How To Adopt Out Your Cat

By Elisa Black-Taylor

How to adopt out your cat is one article I hope to receive more input into than I give advice on. Rescues and shelters have adoption applications to assist in finding a good home for a cat or kitten. The feline is spayed/neutered, up to date on vaccinations, tested for feline disease and often even micro-chipped.

The average person who wants to find a home for their cat without dumping it at the local shelter must resort to different methods. Here are some tips that I hope the readers here will add to.

  • Post a photo and information on your cat on the community bulletin board at work. Many large companies have these where people can post everything from items they have for sale to adoptable pets.
  • Post a photo and information on your cat at local vet offices. This is a good option because the person who contacts you using this method at least visits a vet. I’m sure there are cat owners out there who never step foot in a vet’s office.
  • Run a freebie ad in your local paper.
  • Social media. I’ve set up several adoptions using connections I made on Facebook. You may also place an “up for adoption” photo and spread it around to friends who live in your area.
  • Petfinder and Catster are good places to list a cat up for adoption

It’s really too much to hope for to ask someone giving away a cat to charge for the cat. I’ve been told never to give a cat away if I want it to have a good home. I’ve also been reprimanded that finding a good home has nothing to do with money. Our shelters are full of purebred cats that people paid a lot of money for.

There are two things I’d like to stress no matter which method you use in adopting out a cat or kitten.

The first is to get a vet reference and check it out. Not only will it give you peace of mind that the adopter actually uses a vet, it will ensure the health of your former cat should it become ill or injured.

The second is to pay a visit to the home. I’ve never adopted out a cat without first doing a home visit. People are a bit more suspicious about allowing a stranger into their home than they were twenty years ago. With a little communication, I assure you it can be accomplished and it’s a good idea. You’re not looking for perfection in a person’s home. Just cleanliness. A little clutter is natural. If you see trash thrown about or dishes piled up all over the house, that’s NOT good. Personally, I wouldn’t leave my cat if the condition of the home set off warning bells in my head. If you wouldn’t want a two year old crawling on this persons floor, you certainly don’t want your cat living there either.

I believe many people who take a cat to the shelter use this option because they don’t know of any other way to adopt out a cat. With most newspapers now online, a freebie ad can be placed in minutes and the cat may have a good home within a day or two. Too many cats are turned into shelters when more humane options are available.

Then there are people who are just lazy, who don’t care about the cat or are under the impression that every cat turned into the shelter will find a good home.

Readers, what methods have you had the best success with in placing cats into a new home? What advice can you offer to someone wanting to find a good home for a cat so the cat doesn’t end up in a shelter?

Elisa

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3 thoughts on “How To Adopt Out Your Cat”

  1. Looking to adopt out a beautiful cat who is in danger. He crosses everyday a major road and two days ago his partner was killed. I am heart broken. He is loving and is gentle and a good companion. We have a cat and cannot keep him. He is a Black Bobtail cat, unusual and affectionate. You can call me at 937-371-9039. He is neutered and I made sure that he got all his vaccines. Good with single people and with children. Does not bite or scratch.

    Reply
    • Jayne, could you please provide some more detail which I will use to write an article to try and publicise your black cat more in the hope that somebody will adopt him. I will email you anyway. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  2. You could always use PoC! PoC used to get more hits than Catster and still does well.

    It seems that most adoptions are to people living fairly close by. This allows word of mouth advertising and local shops could be used.

    In the UK people can put adverts in the windows of ‘corner shops’. These are newsagents and small general stores where for a small fee (£2) people can post a advert in the shop’s window. These are effective and the local community is the audience.

    Local adoptions allow the adopter’s home to be checked out more easily.

    Reply

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