Where to give a domestic or stray cat: to a shelter or foster care

You found a kitten on the street, but other family members are against it living in the apartment? A cat gave birth to kittens in your building. You can’t keep her, but would you like to help her? Here are some tips.

First, let's figure out what you CAN do for a found cat or kitten.

You can take the foundling to your apartment and keep it until adoption. Then all you need is help with PR.
Are you ready to take charge of your cat? This means that you cannot adopt a cat/kitten, but you are ready to look for foster care for it (paid or free) and begin to adopt the cat. Then read the instructions for novice curators (see below).
You can't do anything yourself. You want to find someone who would take care of the cat's adoption. A couple of options for the cat’s fate may come to mind:
Shelters

Think carefully. Make inquiries and read the brief information on our website (below). And you will understand that these options will most likely only aggravate the cat’s plight.

Remember: by interfering with someone’s fate (in this case, the fate of a stray cat), you take on a huge responsibility. Try to make sure that your intervention actually helps and does not harm the cat!

Where can you give a domestic adult cat if it is no longer needed?

When they encounter an advertisement for an adult cat, animal rights activists panic: according to statistics, 81% of stray animals end up on the street due to the fault of irresponsible owners.

The reasons why a family has to part with a pet can vary. If this is a necessary measure, it is necessary not only to find a new home, but also to make the move as gentle as possible: the animal has a hard time with a change of place of residence. Particularly sensitive individuals may even die.

According to statistics, cats live in almost half of Russian families. Once she came to a person’s house, she became a real mistress. Animals have adapted to life in city apartments so much that only rare individuals dream of “walking wherever they please, taking a walk on their own.” However, sometimes life with a beloved owner comes to an end - the family wants to give the pet into good hands. Why?

Some reasons why even the most loving owners have to part with their pet can be considered valid:

Allergy. Contrary to popular belief, most often this is a reaction not to fur, but to saliva, skin particles and fleas that can live on the cat. In 80% of cases, antihistamines are ineffective. The only way out is to eliminate the cause of the allergy, give the cat to a shelter or new owners. Adaptation to new conditions will take time.
Moving. In advertisements about where to place it, it is mentioned as the most common reason why people try to give away a cat. It is unlikely that truly loving owners will part with a family member. Moving is an insignificant excuse; people are not moving to the moon. However, residents of rented apartments have to reckon with the demands of the owners.
Death of the owners. Love for a four-legged friend is not always typical for the whole family. Sometimes a cat left behind after the death of an elderly person is no longer needed by his children. The question arises: “Where should I give the cat?”

Owners of free-ranging pets also have to deal with the problem of accommodation. Having happily spent the summer at the dacha, Murka gives birth to kittens, and the owners are forced to solve the problem of finding new owners for their mustachioed offspring.

Usually owners see several ways to give their cat:

Find owners among friends or by advertisement. The ideal option is if these are good friends who love animals.
Give it to a shelter. Those who decide to get rid of a boring cat have high hopes for them. But there are not enough shelters in cities, and life in them, even for those who are “lucky” to get there from the street, is not sweet. Cage, lack of food. And there is very little hope that someone will take you into the house, caress you and take care of you.
Send to the street. Zoo defenders know: domestic cats that are not accustomed to street life die on the street in the first year of life. They do not know how to hide in case of danger, are unable to obtain food, and are not adapted to life on the street. Stress causes a surge in diseases even in vaccinated and healthy people.

How to prepare kittens for adoption

Before actively looking for new owners for a kitten, you need to make sure that it is completely healthy. It doesn’t matter whether you adopted a furry baby from the street or your cat has added a new addition to the family – a visit to the veterinarian should be the first step. Most likely, the kitten will be prescribed a number of tests and examinations. If a preventive examination does not reveal any health problems (for example, the presence of parasites), then the kitten will still need vaccinations. In any case, you can start adopting a kitten only after it is absolutely healthy and vaccinated. Otherwise, he may end up on the street again - no one likes unpleasant surprises.

Tips on how to place kittens in good hands

When a cat gives birth, the kittens are small, cute and fluffy, but time passes and you need to look for somewhere to shelter them. It’s easier for owners of purebred animals - kittens with a pedigree are in demand, some even have queues. What if she is a “Ural street servant”? It may be difficult to give it away. Perhaps some tips will help you:

Kittens should be given away no earlier than 2.5-3 months of age. By this time they will get stronger and will receive good immunity from their mother’s milk. The kitten needs to be trained to use the litter box, otherwise the new owners may get rid of the nasty pet and throw it outside.
Try offering kittens to friends, colleagues, and family. Perhaps someone wanted to take a mustachioed baby into their home or give it to elderly parents.
You can place an ad - in a newspaper, social networks, on classifieds websites and cat breeder forums. Don’t forget to take beautiful photos and describe the kitten’s character and habits.

Competently compose an advertisement for the adoption of a cat

In the text, be sure to tell not only about the age and origin of the baby, but also that he is completely ready for a new home, that is, he has undergone all the necessary veterinary procedures. Also be sure to post an advert on your area's website - hundreds of people look at their area's news every day, especially the classifieds section. Finally, do not neglect the printed advertisement in your own entrance. Oddly enough, there are just as many cases where neighbors decide to adopt a pet as there are stories of owners finding owners via the Internet.

We write a sales ad (if we are looking for a new owner ourselves)

The expression: “Advertising is the engine of trade” also applies to the case if you need to find someone to give kittens or an adult to. A simple announcement: “I’ll give the cat into good hands. Grown-up, beautiful,” is, of course, not enough. When preparing an ad:

Get the animal in order - cure all diseases, treat it for worms and fleas, give it a bath. Vaccinate, sterilize (if necessary).
Take selling photos – be sure to be close-up, preferably against a plain background. Preferably, not just a portrait, but also photographs of life: the cat sleeps, washes itself, plays.

In the ad, describe not only the color, but also the features of appearance (perhaps a very fluffy tail, like a squirrel, piercing green or blue eyes). Be sure to describe the characteristics and habits of your pet - so as to interest the reader:

“Playful and cheerful Thomas is looking for a friend with whom he can have fun, and then purr sweet songs in each other’s ears”;
“A lady with character - the Siberian cat Sonya - dreams of meeting a life partner without housing problems, who is ready to fulfill her feline whims - comb out her velvet fur, feed her treats.”

Such advertisements will give potential pet owners the opportunity to choose their own pet. Some breeds cannot tolerate loneliness - they should not be taken by those who spend a lot of time outside the home, others have spent their entire lives in an apartment - and this must be indicated in the ad, since living in a private house will be difficult.

Important! In the ad, write only the truth - does the cat love children, is it healthy, does it have problems with digestion, hygiene, how easily the animal adapts to new conditions.

Sometimes scammers respond to advertisements - so be careful: it is not a fact that in half an hour your cute kitten will not end up in a forest belt or become a victim of cruel reprisals. If possible, try to find out as much as possible about the future owners if you care about its future fate. Feel free to ask questions:

Were there any animals in the house, what was their fate?
In what conditions will the cat be kept?
For what purpose do you take a pet into your home?

When giving the animal away, take contact information and agree with the new owner that you will periodically receive information about the pet from him.

Meeting the future owner of the kitten

Do not rush to give the kitten to the first person who wants it. Over the phone or in person, be sure to ask which member of the new family will care for the pet, whether there were other pets in the house before, and whether the potential owner is willing to take care of the kitten’s diet. If you feel that the person is reluctant to answer your questions and is not trying to take care of the kitten now, it is better to continue searching for an owner for the furry baby. As a rule, people who sincerely love animals and are aware of the full degree of responsibility for a small pet treat such questions absolutely normally and answer them constructively.

Source

Stay during departure

Sometimes it is necessary to find not a permanent, but a temporary home for a cat - for the duration of treatment in a hospital, going on a business trip, vacation, or sanatorium. There are several options where you can give your cat:

close relatives - the most reliable option in which you can control the well-being of the animal;
to specialized hotels for animals. There are specialists working there, and veterinarians will monitor the pet’s health. The disadvantages of pet hotels are the high price, the need for vaccination and confirmation of the pet’s health certificate. In many hotels, they are kept in cages, and this is a lot of stress for a pet;
for paid overexposures. Most often, this type of service is provided by animal rights activists and volunteers. Thanks to commercial foster care, charities and shelters receive additional funding.

Where to give a cat will depend on the financial capabilities of the owner and on the character - many have a hard time being separated from the owner and changing homes. It is possible to leave your pet at home under someone's care - it is better not to transport it anywhere.

If you meet a stray cat on the street

Don't pass by, don't remain indifferent. The best way to help an animal is to take it home, at a minimum - get rid of worms, wash it, clean its eyes and ears. Inspect for skin damage or wounds.

The cat needs to be taken to the veterinarian, even if he seems healthy. An examination by a doctor and tests will show possible pathologies. The veterinarian will tell you the approximate age and give recommendations on treatment and nutrition. Cats found on the streets quickly adapt to home conditions.

If you do not plan to keep your pet, take measures to accommodate the animal. Inform animal rights activists about the “find” - many animals are lost on city streets, perhaps a mustachioed stray - a “lost one”, and they are looking for him. Take photos and post on social media, local message boards and online.

Animals trust their owners, and cats have their own Hachiko. It is important not to give away a cat on a whim, but only when there is no other option. Shelters, the street, the basement are not a place for a cat. It is better to find her kind hands and a warm home, where the pet will not experience stress, but will feel loved again.

Instructions for beginning curators

Everything stated above is for those who can keep a found cat at home. What to do if this is not possible? Then you can become a cat curator. A CURATOR is a person who is fully responsible for everything that happens to the cat until it finds a permanent owner. This responsibility includes: finding foster care and paying for it. Collecting money, preparing a financial report on its expenditure. Selecting doctors and clinics where the cat will be treated (if needed), consultations (if necessary) with other veterinarians. Search and selection of potential owners for the animal.

To begin with, it would be good to register and open a topic on the forum for helping homeless animals DOG AND CAT (PiK). If you have a kitten, open the topic in the “Kittens up to 6 months” section; if the animal is older, open the topic in the “Adult cats” section. If you find a cat that needs URGENT help (for example, the cat was hit by a car, and you do not have the opportunity to take on all the treatment yourself), open a topic in the AMBULANCE section. Before doing this, be sure to read the Section Rules.

Next, you need to try to find foster care, paid or free. You need to search in the section Foster care offered. There are few free foster care providers, and as a rule, they are all busy. The standard price for paid foster care is 150 rubles/day. You can open a topic in the section Foster care required.

If you do not have the opportunity to finance foster care, try to find a fincurator on the forum. Write in your cat's topic what amount is needed and what it will be used for. If there is no permanent fincurator, perhaps there will be people who are ready to donate as much as they can one-time - some 200 rubles, some 500 rubles, some 1000 rubles.

After you have placed a cat in foster care, the cat will have to undergo a 2-week quarantine so that you can make sure that it does not have dangerous diseases. After this, it is necessary to vaccinate the cat - after all, they are constantly bringing in exactly the same selections from the street for foster care, and no one can guarantee that they are all healthy and non-contagious. Next, the cat must be sterilized, and the male, accordingly, neutered. The adoption of unsterilized/non-castrated animals through P&C is prohibited by the Rules. And even without any Rules, you probably already realized that there are much more stray animals in the city than there are people willing to take care of them. And promoting the reproduction of cats in such a situation only means aggravating it.

And finally, your cat is vaccinated according to all the rules, sterilized and is in foster care waiting for its owners. Now see point 1 - How to place a cat based on an ad on the Internet.

PS More detailed instructions can be found HERE (this section of the Cat and Dog forum is available only to registered users).