Adoption Procedure
We're delighted to hear that you're interested in giving a new, loving home to one of our cats or kittens!
Have a look at our 'We found a home!' Feature pages, showing cats that were in our care that have been successfully homed, and take a look through the Success Stories section.
Please read through our Adoption Procedure below, as well as the Other Points to Note:
Adoption Procedure
A guide to our new hands-free homing process during the covid19 situation:
We are keen to help as many cats as possible, both during the current crisis and beyond. Offering our cats a home will help to free up more space to take in emergency cases.
We have put in extensive procedures to make sure that our homing process is in line with current Government guidance, without putting adoptees or our volunteers at risk.
Here is our guide to adopting a cat using hands-free homing
- Check you are within a reasonable distance of your chosen branch. You can find your nearest branch by typing in your postcode at www.cats.org.uk/find-usas we are only able to home cats within our area at this current time
- Enquire. If you have found a cat on our website that you are interested in homing, send an enquiry through by telephoning us on 01438 228877 or clicking on the ‘contact us’ button
- Reserve your cat. If you are found to be a match for your chosen cat, you will be contacted via telephone or email. You will be asked for proof of your address and the consent of your Landlord (if you live in a rented property)
- Adopt. Once you have reserved your cat, you will be sent paperwork to sign and you will make a further telephone appointment with our team. In this call, you will have a chance to discuss everything you need to know about your cat. You will then pay an adoption fee of £100 for 1 cat or £170 for 2 cats,usually by bank transfer.
This adoption fee includes your new family member having had any necessary medical treatment as well as 4 weeks PetPlan Insurance and being neutered, microchipped, vaccinated as well as being up to date with flea and worm treatment.
- Bringing your cat home. Once this is finalised, we will arrange for a driver to bring your cat safely to your home in a carrier which will also be included within the adoption fee.
- Be supported. You will receive a follow-up call or email around 2, 7 and 21 days after the adoption to check that your new arrival is settled in. You can also find help and advice on the Cats Protection website at www.cats.org.uk/advice
Donations
If you are able to give us a donation on top of paying the fee, then this will help towards the care and treatment of the next cat we take into our care. A donation also helps us to claim back Gift Aid. This means we are able to help neglected, unwanted, lost or stray cats in North Hertfordshire for the future.
Other Points to Note
Adopting a kitten
Please note that we do not normally re-home kittens to families with children under 5 years old. Also, when adopting a kitten from Cats Protection you must agree to get the kitten neutered at between 4 and 6 months of age. If you or your family are out at work all day, we would prefer you to adopt a pair of kittens (not a single one) or a slightly older / adult cat or pair of cats.
Busy roads
It's our policy not to place our cats or kittens in homes which are near busy / main roads.
Free access via a catflap
Apart from cats who have special needs, all of our cats and kittens must go to homes where they will have free access to the outdoors where they can exhibit their natural behaviours.
Our catchment area
To adopt from our Branch, you will generally need to live within our catchment area, which is postcodes SG1 to SG7. If you live outside this area and are interested in a specific cat, please give us a call so we can arrange a home visit by your local branch or visit the main Cats Protection website for further information.
Christmas
Cats Protection is closed from around 15th to 17th December to 3rd or 4th January every year as it is our policy not to home cats or kittens as Christmas presents.