Adopting a cat, anyone done this?

When I hung around the shelter, there were plenty of people who came in who could tick all the boxes but who I suspect made lousy cat owners. (I remember one particular semi-feral hardcase of a beautiful kitten who went to a houseful of screamy children. Bet you anything that boy came back to the shelter. With a bodycount).

Working full time? Most of my cats have needed *lots* of me time; I don't even see the issue.

Having heard some stories from my brother-in-law, I'm convinced that the RSPCA / Cats Protection League are both some sort of weird sham organization where crazy cat people sign up to "work" for them and then keep all the cats for themselves.  Since no one else ever seems to be able to get a cat out of them.

You might ask if there are any adult cats in the shelter who used to live with dogs.  Often when people move, they give up all their pets.  It would probably make the cat more comfortable, actually.   It also might make it easier for the dog to adjust, compared to having a kitten running around like crazy!  Depending on the dog, you wouldn't want to stir up his hunting instincts and treat the kitten like prey.

I agree.  I've seen cat/dog pairs turned in to shelters, but not always adopted out together.   You may even find an adult cat who has lived with a dog of yours size or breed.  My senior cat used to have some Chihuahua friends.  When her friends went on walks, Spaz would walk with them!  If she was lagging, the oldest Chi would turn around and wait for her.  Don't rule out finding an adult, dog-friendly cat just yet.  Thank you also for considering rescue/shelter adoption first. 

Here in the US, they can be pretty stringent as well.  We had cats when we were in England (the first one was from the library where I worked and the other two were rescued by someone we knew who couldn't keep them) but were unable to have one when we moved back in with my mother who had Alzheimer's.  When she finally had to go to a nursing home we went to a local cat shelter.  You could check out pictures and descriptions of the different cats they had online.  They only had adult cats at that time, but that was OK.  We had to dunk our feet in disinfectant when we entered and then someone showed us the cats in individual cages (not metal but very classy wooden ones)  If you showed interest in a particular one, she would take that cat out and you could play with him and so on.  I've always been partial to gray cats so we picked Maxwell who was about two at the time.  He was very friendly.  We had to describe our living arrangements and then sign papers to say we would not let him outside -- which was OK because we are on a busy street -- and pay $85.  That covered the neutering and all his shots.
But no experience of shelters in the UK.  But you could ask around, if you know anyone with a cat, who might know of someone else with kittens.  Sometimes vet's surgeries post animals for adoption.

I found a local place who says they have young mums and kittens, so I will look into that and see if there are any new ones who might be ready for a new home in 5-6 weeks time.  I am sure I will find a little one somewhere.  I was a bit broken-hearted to read on the sites that solid black kitties are the least often adopted, and I love black cats.  I have a black cat tattooed on my arm!     I will have to get a short-hair though, as I am mildly allergic to cats (I don't think I will tell the adoption agencies, that would probably equal automatic rejection!) and the long hairs drive me crazy!!!  In the past it has only bothered me for a few weeks until I get used to the kitty in the house, and it's a small price to pay for a cat lover! 

I don't know if this is true of UK vets, but vets' offices that I've been to the US always had notice boards listing pets up for adoption.

Having heard some stories from my brother-in-law, I'm convinced that the RSPCA / Cats Protection League are both some sort of weird sham organization where crazy cat people sign up to "work" for them and then keep all the cats for themselves.  Since no one else ever seems to be able to get a cat out of them.

hahah this is EXACTLY what my fiance and I suspected the nasty Celia Hammond Trust people were up to!

They wouldn't even speak to us because we live on a boat ("near deep water") or our friends ("by a busy road"), and the ladies we eventually did get our kitty from tried to have the feral cats in their garden taken (their neighbours hadn't fixed their cats and let them and their subsequent litters run wild and these ladies were just trying to see them not die on their doorstep!) because Celia Hammond said they couldn't possibly take these cats because they were "so busy with all the cats on the Olympic site". ummmm.

So yeah, we figured they just want to keep ALL the cats for themselves!

We got our cats through an ad in Loot about 8 years ago, the place was a private animal rescue, the lady did it through her house, we paid something like £45 each. Unfortunately one of them died in October, but we still have our other Kitty whom we adore.

Was that in the UK, Jewlz? I was really surprised to learn black cats have trouble finding homes in the US, but it's true. I watched several friendly, good-tempered black kittehs wait an unconscionably long time for homes in Rhode Island. When I was a student, all-black cats were especially prized -- because oooo, black cat!

Was that in the UK, Jewlz? I was really surprised to learn black cats have trouble finding homes in the US, but it's true. I watched several friendly, good-tempered black kittehs wait an unconscionably long time for homes in Rhode Island. When I was a student, all-black cats were especially prized -- because oooo, black cat!

I did volunteer work for a shelter in the US (California) and they had a no adoption policy for the black cats, they would just be fostered for life in order to protect them.

I adopted or took in all my cats as strays (I have 3 living with my parents in CA) and one was black and I would have to keep him indoors for the week of Halloween and the week after due to idots that would seek out black cats and light their tails on fire just to watch.

I can say that the black-cat aversion is present in the US.  Many shelters even refuse to adopt out all-black (and sometimes all-white) cats in October or even through the first week of November. 

Also, one of the worst things to be in a US shelter is a large, black dog.  They tend to have very long stays. 

I also agree with the suggestion of looking at a vet's office to see if they've got any adoption notices for cats. 

In the US, Craigslist has plenty of adoption listings for all species.  I don't know if such a thing happens in the U.K. too. 

If you know someone who rescues or fosters, they might even have access to notices on rescue e-mail lists.  There are a number of organizations in the US that use Yahoo to help animals get rehomed.  Good luck in your cat search. 

I did volunteer work for a shelter in the US (California) and they had a no adoption policy for the black cats, they would just be fostered for life in order to protect them.

I adopted or took in all my cats as strays (I have 3 living with my parents in CA) and one was black and I would have to keep him indoors for the week of Halloween and the week after due to idots that would seek out black cats and light their tails on fire just to watch.

That's so terrible!  I never even considered something like that happening to my Jude, who is solid black (and shiny and sleek like a gorgeous little panther).  I guess I should've thought of that.... man, I miss him so much, but I am glad I left him with my grandmother, he is getting old and she enjoys his company so much.  Maybe I should get another black one!  Yeah, Stoatula, that was on the Newcastle shelter site where I read they had trouble placing solid black or solid white kitties because it seems people prefer more colorful ones.  That's a shame because Jude was so shiny because he was all black, he had an amazing coat. 

In the US, Craigslist has plenty of adoption listings for all species.  I don't know if such a thing happens in the U.K. too. 

For some reason, listing animals for free in the classifieds (Gumtree, Loot, Craigslist, newspapers, etc) is illegal someone told me?  Something to do with dog-fighting and similar...I'm not sure how true this is, but when we were looking for our cat, the only listings we could find were for SALE (not adoption).

For some reason, listing animals for free in the classifieds (Gumtree, Loot, Craigslist, newspapers, etc) is illegal someone told me?  Something to do with dog-fighting and similar...I'm not sure how true this is, but when we were looking for our cat, the only listings we could find were for SALE (not adoption).

People are advised to list the animals with an adoption fee, even a small one like $20.  However, some don't. 

Our rescue adopted out a rabbit who ended up on Craigslist as "free to a good home," in violation of the adoption contract.  She'd been my foster, and a friend saw her.  We collected that rabbit very quickly, and I decided to keep her.