Before we invite people to come down and meet our cats and kittens, we ask a few standard adoption questions. Please take the time to read and find the answers to these questions as if you do not supply the information we will not be able to proceed with the adoption.

What is your full address (incl. house no and postcode)?
Unfortunately, we cannot rehome to houses on, or near to, a busy or main road, railway lines etc. This is because the risk of the cat being killed by traffic is too great. Similarly, we do not rehome to areas where we have picked up lots of abused and neglected cats from. Please note that we do not rehome 'house-cats' simply because you live in a busy area. We do occasionally have cats who are only suitable for an indoor home but the same rules regarding proximity to main roads etc. would apply because if they somehow got out, you would want them to have the best chance of survival.
Do you live in a house or a flat?
If you live in a flat, what floor do you live on? We will need to know what access the cat would have to the outside.
Do you own the property or rent it?
If you rent the property, we would need to see the clause in your contract which states that you are allowed pets. We have, in the past, accepted letters from landlords but following a few occasions where the landlords have then chosen to ignore their prior written consent, we now require the permission to be stated in the legally binding tenancy contract. We will also be looking for assurances that the cat will not be abandoned or passed on next time you move house ('my cat needs rehoming because I am moving house and the new landlord doesn't allow pets' is a very common phonecall we get at SHUA)
Do you have any children and, if so, what ages?
We ask this for two reasons:
  • We would not home a small kitten to a family with toddlers or very young children because the kitten is unable to defend itself when it is so small - which is not to say that toddlers are malicious, but that they can hurt the kitten without meaning to. Similarly, kittens have razor sharp claws and may hurt your child without meaning to. If you have children younger than 5 years old, we would only home a kitten from around 6 months old.
  • Some of our cats are not suitable for homes with children at all, for a variety of reasons.
Do you have any pets and, if so, what type of pet and if, e.g. dog or cat, how old?
Again, we ask because some of our cats are not suited to homes with certain types of other animals. e.g. some cats hate other cats, some hate dogs, also for example some snakes can swallow kittens whole and so we wouldn't home a kitten to someone with a big snake!

These are our standard adoption questions which we ask purely because we want to make sure that we introduce the right people to the right pussy cats. It would be madness not to, really!

If you have any other preferences - gender, colour etc. - then please tell us. Bear in mind though that we are a rescue centre not a breeding centre - we take cats in based on need, not asthetics!! The more specific your requirements, the less likely we will be able to meet them.

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