RSPCA - Trying to Rescue a Kitten, Refused?!
Discussion
My girlfriend and I would like to take on either a kitten or cat in the next few months! My girlfriend has owned 4 cats herself, as well as having cats in her life whilst growing up. My family has also had cats, but I personally haven't. A quick look through Gumtree and Pets4Home shows that there are plenty of cats and kittens available, although we thought it would be nice to rescue one from our local RSPCA shelter.
We've visited two RSPCA shelters this weekend. The first shelter was geographically closer, but we didn't feel as though we bonded with any of the cats, and visa-versa. The second shelter was around 25 miles away and instantly, we found our new addition - A long haired black kitten! Absolutely stunning. The girlfriend fell in love immediately. He meowed at us, followed us around, and when we went outside to view more cats, he left his indoor apartment to come outside and see us! Perfect!
I asked one of the volunteers if we could reserve him/collect him in the week. He asked for our card, which after reading, he 'tisked' and shook his head. "I'm afraid you cannot have this kitten. You work full time." I was a bit perplexed at this. He continued by stating that we could not leave the kitten for a lengthy period of time alone, for the first six months. I can understand his hesitance, but after protesting the fact that my girlfriend begins work at 9am and could pop back at lunch for 40 minutes, as well as the fact that I could rearrange my hours to allow me to be home for 3:30pm, he still declined our reservation.
A quick Google seems to suggest that all RSPCA shelters are a bit different in their criteria/mandatory requirements. I personally feel as though he didn't particularly like us. My girlfriend is rather upset at the whole affair ... It's no surprise that people buy kittens from breeders/families. Many of our cat-owning friends seem to think it was an odd decision too.
In essence, was he right to turn us away? Is it worth me calling the shelter tomorrow, speaking to someone else and reserving the kitten we fell in love with? Alternatively, are we limited to cats older than 6 months due to our working arrangements? In fact, would a kitten deal with the proposed hours above? For reference, we're only getting one kitten and will spoil it no end!
Cheers!
We've visited two RSPCA shelters this weekend. The first shelter was geographically closer, but we didn't feel as though we bonded with any of the cats, and visa-versa. The second shelter was around 25 miles away and instantly, we found our new addition - A long haired black kitten! Absolutely stunning. The girlfriend fell in love immediately. He meowed at us, followed us around, and when we went outside to view more cats, he left his indoor apartment to come outside and see us! Perfect!
I asked one of the volunteers if we could reserve him/collect him in the week. He asked for our card, which after reading, he 'tisked' and shook his head. "I'm afraid you cannot have this kitten. You work full time." I was a bit perplexed at this. He continued by stating that we could not leave the kitten for a lengthy period of time alone, for the first six months. I can understand his hesitance, but after protesting the fact that my girlfriend begins work at 9am and could pop back at lunch for 40 minutes, as well as the fact that I could rearrange my hours to allow me to be home for 3:30pm, he still declined our reservation.
A quick Google seems to suggest that all RSPCA shelters are a bit different in their criteria/mandatory requirements. I personally feel as though he didn't particularly like us. My girlfriend is rather upset at the whole affair ... It's no surprise that people buy kittens from breeders/families. Many of our cat-owning friends seem to think it was an odd decision too.
In essence, was he right to turn us away? Is it worth me calling the shelter tomorrow, speaking to someone else and reserving the kitten we fell in love with? Alternatively, are we limited to cats older than 6 months due to our working arrangements? In fact, would a kitten deal with the proposed hours above? For reference, we're only getting one kitten and will spoil it no end!
Cheers!
Send someone else to claim the cat who tells them they don't work full time..... It's not perhaps "morally right" but a cat is not an animal that needs company all day long and personally I feel it is far, far better for it to not be in a shelter (where I am sure it does not have company all day long).
Had similar 2 years ago when we were looking for a kitten. Our second cat was a kitten from the RSPCA. She was lovely and lived her life out with us.
Called the RSPCA expecting to go down and pick a kitten just like the first time. No chance. They wanted a home visit and to meet all the family members.
Well we wanted our daughter to be surprised but they said no chance unless we can meet her as well so that was that.
We decided to tell her we were going to get a kitten and on the very same day one turned up on our doorstep so that solved that problem !!
Not impressed with the RSPCA at all. I'll never go back...
Called the RSPCA expecting to go down and pick a kitten just like the first time. No chance. They wanted a home visit and to meet all the family members.
Well we wanted our daughter to be surprised but they said no chance unless we can meet her as well so that was that.
We decided to tell her we were going to get a kitten and on the very same day one turned up on our doorstep so that solved that problem !!
Not impressed with the RSPCA at all. I'll never go back...
Just to balance it all out, our new addition came from Bath Cats and Dogs Home which is RSPCA and they were brilliant with us from start to finish. Bristol on the other hand refused to let us even see the cats (they had a whopping three cats at the time) because we said we had two nights away a couple of weeks after we went in (bearing in mind that we'd not necessarily have even taken one, and we'd have had the whole home visit thing and all the paperwork etc to do before we could physically take the cat anyway!)
similar experience here, both of us having cats all our lives.
We'd put down a deposit on an Abyssinian kitten and wanted a rescue friend for him. The RSPCA refused to let us even SEE their rescues because "Abyssinians are really hard work, you won't have time for a second cat".
Boys1 by katy_nicolson, on Flickr
CPL or local cat charity is far more likely to allow you to work for a cat than the RSPCA will, IMHO.
We'd put down a deposit on an Abyssinian kitten and wanted a rescue friend for him. The RSPCA refused to let us even SEE their rescues because "Abyssinians are really hard work, you won't have time for a second cat".
Boys1 by katy_nicolson, on FlickrCPL or local cat charity is far more likely to allow you to work for a cat than the RSPCA will, IMHO.
Thanks for all the replies - It seems as though the RSPCA's attitude to potential adopters is consistent, if anything! I'd always prefer to rescue an animal if possible. However I was genuinely taken aback by the criteria laid out in front of us, and the denial of a kitten to what would be a good home (No main roads, park/woods close, experienced owners, income to support cat/insurance).
A couple of work colleagues spotted my Facebook status and popped up to my office to share their stories, all of which resulted in them going to CPL or other animal shelters.
We're going to view a kitten tonight, albeit she was advertised on Pets4Home. She is a Maine Coon mix, with a long black coat and blue eyes! However if we do not bond, then we'll look at some of the other shelters available to us ...
Cheers!
A couple of work colleagues spotted my Facebook status and popped up to my office to share their stories, all of which resulted in them going to CPL or other animal shelters.
We're going to view a kitten tonight, albeit she was advertised on Pets4Home. She is a Maine Coon mix, with a long black coat and blue eyes! However if we do not bond, then we'll look at some of the other shelters available to us ...
Cheers!
Edited by Ikemi on Tuesday 24th May 07:55
Not just the RSPCA and not just cats. When I used to work from home I wanted to foster dogs. It was a fairly big flat in the countryside, lovely places to walk, I was fully kitted out for dogs (had two already) and I could literally have been with the fostered dog 24/7. I even volunteered to take on dogs with behaviour issues.
Contacted many shelters and the responses I got were utter nonsense! Mostly "you don't have an enclosed garden", but one of them even said "You can't foster a Greyhound because you have a German Shepherd and they don't get on with Greyhounds".... WTF??? My 13 year old German Shepherd was too busy sleeping to harass a Greyhound.
I must have contacted about 10 shelters, basically every one I could find within 50 miles that did fostering, and every single one said no, mostly because I had no enclosed garden. Although I didn't contact two German Shepherd rescue places even though they said they were desperate for foster homes because I know I could never have handed back a German Shepherd.
I don't know what kind of idiot thinks an animal is better off in a cage at a shelter, but apparently there are many of them about.
Contacted many shelters and the responses I got were utter nonsense! Mostly "you don't have an enclosed garden", but one of them even said "You can't foster a Greyhound because you have a German Shepherd and they don't get on with Greyhounds".... WTF??? My 13 year old German Shepherd was too busy sleeping to harass a Greyhound.
I must have contacted about 10 shelters, basically every one I could find within 50 miles that did fostering, and every single one said no, mostly because I had no enclosed garden. Although I didn't contact two German Shepherd rescue places even though they said they were desperate for foster homes because I know I could never have handed back a German Shepherd.
I don't know what kind of idiot thinks an animal is better off in a cage at a shelter, but apparently there are many of them about.
Edited by bigbob77 on Tuesday 24th May 11:00
We had a bunch of nonsense from West Norfolk RSPCA over adoption. After trying to start a dialogue we got stonewalled. We'd not set our heart on having the animal in question but wanted to see if it was a good fit for us and visa versa. But no, not even allowed a visit.
After sharing some of the e-mail exchange with the branch and contact with an accredited professional, it transpired that the person in question had no real knowledge. I'm not sure what state it's in now, but their adoption website was full of "Just look at his cute little face... he's so sad to be in kennels and needs his forever home" dross.
I'm all for volunteers helping out, but well-meaning and qualified are two different things.
Yet I know of a Labrador that Block Fen RSPCA rehomed that went to a house without a usable garden (promised to tidy it up, never did) and received no follow up visits.
We ended up getting our mutt from the free-ads (being rehomed). Something I was extraordinarily cautious about and it's something I'm sure the RSPCA wouldn't recommend.
After sharing some of the e-mail exchange with the branch and contact with an accredited professional, it transpired that the person in question had no real knowledge. I'm not sure what state it's in now, but their adoption website was full of "Just look at his cute little face... he's so sad to be in kennels and needs his forever home" dross.
I'm all for volunteers helping out, but well-meaning and qualified are two different things.
Yet I know of a Labrador that Block Fen RSPCA rehomed that went to a house without a usable garden (promised to tidy it up, never did) and received no follow up visits.
We ended up getting our mutt from the free-ads (being rehomed). Something I was extraordinarily cautious about and it's something I'm sure the RSPCA wouldn't recommend.
bigbob77 said:
every single one said no, mostly because I had no enclosed garden.
I used to work for our local Council's housing department, we always refused our tenants permission to totally enclose the garden if the reason they gave was to house a dog. This policy was formed on consultation with the local SSPCA odfficer who advised us that it would encourage people to leave a dog unattended in the garden and this was not acceptable.I've read a number of positive and negative comments over the years on a different car forum (SELOC) about experiences people have had with adopting cats from rescue centres - as far as I can tell the only consistent thing is the lack of consistency between branches and individuals at branches with adoption policies and inspections!
Abys tend to be a bit more interactive than your average cat, but they're still cats and spend a whole lot of time sleeping/napping/sitting-in-boxes! What a baffling thing for that RSCPA person to say.
I have an Aby and a Bengal and I still somehow have enough time in the day to manage to feed myself - astonishing really.
Theo and Loki
Zelda Pinwheel said:
The RSPCA refused to let us even SEE their rescues because "Abyssinians are really hard work, you won't have time for a second cat".
Boys1 by katy_nicolson, on Flickr
Boys1 by katy_nicolson, on Flickr Abys tend to be a bit more interactive than your average cat, but they're still cats and spend a whole lot of time sleeping/napping/sitting-in-boxes! What a baffling thing for that RSCPA person to say.I have an Aby and a Bengal and I still somehow have enough time in the day to manage to feed myself - astonishing really
.Theo and LokiTo be honest, I can see where they are coming from if you're looking to adopt a young kitten. They need contact time with humans, and probably need more attention/socialising than an adult cat. We got a similar line when adopting from Battersea, which I can absolutely accept and relate to.
If you're looking for a young kitten (<3mths), then you really need to be prepared to make a few sacrifices. If you're not able to make these sacrifices, then you should really be looking at a slightly older (and less cute/fluffy) cat.
It might be controversial of me to say it, but I feel like the RSPCA's guidelines are written with some idea of the animal's welfare in this instance. It's ultimately a case of trying to ensure that the right animals go to the right homes, and don't end up neglected or back on their doorstep (for myriad reasons).
If you're looking for a young kitten (<3mths), then you really need to be prepared to make a few sacrifices. If you're not able to make these sacrifices, then you should really be looking at a slightly older (and less cute/fluffy) cat.
It might be controversial of me to say it, but I feel like the RSPCA's guidelines are written with some idea of the animal's welfare in this instance. It's ultimately a case of trying to ensure that the right animals go to the right homes, and don't end up neglected or back on their doorstep (for myriad reasons).
Edited by C70R on Wednesday 25th May 11:24
The RSPCA have changed a lot since I got my first two back in 2003. We saw a brother and sister pair in Wethersfield, they were about 16 wks old, and shy as anything in their little pen. No-one paying them any attention as they just hid at the back. Not me, as the colouring and pairing of them was exactly what I was after, so I inquired after them. I expected to be told about home visits and many questions, but they just asked me if I'd had cats before (I had) and I was able to take them home there and then. No faffing, no visits, just two kitties coming to their forever home.
It's a shame it's stricter now, and whilst I do understand it to an extent I also think it's leaving some cats without a perfectly good home.
It's a shame it's stricter now, and whilst I do understand it to an extent I also think it's leaving some cats without a perfectly good home.
C70R, I can understand their reluctance and thought process behind the decision. However it seems a little too strict in some cases. Both my girlfriend and I were willing to move our work hours around to accommodate the kitten (hard to prove to the RSPCA, I suppose!), but at least we were trying!
Anyway, we've put a deposit down on a kitten - Just need to think of a name now! We've decided to delay collection until a Friday night (June 3rd), just so we have all weekend to bond! Pretty excited!
She seems incredibly relaxed and hugely interested in just cuddling. Let's see how long that lasts!
Anyway, we've put a deposit down on a kitten - Just need to think of a name now! We've decided to delay collection until a Friday night (June 3rd), just so we have all weekend to bond! Pretty excited!
She seems incredibly relaxed and hugely interested in just cuddling. Let's see how long that lasts!Good effort, and best of luck.
Do please reconsider regularly leaving a young kitten alone for extended periods of time. It's not good for them (in the way that it might be fine for older cats), and may result in unwanted behavioural traits. Young dogs/cats left alone for 7-8hrs a day while owners go out to work is a recipe for potential disaster.
Do please reconsider regularly leaving a young kitten alone for extended periods of time. It's not good for them (in the way that it might be fine for older cats), and may result in unwanted behavioural traits. Young dogs/cats left alone for 7-8hrs a day while owners go out to work is a recipe for potential disaster.
C70R said:
To be honest, I can see where they are coming from if you're looking to adopt a young kitten. They need contact time with humans, and probably need more attention/socialising than an adult cat. We got a similar line when adopting from Battersea, which I can absolutely accept and relate to.
If you're looking for a young kitten (<3mths), then you really need to be prepared to make a few sacrifices. If you're not able to make these sacrifices, then you should really be looking at a slightly older (and less cute/fluffy) cat.
It might be controversial of me to say it, but I feel like the RSPCA's guidelines are written with some idea of the animal's welfare in this instance. It's ultimately a case of trying to ensure that the right animals go to the right homes, and don't end up neglected or back on their doorstep (for myriad reasons).
Whilst I wish you the best of luck OP, I do have to agree with the above.If you're looking for a young kitten (<3mths), then you really need to be prepared to make a few sacrifices. If you're not able to make these sacrifices, then you should really be looking at a slightly older (and less cute/fluffy) cat.
It might be controversial of me to say it, but I feel like the RSPCA's guidelines are written with some idea of the animal's welfare in this instance. It's ultimately a case of trying to ensure that the right animals go to the right homes, and don't end up neglected or back on their doorstep (for myriad reasons).
Edited by C70R on Wednesday 25th May 11:24
Most people that want to work in animal rescue centres are weird. That's a fact. These sort of people are also zealots and believe they are great, everyone else is bad. It's a cat for chrissakes. It's not a human child. It will be fine if left just as many millions have been fine being left over the years owned by normal families.
Obviously none of that helps but if I was you I'd simply lie. Tell them your mother in law lives at home in the granny annex, you have no other pets, you live in a large detached house with acres of back garden all fenced in nice and safe like, and you'll buy the most expensive cat food known to man.
Obviously none of that helps but if I was you I'd simply lie. Tell them your mother in law lives at home in the granny annex, you have no other pets, you live in a large detached house with acres of back garden all fenced in nice and safe like, and you'll buy the most expensive cat food known to man.
I recently adopted a pair of black kittens from the RSPCA. They sent an inspector around to my house to check it (and us) out. All went well with the questionnaire until the fact we both work full time came to light. I noted that I come home for lunch (which I do most days) and had brought a couple of Motorola web-cam monitors, saying I could return home if the cats had issues. This was enough to tick the box and we now have our kittens - both doing well! I can sort-of see their point with kittens (rather than cats who need less attention) but I think any good home is better than the cats rescue home.
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