible and you probably will be fine with adopting them out.

 

[elizwithcat]

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Registered breeders may not, but those of us who work in rescue do. These things are commonplace. And if a person weren't willing to sign a contract that enabled us to do visits, then they wouldn't get a cat from us. Breeders and purebreds have the advantage of those expensive little sheets of paper and the high price tags. Unfortunately, with a capacity of 300 kits at my shelter, for instance, home checks are a far cry more convenient. We don't want our cats to end up as dogfighting bait or test animals. Truthfully speaking, it DOES happen, at least where I live. And since it seems like the breeders you speak of are above the idea of going the extra mile to place mangy riffraff kitties, it's probably good that they've decided to work with purebreds.

Anyway. DO the home visits. Do write up a contract. Heck, disallow declawing in the contract if you want seriously compassionate/informed owners. Personally, I'd rather go that extra mile and make sure that my kittens were well cared for then lazily see them off to sub-par homes. But that's me. The way I see it, a life is a life and is worth that extra effort.

And don't worry: Treehouse does home visits, calls and has a contract against letting the cat outdoors and declawing. Also, ALL (all of them, no cat left behind) are spayed or neutered at 6 weeks (yes weeks, not months) or at admission. And we adopted out 535 cats last year, so obviously, it's possible and you probably will be fine with adopting them out.

You are obviously willing to wait a long time, years if necessary.
How long is the average stay for a cat in your shelter? I think all those are good suggestions, if someone is prepared to wait as long as necessary to place these cats.

 

[halfpint]

I am getting ready to adopt out 2 of the 5 kittens I rescued, they have all been to the vet, they have been spayed, tested,shots,wormed, and treated for fleas, I am prepared to ask for the amount it cost me to get that done for all of them. I personally want to keep them all

but I know I can't, but I thought would it be fair to ask if I could check in on them once in awhile, that they not be outside,that they are not declawed, and that if for some reason they decide they can't keep them I would be willing to take them back within a reasonable period of time, does that seem fair?I have so much emotional time in these kittens and there Momma witch I have, because it took me a year to catch her and of course they were included, and I Love them to death. I actually feel like I want to interrogate everyone under hot lights, but then I know that's dumb, I know there is no good way to know anything for sure about how they are being taken care of, I would like them treated like I treat them I am so worried that I won't think the people are right for them, they are coming tomorrow and I can't quit thinking about all of it. I'm a mess

 

[lionessrampant]

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

You are obviously willing to wait a long time, years if necessary.
How long is the average stay for a cat in your shelter? I think all those are good suggestions, if someone is prepared to wait as long as necessary to place these cats.

Cats on the main adoption floor stay, according to our adoption director Oliver Davidson, between 2 weeks and 3 months on average. Of the cats on that particular floor, it is highly unusual to see one that's been there for more than 90 days. For kittens, it's generally less time. However, our shelter has several different floors. It takes longer for FIV+ cats, older cats, special needs cats and socialization floor cats to be adopted out (some different examples of the floors we have for adoptable kitties). Also, we have the ISO where cats who are, usually for a major health reason, not adoptable, live.

Our shelter is the largest and most beloved and well-known cageless, no-kill in Chicago. Thankfully, there are a few others that are very similar to us who do the same work we do. I don't know what their adoption rates are, but ours are very good. 535 cats is more than one cat per day, remember. That's pretty darn good.

 

[semiferal]

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

You are obviously willing to wait a long time, years if necessary.
How long is the average stay for a cat in your shelter? I think all those are good suggestions, if someone is prepared to wait as long as necessary to place these cats.

If we don't wait as long as necessary for excellent homes to come around, then we would be placing them in mediocre or worse homes. And with the clause in the contract that mandates that the cats be returned if the adopter isn't going to keep the cat anymore, that would be beyond disastrous.

My question would be why a breeder, who is bringing these creatures into the world on purpose, would not adhere to these standards when placing kittens. That is what I find puzzling. If shelters and rescues can do this for their random bred DSH cats, certainly a breeder of pedigreed cats should be able to do the same!

 

[elizwithcat]

Originally Posted by semiferal

If we don't wait as long as necessary for excellent homes to come around, then we would be placing them in mediocre or worse homes. And with the clause in the contract that mandates that the cats be returned if the adopter isn't going to keep the cat anymore, that would be beyond disastrous.

My question would be why a breeder, who is bringing these creatures into the world on purpose, would not adhere to these standards when placing kittens. That is what I find puzzling. If shelters and rescues can do this for their random bred DSH cats, certainly a breeder of pedigreed cats should be able to do the same!

Some breeders ship their cats or sell them to customers that live far away. How do you suppose they can pop up for a surprise visit?

 

[cyberkitten]

They partner with a reputable breeder in that part of the world - or someone else they can trust.

 

[elizwithcat]

Originally Posted by CyberKitten

They partner with a reputable breeder in that part of the world - or someone else they can trust.

Frankly, if I knew people who were selling me the cat are going to pop into my house un-unnounced, or better yet, tell someone I don't even know to visit that cat, I wouldn't be getting a cat from them in a first place. Did the breeder of your siamese cat pop into your house to check on him? I have two cats from two different breeders and I can assure anyone they haven't stopped by to see how the cats were doing. In fact, I don't know of any breeder that makes house visits.

 

[booktigger]

I'm a fosterer in the UK, i actually foster for 2 different charities. One does home checks, one doesnt, but i prefer to do a home check. When i had a home check last year, the woman told me she was only bothered about seeing my current cats and hear me talk about them. I have been told that i am welcome to see one of my previous foster cats whenever I like, and i am ringing her later to see if i can pop in and see him at some point this week. It is nice to keep in touch with the people you adopt your cats out to, maybe more so when you foster as they are not just kittens that you know will be fine, in the case of the cat i am hoping to see this week, he was very poorly socialised and it took me 4 months to get him to the stage where he could be homed, and a further month to find that special person who was willing to take him on, as he was still a very nervous cat and still needed a lot of time and patience. Also, not all charities will allow their cats to travel for hours to get to a prospective home, my CP branch will only home in the area.