Rescue/Rehoming rant

[Christine (Blip)]

I had a message that said "I'm looking for a kitten. Phone me back if you have any to be homed today" today.

Any guesses what I did with it.... (though I suppose it depends how you interpret "today")

No, cannot begin to guess Angie.

 

[Angiew]

I had a message that said "I'm looking for a kitten. Phone me back if you have any to be homed today" today.

Any guesses what I did with it.... (though I suppose it depends how you interpret "today")

[Desley (booktigger)]

I am sorry you are still being messed about, I do hope things get better soon.

[Ela]

I hate it when they say they want a kitten for their child, makes the cat sound like a toy

That is one of my main hates too.

[Hippykitty]

I hate it when they say they want a kitten for their child, makes the cat sound like a toy! 

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

Just as well T.

[Teresa Pawcats]

Well not going to bore anyone with reply received but I will say they were unsuitable to care for animals.

[Dawn F]

oh dear 

[Teresa Pawcats]

Ok time to make a stand heres the latest email

Hello - my husband has just telephoned to ask if you have any kittens currently available for sale.
 
We are after a boy and girl for our son - we currently have no pets - and would appreciate a quick reponse as to availabiity and price.

Hastily followed up with

Would have helped if I'd given you our phone number!! +++++++

I have replied with the following
Hi Debbie
I am sorry but I am unable to rush anything through because I rescue and rehome kittens rather than sell them. To me it is more important to place the animal in a safe environment for life rather than put montary value on a life. Had your husband used the word buy on the phone I would have told him this. I asked him to provide full details you were in too much of a rush to provide any.
Thankyou
Teresa

[Ela]

The numbers of people discarded on initial screening is massive. I only homecheck the ones who appear to reach a certain standard.

Ditto. A very high % indeed with us also.

If being very thorough means that my cats get a perfect home for life then Yes I am guilty and always will be.

My sentiments exactly.

[Teresa Pawcats]

I think the topic of 'donation' or 'price' has been exhausted previously but perhaps it is more a case of looking at screening methods to see if there are any flags that fly up before taking the time and expense of a home visit Teresa??

The numbers of people discarded on initial screening is massive. I only homecheck the ones who appear to reach a certain standard.
If being very thorough means that my cats get a perfect home for life then Yes I am guilty and always will be.

[Ela]

The lady gave me a paddington hard stare and told me very sharply that it was a charge not a donation and it would be £60 for both of them.

How stupid as a Charity cannot claim Gift Aid (28p in the £1) on a charge but can on a donation.

[Ela]

I find it strange T that you have people contacting you and saying you are the cheapest,

I personally do not find it strange and what I hear a lot, (about us of course not Teresa ). When I hear those words I find an excuse not to home.

Then you get some people who cannot afford the full donation, yet you know would sell their soul to pay for vet care.

Nothing is ever black or white.

[madkittyrescue]

I think the topic of 'donation' or 'price' has been exhausted previously but perhaps it is more a case of looking at screening methods to see if there are any flags that fly up before taking the time and expense of a home visit Teresa??

[Bryony84]

When I adopted Amber and Chilli, I remember asking the laedy in the RSCPA how they would like their donation paid (I was planning to donate £100-£120 for the both of them as they had been there 4 weeks and had vet care, spays, vacs and chips). The lady gave me a paddington hard stare and told me very sharply that it was a charge not a donation and it would be £60 for both of them. So when I went back I gave her the £60 and spent the rest on toys and a posh bed for the girls!

I guess it shows that all rescues are different. My opinion is that rescues should have a suggested donation, that way people can just donate that, more than that if they see fit or less/none if there are special circumstances, for instance if they were taking on a problem cat or one which would need a lot of vet care etc. I do agree with the holding fee idea, even if it was only £5, it may put people off lying on their forms and it would go a little way towards covering petrol and lost time if they should decide to lie anyway!

[Teresa Pawcats]

When I am so very busy trying to cope single handedly which is 6 days a week and also trying to make Busters last days comfortable I can do without the time wasters. The thought of any animal being sold is hurtful to me so the lady calling my kittens the cheapest was more so. I am also aware of a number of nuisance emails which will no longer get through. I am pleased that you have not been troubled in this way Dawn and if I do find a solution I will post on here.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I have a lot of time wasters and I also ask for a voluntary donation but with fuel and everything else going up, I am getting very tempted to charge a minimum donation to cover some of my outgoings.  I find it strange T that you have people contacting you and saying you are the cheapest, up to date, I've not had one person making that comment and I've had a fair few enquiries lately but sadly nothing really suitable    Hopefully you find a solution, if you do, let me know 

[Desley (booktigger)]

I am sorry that your time has been wasted yet again T, I really dont know what to say to you, but I truly hope things get better.
I also have to disagree with Mark - I have only given a donation for one of my cats, but i have found thousands for vet care (daren't add up the food, litter etc) - my first cat sent me taking my copper jar to the bank, and asking for an overdraft. I then got a credit card purely to pay for vets bills. IF I wanted to adopt a cat now, I could find money to pay for a checkup, vacc's, chip much easier than money for an adoption fee.

[Christine (Blip)]

I need to stay away from this thread at present, 3 hours wasted yesterday daytime showing cats, 60 mile journey last night for nothing, thats 32 failures .
I am more than angry.

   It is much easier dealing with the cats than with many of the public, of that I am certain 

[Teresa Pawcats]

I need to stay away from this thread at present, 3 hours wasted yesterday daytime showing cats, 60 mile journey last night for nothing, thats 32 failures .
I am more than angry.

[Ela]

I think that black and white divides are not always good and every system needs to have some flexibilty.

I would agree, we advise people  that we would like a minimum donation of £30 a cat/kitten especially as they are all chipped, and injected. I also tell callers that it is not written in stone as a good home is more important. Very few people give less than the £30.

[Kenzi]

I can see where you are coming from, despite my earlier post. All cases should be judged on an individual basis.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sorry think you missing the point here, or maybe I didnt explain well enough...........I am not suggesting that no donations or even no flat rate ones just that sometimes you have to think outside the box.

There are occasions where its right for all concerned to be more flexible and that in turn creates a gap that allows more money to actually come in rather than just going out on a cat that otherwise would not be homed and is eating your space, food and money.

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

All true Gill but
What good are empty pens without money to pay for cats and their treatment......

Sorry having a real bad night dealing with some stupid people who never got their cat spayed in time before it was discovered pregnant. All to do with ethics!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I agree with you Sharon but also there is another side to this as there was in Sasas case but I didnt know until after.

She had been rehomed twice and taken back and had been in a pen for a year and was down as unhomeable, so she was eating food that another homeable cat could have, taking up a pen that another cat or cats could have had and if she needed medical treatment they would have had to pay out for that too.

She would need a booster and could have been there for years!

I think that black and white divides are not always good and every system needs to have some flexibilty.

I gave the donation I was asked for but certainly could not have forked out £100 and they got a pen free, well two cos Misa and Sasa had never met and that helped them to get their system unclogged.

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

The reality is " do loving homes and loving people" keep a rescue going and paying vets bills to continue their work and rescue other puss cat and maybe help one of your cats should the need arrive.

Well, reality is i suppose no..... If we run out of money we wouldnt be taking in any cats and thus in the long term other cats loose out due to finacial obligations of rescue which is an expensive business. Being a small branch we dont have loads of fosterers but our vets bills are running at over 1000 per month (for the last six months) thats alot of donations and fundraisiing..

Charlie our diabetic puss that has cost us a fortune in vets bills lately would not be in our care because we wouldnt be able to afford to take care of him....Jesiri would of been PTS and Baz would of died, Mabel would of been PTS and Ticco wouldnt of standed a chance of 4 months of TLC before PTS.... Nope... we all hate to talk about money but without it rescue stops...

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Note to person whoSaid If someone can't manage £50 for the cat in the beginning, how will they find the money for food, vacs, treatment, insurance etc etc. Think about it, there are exceptions to every rule.

I hope that I was an exception cos I could not have afforded to get Sasa and Misa if it had cost me £50 each and the lady from CP knew that without me telling her but I could give a good home to two needy cats and they are insured, definately do not starve and are much loved. As are the two birmans who came later.

I had just coughed up a lot of money for Kocka prior to her going to the Bridge but was desperate for a new furry friend.

I dont like set donations cos if Cp had stuck to theirs I wouldnt have Sasa and Misa but I do understand that rescues need funds and much more since I found CC and we established Purrs.

As shocking as it may sound, I didnt know the sort of costs that rescues had before finding CC and thats because many like myself had never come across a rescue before. I took in a stray/ dumped cat as my first cat.

I do not know how rescues solve the problems but can only do my tiny bit by trying to help by running events on Purrs to try and help.

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

Last year our branch nearly ran out of money!! We did exceptionally well in rehoming but our outputs didnt match our inputs and thus we were just on the verge of saying just about "no" to everything until our fundraising got in some more money.. A few weeks ago i put out a plea regarding donations and someone on purrs found a lovely bit of writing that another rescue had used. I took stock of donation letter and we reworked it and edited it and jigged it around abit and now its replaces the donation letter that we used to use and i have put a bit of blurb on our website as well. The letter is handed out when we homecheck and so far its proved to be a positive way forward..

I also send out a standard email reply to all those that enquire via email, although it is modified to the actual persons request but it outlines what we do, and how we do it., it talks about donations, who the branch works, whats involved etc, etc (actually its 2 pages long!") I find the people that send me emails with " i want to adopt a kitten, pls can you give me more information as to when i can come and see it and how much it costs" dont generally reply after i have sent them this email, but the ones that are committed do indeed and i save so much time and effort sifting them to start with.. i realise it want work for all enquiries but at least if someone can be bothered to send a long and informative email (or pick up a phone and call) its a good sign of a good home and we talk about the money issues later.

[Ann Clarke (Tabby cat)]

of the last 30 applicants Not one has been good enough to have one of my cats.

Sounds to me that we are very much alike. So many calls for cats but  so few home are what we consider'good enough'

I couldn't agree more and we are exactly the same, we discount so many calls because they just aren't the right people and don't want a cat for the right reasons. It does make it extra nice when you get the lovely people calling though as you really appreciate them.

We don't ask for a minimum donation we just suggest that people may want to make a voluntary donation to help us continue our work and we don't get any donations until after the cat has been homed so how much, if anything, people give us wouldn't have any influence on our decision. Every penny helps so any donation no matter how large or small is very welcome, as T says a voluntary donation doesn't mean cheap or none at all. Every case/potential home is individual and I feel that's the best way to look at it.

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

T - lets chat when I come up, maybe we can come up with something that will work and still uphold your requirements about the donation being voluntary. 

[Teresa Pawcats]

Nothing in rescue is ever as black and white as it looks. Voluntary donation does not mean no donation or a cheap one as most replies here seem to suggest.
Homechecks etc are a good way of making sure that the cat is going to be safe and well provided for for the rest of his life and an experienced rescuer with the cats interests at heart knows that someone with a flash big donation today may well discard the cat tomorrow, How many people pay vast amounts for pedigrees and then dispence with them.. Yes we need donations we all do including Paws Inn, my argument is we don't need this stupid Price War that has evolved through rescues charging a  fee.

I said no homechecks today, things worked out differently got to do 2 tonight fortunately they are both fairly close so that should just clock up 60 miles.

Note to person whoSaid If someone can't manage £50 for the cat in the beginning, how will they find the money for food, vacs, treatment, insurance etc etc. Think about it, there are exceptions to every rule.

[Mark]

That's what I always say - although others diagree and think they are doing the rescue a favour taking a cat. I think they need to realise donations are to help future cats. With no donations, most rescues just couldn't survive.

As you say, If someone can't manage £50 for the cat in the beginning, how will they find the money for food, vacs, treatment, insurance etc etc.

[Kenzi]

Hi I am very new here but would like to add something, I think that donations are a great idea as they show a commitment from the off, if the donation was very (cheap) then people dont stop to think about the responsibility that they are taking on, and also if they cant afford the donation then how can they afford to look after the cat or kitten.

We didnt get our cat form a rescue when she was a kitten, but we saw a post on another cat forum asking if anyone could take her as she had been advertised on the internet and at 11 weeks was looking for her 3rd home, she wasnt cheap but the fact we had to pay that price for her made us question if we were really the right people to own a cat.

Keep up the good work guys.

[Angiew]

There's always a fine line between deciding not to home a cat for various reasons and then having to refuse one coming in through lack of space. that is otherwise in danger. I say this not to judge but it is always in the back of my mind when I do a home visit.

As with everyone here, I've seen cats happily living on roads I would'nt home to - in fact the 17 yo we brought in (owner in hospital)  last week lived on one of the busiest roads in Coventry and also insisted on going out the front door. There was a small front garden but mainly laid to concrete but the cat had been happy there and lives to a good age.

Whereas I live on a quite road with a 60ft plus front garden and lost Binky to it last year.

I do refuse houses in busy roads with no garden, but it depends on the people. Two of the kittens I homes last week went to a lady whose last cat died on the (not too) main road at the end of her road (4 doors down). Her and her daughter were so upset, I know these two won't be allowed out for at least a year and maybe longer.


A minimum donation is a must, and it has to be comparable to others in your rescue for the same service. We are less but we don't vaccinate and we now offer to chip but at a £10 fee to the new owner. I do worry about only asking for £30 a kitten when you see them up for sale for £70 - 100 in case someone decides to try reselling, but of course we would not home if we had doubts about the intentions. Anyway the price they ask for is not always what they get - hence the number of old kittens we all take in later in the year.

Likewise with peddies, the ones we have had in we have asked for a larger donation of £50 - £70 for them but I do worry when rescues ask for a lot more than this. I'd don't think a rescue can expect to recoup money spent on vet fees from a new owner as in reality part of what we do is to nurse cats back to health at our own expense (hopefully at money raised by other means as opposed to our own pockets!!).

[Dawn F]

T I don't think it unreasonable to ask for some kind of minimum donation, I know you don't approve of selling animals and it is against your ideals my four pets costs me around £130 per month, I dread to think how much you pay out of a monthly basis, I don't think any reasonable person would think you were money grabbing to ask for a contribution to the care they have had with you

[Teresa Pawcats]

of the last 30 applicants Not one has been good enough to have one of my cats.

Sounds to me that we are very much alike. So many calls for cats but  so few home are what we consider'good enough'

In my book rescuing an animal is to ensure he is safe and happy for life; there is no one else to watch out for and speak up for the animal so I am very careful in selecting the right home with the right people.
Some rescues are numbers and donation orientated and sadly many poor cats end up either dead on the road or back in another rescue; I find this appalling.

Kate I am sorry you were met with hostility, I have nothing against an indoor home providing the cat in question is suited to the lifestyle.

Christine I am still pondering which avenue to take on this, I have also discussed the matter with Mandy at CC; one possibility is to insist on charging for the vaccinations, I just dont know yet.

[Ela]

of the last 30 applicants Not one has been good enough to have one of my cats.

Sounds to me that we are very much alike. So many calls for cats but  so few home are what we consider'good enough'

[Christine (Blip)]

I have been reflecting on this.  It is distressing that there are so many people who see cats (or any other animal) as commodities and I know how much it upets you, Teresa, because you and I have discussed it before.  But you are always going to come across more than your fair share of such people.  All you can do is refuse to rehome cats to them.

As for other rescues who play pass the parcel with the problem cats - well, I for one know who will benefit from my support and who will never do so 

[Kate]

Can I add an alternative perspective? When I wanted to home a rescue a coupel fo years ago (Rosie and Maisie, oldies both sadly gone now) I experienced quite a lot of hostility becuase I said I was looking for an indoor cat. I was happy to have older cats, deaf, blind etc I wasn't suggesting a healthy kitten should be homed to me. However the first few resuces I called were so funny with me I was on the verge of just buying a cat. In the end Haselemere CP were lovely and introduced me to beatilful Rosie and Maisie who logved the indoor life. There is a balance to be struck between qualfying people who want to home cats and making people feel they are bad potentail cat parents because they are not home all day and don't have a massive enclosed garden. However calling you Teresa because "you are cheapest" is dreadful. I hope no one takes offence as this comments just thought I'd offer the reverse perspective.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I am sorry you are still having problems with timewasters T, maybe stating a fee (whether you then go on to ask it or not is your choice), would stop some of the calls you are getting. I do like some of the other ideas though. Good luck with this latest little love.