What are people's re-homing policies?

[MBll]

Well dosnt matter with this rescus as Im no goini get anywhere lol ...not to worry. 

[Dawn F]

Desley is right RR - I volunteer for the blue cross and have twice been refused when I asked about a couple of cats as they both needed to be single pet homes, don't give up

[Desley (booktigger)]

It might just be that she has non suitable for living with other cats, it does happen, the bulk of our adults need to go to single cat households.

[MBll]

Did you actually ask why you've been turned down, or are you guessing?

I have asked several times & has been avoided each time ...even  saying ...are you not going to rehome to me  again & got a ...oh yes Ill rehome to you ....but its clearly  a non starter lol ....as she has a house full of cats & still advertising for homes for them ........not to worry I can only laugh at all this ...

There are other rescues i guess

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

There is always an explanation, Mags, and if they have rehomed to you before I would think they just haven't got any cats suitable to your living circumstances at present. Did you actually ask why you've been turned down, or are you guessing?

[MBll]

I dont know but i must be an unsuitable person then  as I have been refused a cat from the rescue I got my 2 from lol  I dont quite understand the logic in this 

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Sharon has very often done a great deal of the checking before she asks a volunteer to HC. As folks have said, if a home isn't right for one cat, we usually have a cat perfect for them or pass on their details to another rescue we know they can help. 

Only once have I had doubts about the situation and the cats involved and this was a home where a disabled girl was living surrounded by medical equipment. The family were applying to adopt 2 older kittens around 9 months and I could see them both tearing around and getting entangled in the mass of cables and catheter tubes. I told the family I would need to check with the welfare officer, and they were very understanding. In the end, the family did pass but circumstances changed suddenly and they decided not to adopt the cats. 

[Ela]

I've learnt over the years to trust my instinct over the phone, if I don't like the sound of them, they don't get a cat/kitten

I know what you mean gut feeling is always right.

On the homecheck front for example I have noticed from others that they have been told they have passed ...why say this when the rescue have no intention of homing an animal to them yet they churn out pathetic excuses.....what they hell is this all about?

Our home checkers don’t say anyone has passed (or failed for that matter). They say I will get back to the homing officer and they will contact you. No potential new owner would be refused a cat without a valid reason. Although I have to say very few are ever refused as if gut feeling on the initial phone call says all is not well we don’t do a home check. Very occasionally gut feeling says all is not well but there is no reason to refuse a home check. In every case this has happened the home check has confirmed that gut feeling.

[Mark]

Also to point out, refusal is quite unusual. But at the end of the day, it's all about the cats welfare - the horrible thing is, I'm sure unsuitable people will just go on to get a cat by other means like freeads. I think we try to be as flexible as possible - 100% perfect homes are few and far between. Recently, I homechecked a lady who lived in a village but on quite a busy road. She was honest and said her last cat was run over but he was the type that kept going round the front crossing the road. She wanted a laid back cat that was happy to stay in or potter in the back garden She even went so far to say that if the cat started going round the front and risking being run over, would we take her back. That shows that she was a responsible sort of person and so how could we refuse a lovely home to a homeless cat?

I think the types that will get  refused are more along the lines of "I want a kitten for me girlfriends birthday innit" types  

[Ela]

We don't generally re-home young kittens (under 5 months) to children under 4 or 5 and

You will possibly hate me for this but it is one of my pet hates. To me children don't suddenly become good on their 4th or 5th birthday. We have more cases of cruelty from adults than children and I only know of one where a child was under 5 and then the mother could not look after herself never mind a child. Not to allow kittens to homes where there are young children would have ruled me out many years ago, we had our first kitten when my daughter was about 2. Also even now it would rule me and most of the fosterers out from having kittens as we all have children coming and going that are under 5. If we refused a home for that reason alone it would be double standards.

Also I am sure that many of the posters on here have at some time adopted kittens with children under 5. I know sometimes when we refuse (well most of the time actually) it is because of the adults in the family not the children. I think it depends on the parents and the children’s attitude to pet care not the ages. It is surprising what an experienced home visitor can tell in a single visit.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Sometimes it is done to let people down gently rather than offending them, as some people dont like to be told no and will then pester you. Sometimes homechecks are done to ensure suitabiltiy even though the kind of cat they want wont work, there are others that might, I know Sharon has done that a few times.

[Millys Mum]

I've learnt over the years to trust my instinct over the phone, if I don't like the sound of them, they don't get a cat/kitten

On the homecheck front for example I have noticed from others that they have been told they have passed ...why say this when the rescue have no intention of homing an animal to them yet they churn out pathetic excuses.....what they hell is this all about?  

If they have no intention of rehoming , rescues wouldnt bother homechecking, why waste the resources?
Has this actaully happened to you or are you basing it on assumptions made on other peoples experiences?

"Pathetic excuses" are their answers, if they have several faults telling you about them is their reason for not homing, how that is interpretated is where things go wrong as people always think their situation is fine for an animal where as a 3rd party can see issues.

[MBll]

I've learnt over the years to trust my instinct over the phone, if I don't like the sound of them, they don't get a cat/kitten

guess that me out then lol   Theres a few things i dont understand/pissed off at rescues & 1 of them is coming up with pathetic excuses instead of coming out with a straight honest answer.   Some rescues have a confusing way of working & say what they have no intention of doing rather then telling whats what.  On the homecheck front for example I have noticed from others that they have been told they have passed ...why say this when the rescue have no intention of homing an animal to them yet they churn out pathetic excuses.....what they hell is this all about?   

Slighty off track here...but think it needs said.   

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

I actually think that CP should have some training days or guidelines on rehoming and homechecking. I have to count 15 homechecking people and all great folks, it has taken me me years to build up such a good team, in the past i was doing all the HCs.. To compensate for the area we cover and to put in place some of our branch guidelines i set about over Christmas putting together a manual..Its currently 16 pages long and i send it out to all potential volunteer homecheckers and update it every so often.. Its proved to be invaluable...and when we come across a new scenerio of homechecking and rehoming we amend it..They are only guidelines though as we are pretty flexiable on some issues as it "depends" but one mans (or womens) busy road isnt to another..

Roads are a big issue but we have to be sensible. Although some cats are not going to last long nr a busy road, an older cat that is unlikely to wonder far and just needs a sofa to sleep on will be okay... I have turned people down with regards to roads but have then gone on to rehome a older cat to them and all live happily ever after...

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I only rehome kittens in pairs and won't rehome where the owner is out most of the day.  I've learnt over the years to trust my instinct over the phone, if I don't like the sound of them, they don't get a cat/kitten    I always check with the road situation, I wouldn't like to rehome to get a phone call to say the cat has been killed on the road.  I always stress that kittens are spayed/neutered when of age and if local, I usually sort a voucher out for them and get them in at my vets.  I try and get people to keep kittens in as long as possible after neutering,  I try and steer them to letting them out no sooner than 8/9 months but I'm more than happy when they want them as indoor.  Ferals I only rehome in pairs, these generally go as indoor babes and up to now, they've all settled really well.  I've had a few that have gone to farm homes but all these are clients of Sean's so he gets to see them on his visits    There are certain areas I won't rehome in and these tend to be where I'm constantly trapping or picking up strays.  I'm not dead set on someone having a cat flap but I am apprehensive if they have no indoor access during the day if owners are at work, this does tend to put me off and I usually make some excuse but most I've rehomed to are happy to keep their cats in whilst they are out and letting them out for an hour or so when they come home.  I always worry if something happens to them whilst the owners are out and they can't get indoors    Ours used to use the window for getting in and out but they were always brought in if we were out for the day.  I do rehome where there are young children but have also turned down a few when the kids have been total  .  My kids were brought up with animals the same as me and they love and respect them, they've never treated them like toys and I think it's a good thing that kids are brought up around animals.  The main thing to watch is how the parents are when the kids are with the animals, if they stand there and do nothing and the kids pulling/picking them up, then sorry, they don't get a cat.  I wouldn't rehome kittens where there's youngsters, kittens can easily get hurt and the kids although not intentional can be a little rough.  At least with an older cat, they can hold their own and can get away. I usually ask what vets they use, what they would do when they go away etc, I have the odd cats back for their hols when their owners go away and I always offer.  I also state if they have any problems, I am prepared to take the cat back even if it's months later or whenever a problem arises.   Other than that, I can't really think of anything else but probably will once I've posted 

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I think the CP homing form is fairly comprehensive and covers most situations. I'd agree that lots of folks manage well without a cat flap. In fact, I've only had one myself this last two years. 

It's a good question to ask, though. Rescues do differ and some rules are barmy, while others are not tight enoug. Our welfare officer, and a very dedicated and successful fosterer, came to us after she was turned down for adoption by the RSPCA due to them not liking her road. Their loss our gain! 

[Angiew]

Covered littertray?

Loads of people manage quite well without cat flaps.

We always ask if they have been banned from keeping animals - a daft question really 'cos they are not going to say "well, as it happens..." but at least the subject is broached (and it was my idea, sadly I don't think we all do enough to address this area - until a certain national charity pulls its finger out! )

we always ask if they had cats, what heppened atc as a couple of times we've backed away when people have given cats away or left cats at home with mum for odd reasons.

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

I was just wondering what people's policies about re-homing are?

I know we at this branch are strict and i'm not looking to be lambasted for our policies, but looking to see what other rescues look for  There's rescues round here who hand out cats like sweets (and we're talking pregnant cats, FeLV cats etc) 

Ok so the first thing I ask is obviously what the traffic flow is like around the property (we always do a home visit anyway). We look for properties around 100 metres away from main roads, cut throughs, school runs etc, unless it's a slightly older cat who we know has lived near busy roads before.

I also ask,

Is the property rented or owned? (we re-home to rented places, but need to know the longevity of the cats life has been thought about)
Is there a garden space? (we look for places with adequate garden spaces and don't feel that a yard has enough to entertain a cat and they're more likely to wander and stray)
Can a catflap be fitted? (we don't feel it's acceptable for a cat to have a home that it can't get into. If one cannot be fitted into the main property, then we look at one into a shed or garage so that the cat always has somewhere safe, warm and protected to go to)
Are there any other pets in the house?
Are there any children in the house?

There are some areas which we don't re-home to due to the large numbers of stray dogs and chavs who like to torment cats and kittens.

We then do a home visit to have a chat and ask that they provide a covered litter tray, have a carrier ready and the catflap fitted.

We don't generally re-home young kittens (under 5 months) to children under 4 or 5 and we don't re-home single kittens to homes where there's no-one in the house or there isn't another young cat around.

Umm I think that's everything!

I'd really like to know what other places ask/look for