Adopting a cat in a flat

CrazyRatLady_2

Haven't read all the responses but I second Hounslow animal welfare society. We fostered a couple of cats for them which stayed indoors in our first floor maisonette during that time, then we adopted the third cat we fostered - she was already 15 at the time and had always been a housecat. Either way the charity didn't have a problem with us being in a maisonette and never said we couldn't adopt any cat we felt like despite living on a fairly main road.

gettingready

OK - I have 4 cats..... 3 of them from kittens.

One really does not going out - will do very occasionally but prefers to be indoors, in the kitchen to be preise.

Onother one throws himself at the doors - he so much likes going out.

But this only became clear when they were out of the baby kitten stage.

Some cats like to go out, so do not... with a baby kitten you will not know.

cazs

I did follow the suggestion to approach HAWS last week but again they said that it would be FIV only.

It seems to be a blanket policy across cat shelters. Perhaps they had more relaxed rules in past but have now tightened them...

gettingready

I think they always had the same policies as when my ginger boy Tiger had to be PTS (kidney cancer) 2 years ago I have approached several shelters but was turned down:

1) Live in a flat
2) Work
3) Have a large dog

I have finally got 4 kittens from different ads on Gumtree. I wanted very young kittens so they would not be scared of the dog. My dog is cat proof and loves HER cats at home, she practically brought up the kitties as if they were her babies but no rescue would consider rehoming a kitten to me because the dog (among other things).

Good luck...

gettingready

Cats needing homes:

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?board=61.0

Spottedleopard

cazs wrote: »

I'm looking to adopt a cat from a shelter but as I live in a 3rd floor flat with no garden, the RSPCA says they will only let me have a cat with FIV. The Cats Protection League said the same. I am waiting to hear from Battersea but suspect the answer is the same...

Does anyone know of any organisation that lets you adopt a cat or kitten if you live in a flat with no garden and let you have a free choice of cat as it were?

If not, can anyone advise where it's best to go and buy a cat or kitten from?

I'd ideally like to take in a homeless one but it seems their strict criteria more or less counts me out. So where would perhaps be best to go to buy a cat/kitten? I know sometimes people put ads in the paper or there are online websites but don't know which the best place to go is really and which is most trustworthy,

I've not had a pet before. I live in Harrow, NW London.

Any advice / assistance / guidance would be helpful.

This might of already been covered (I havent read the whole thread) is the property yours or is it rented? If it is rented, before you do anything you need your landlords permission to have a pet in the house- it is their house after all and they might have a serious allergy!

cazs

Spottedleopard wrote: »

This might of already been covered (I havent read the whole thread) is the property yours or is it rented? If it is rented, before you do anything you need your landlords permission to have a pet in the house- it is their house after all and they might have a serious allergy!

No, I own it, I wouldn't get a cat if I was just renting.

gunsandbanjos

I know it is so frowned upon, but if absolutely none of the rescues will play ball have you looked at gumtree? **Waits to be shot down in flames....

CrazyRatLady_2

cazs wrote: »

I did follow the suggestion to approach HAWS last week but again they said that it would be FIV only.

It seems to be a blanket policy across cat shelters. Perhaps they had more relaxed rules in past but have now tightened them...

It was over 12 years ago that we adopted via them, maybe it was different though because we were fostering her first and she already had acute kidney failure.

hazyjo

Keep an eye on the ads in the local paper from CPL (or other shelters) and their websites - there might be an exception to their 'rules'.

I wouldn't have dreamt of keeping a cat indoors and when I was in my first flat, I was adamant I wouldn't get a cat. (It was basically the front quarter of a huge house, so had an upstairs and downstairs and was set back from a road which was quiet at night, busy in the day.)

My ex kept saying get one but I said when we move to a house. When we split up, I was looking at the pet section (as I always did) and noticed an ad for a 9 year old indoor cat through CPL. I just figured it was fate, called, and ended up adopting her. They came round and checked my home, etc before allowing me to have her.

When I did move to my next flat, she was still happy to stay in. I was in two houses after that with her, and she loved the garden. Didn't go far, but loved the sunshine. At 9, she was still very playful - and like that for several more years.

When she was at the two flats, she used to bring me items of clothing off my clothes-horse instead of birds, mice, etc. I suppose the instinct to bring presents was still in her even when she wasn't going out. I'd wake up to several pairs of knickers, a top, even a pair of trousers draped from the lounge to my bedroom... I remember bringing a date home once only to find underwear stewn across my lounge floor (brought down from upstairs). So embarrassing!

Had my lovely Kola for another 10 years.

Keep your eyes on their ads and websites. You just never know. If it's meant to be, it'll be.

Jx