Rescue Centre

[cunsh]

What can I expect from a visit to a rescue centre for cats? Can I just turn up or do I have to make an appointment? Also, I know someone who has a lovely home but was refused a cat from a centre so had to reluctantly buy one from a pet shop, will my house not having a cat flap affect my chances of being able to adopt?

All help appreciated
x

[gessoo]

I am a 'home visitor' for a rescue centre.

Having a lovely home doesn't come into it at all. The humblest, scruffiest home can make a wonderful home for a cat!

There are lots of factors to be taken into account when rehoming, but what I basically look for is a loving environment where the animal will be treated with respect, where the prospective owners are aware of the costs of food, worming, flea treatment, vet's bills and perhaps kennelling at holiday time. All animals are different so the prospective owners must be right for the cat they want to adopt. For example, an elderly cat would be best place in a very quiet home with perhaps one doting owner.

Most animal rescue centres have visiting times, so I would phone before going.

I have cats and don't have a catflap. My cats have learned to ask to go out and ask to come in again and they are never out at night which is the most dangerous time for a cat to be out and about, for several reasons.

Once again, I stress that I never look at whether a home is lovely or not. Cats don't care about this!!

[annavc]

I got my cat from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home last year. I made an appointment in advance (although this was not necessary). I was asked to complete a form which had lots of questions on it about cats - how much I thought it cost to feed a cat, cost of litter, vets costs, whether I thought they should be neutered etc. Also questions about my home. I live in a rented house which doesn't have a catflap. They told me that if the cat I took needed unlimited access I would have to put one in which was not an option for me. It varies on each individual cat. As it happened the cat I ended up choosing was agoraphobic and I was told he would happily be an indoor cat. I was therefore allowed to take him home there and then. If I'd chosen a different cat, they probably would have carried out a home visit to check installation of a catflap etc. It depends entirely on how comfortable they are that you are fully clued up as to the cost and committment of having a cat exactly as gessoo has said. The nature of the house itself is largely irrelevant.

My cat does now go outside a little but only when he's feeling brave and when I'm already in the garden to keep him company!

Good luck with your search - I can assure you that rehoming a cat from a rescue centre is incredibly rewarding - I wouldn't be without my scruffy furball now - even when he wakes me up at 4am for head rubs!

[janeo]

All these poor cats being cooped up indoors! The nature of a cat is that it is a nocturnal hunter and that is exactly what I allow my cats to be.

I'm not sure what all these nocturnal dangers are? Cars (the greatest danger) are more prevalent in the day time!

[gessoo]

Actually janeo, you are wrong. Statistics show that most traffic accidents involving cats take place at dawn and dusk when the cats go onto the roads to stalk the birds and rodents which are on the roads at this time. It's during these dusky hours with little traffic that cats become brave, are taken unawares and get hit.

They don't usually stalk and hunt all night and most cats naturally avoid the roads during the busy daytime hours. In an ideal natural environment cats would be allowed to come and go as they please, but there are not many natural environments around in this country. Most people don't live in areas where they can let cats roam freely or some have neighbours who would be furious about cats coming into their gardens. There is far too much traffic around.

We have also lost a cat to a fox during the night and another has been attacked.

However, cats do adapt to being house cats and as long as they have plenty to amuse them then they are happy and if they are happy that is what is important. Not ideal, but better than letting cats run loose round a town where they are open to a great deal of dangers. I would far rather know my cats are safe at night and they actually come in just before dusk and settle down. It has become a habit.

[gessoo]

I have just been googling and found that 80% of accidents to cats take place between dusk and dawn.

This advice is from Battersea Dogs Home

Cats should not be shut out at night. Most road traffic accidents involving cats occur after dark and it's rather cruel to force a cat outside after she has spent the evening indoors, especially during cold weather. You may choose to accustom your cat to staying in at night and provide her with a litter tray. To become familiar and confident in her new surroundings, a newly acquired cat should be kept inside for at least four weeks. Do not feed her before letting her out for the first time but feed her immediately she returns. You can train her to respond to a signal when food is ready for instance, by whistling. Kittens should not be let out until they are at least six months old.

[annavc]

janeo, surely with my cat it would have been more cruel to force him outdoors then keep him "cooped up" as you say, when he was terrified of it. Just opening the back door into the garden used to send him running under the nearest bed literally shaking. Carrying him in my arms round the garden produced more shaking and anguished cries - would you have forced him to go outdoors when this was the reaction?

He is, as I said, now getting braver and is venturing out when I am also out there. Gradually he is getting used to it. Having said this I live in London near busy roads and even if he gets brave enough to go out on his own I will always supervise him to ensure he stays within the garden and is safe.

[clair3934]

I wish the people where I live would keep there cats in at night I get woken up nearly every night by them faceing off they are so bl**dy noisey they not only wake me and my partner up but our neighbours dog to and when she starts to bark she sets our dog off and all the other dogs on my road and they won't shut up until we shoo the cats off

[janeo]

I am certainly not suggesting that a cat should ever be shut out at night, but my priority as a cat owner is that the animal should have a happy and stimulating life, which includes some night-time hunting, which all my pets have enjoyed.

I have also lost a cat to a fox, but my present cats are still allowed out (or in) 24/7 because I believe they should be free to roam.

[gessoo]

janao, It would be nice if all cats had the required environment to be free to roam, but they just don't. I live amongst fields, but the road is busy. As clair above too says, not everybody appreciates roaming cats!

Unfortunately, we all have to adjust to our environment. My cats can go out during the day as long as they stay within our large garden (which they do). My cats are extremely contented and very happy - they must be otherwise they would have left home long ago!!!

[annavc]

Quite agree gessoo. In an ideal world it would be great for cats to roam around as they please but in towns and cities with heavy traffic, lots of other cats and, in the area I live in, a very high population of urban foxes it is not in the best interest of the cat. My cat is very happy and has a stimulating life indoors (and as I said is now beginning to venture out a little as well, when supervised). He is happy, healthy, stimulated and very content at the same time as being safe from accident, foxes, fights, and disease.

[Elfin]

I used to be one who poured scorn on people who keep their cats indoors. I have always had cats and have always let them out when they want. However, I have changed my tune somewhat.

I recently moved house to a rural area but the road nearby is busy, mostly during the day. My neighbour (who lives further away from the road than me but we share a longish driveway) had 3 pedigree cats who were allowed to roam freely. I've only been here a month but in that time, they have killed 5 rabbits, a pheasant, a magpie, a crow, countless mice and birds and have systematically cleared the hedgerows of nesting birds (taking each tiny, bald nestling one by one from the nest to her house to eat them).

However, nature fights back. One cat got killed on the road last week and one of the remaining two got hit a few nights later and is very badly hurt. It turns out she lost another 2 before I moved here. It all leaves me feeling a bit hollow.

So in answer to the original question, it may be that your friend's house was too near a main road - something that the rescue centres are pretty hot on. Also, if your house is rented, they want a letter from the landlord saying that you are permitted to keep pets on the premises.

It is clear that if I am to have a cat, it needs to be kept indoors. So I have decided to get a couple of pedigree kittens and will keep them inside but provide a large outdoor run for them - a kind of compromise. Ultimately, the safety of the cats (and the wildlife) is the most important thing to me. Luckily, as the ones I want are a certain breed, they have been kept in this way for several generations, which should make it easier. The key is to keep them occupied and have more than one. Luckily my house is quite big.

Just goes to show how a different experience can change your views...

[meltoadhall]

i live in a very rural area - 5 houses and fields. my cats have a cat flap and as they are all very different, choose to stay in all day, stay out all day or only come in for breakfast.
it also depends on the weather.
yes i see them stalking things in the fields, but they are hunting carnivores after all.

for cunsh, i would suggest ringing them first, which is what we did with our last cat, not having a cat flap shouldnt make a difference - it all dpends what the cat has been used to.