There are very few people and organizations in the world that help abandoned animals find homes. It is also not easy to place kittens in good hands if the cat has had offspring, or you are leaving for another country and cannot take your pet with you. But there are no hopeless situations - there are ways that will help you quickly give your kitten a new home and a comfortable life.
Why is there such a need?
Approximately 46% of Russian families buy cats. These animals are unpretentious and feel great in an apartment, regardless of how busy the owners are. People most often buy a pet in the hope that it will be with them all their lives, but circumstances sometimes develop such that the animal has to be given away. The need for this arises for the following reasons:
- Allergies often cannot be cured, and this problem forces the owner to say goodbye to the kitten forever. This is difficult for an animal if it has already lived in the house for some time and is accustomed to the environment.
- Moving – often when changing their country of residence, people have to leave their pets in good hands. This is due to the reluctance to bother with quarantine and paperwork. Also, renting an apartment with a pet sometimes turns into a real adventure, and people prefer to give their pet to those who have all the conditions for keeping it.
- Death or illness of the owner - in this case, a new owner is sought for the kitten, otherwise the animal will end up on the street.
- The appearance of kittens in a cat - if the animal is not sterilized, it produces offspring that will have to be given away for free or tried to be sold.
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.
Optimal time to search for a home
An already grown-up pet will more easily tolerate changes in its usual lifestyle than a small kitten. Before looking for a new owner, it is important to teach your baby to feed himself, use a litter box, and treat people without fear.
Also, the animal must be in good health, it must be treated with special flea products and checked by a veterinarian. After 8-10 weeks, vaccination is mandatory. Now you can start looking for a new home for the kitten.
Vaccinations for a selected pet
Cats need vaccinations. It will provide protection against common diseases. The timing of drug administration and dosage must be determined by a veterinarian. Please note that vaccinations are given only to healthy cats that have been treated for worms. You need to go to a veterinary hospital after the end of quarantine. Pets are vaccinated against:
- calicivirus;
- rhinotracheitis;
- chlamydia;
- panleukopenia.
Nowadays complex preparations containing components for vaccination against all common diseases are used. 2 vaccinations are required with an interval of 4 weeks. Rabies vaccination is done annually. There are new drugs with a validity period of 3 years.
Prepare your ad wisely
If you craft your ad correctly, many more people will respond to it. Take several beautiful and high-quality photos in which the kitten will look cheerful, cute, and active. Add text to them - it should be exciting, creative, but truthful.
Tell us about the character of the animal, its external characteristics, try to find a lot of advantages. In the ad, be sure to indicate the breed, age, birthday, color (since not all users can download photos from the Internet). Be sure to indicate whether the kitten has a pedigree, whether it is vaccinated, whether it is trained to a tray or scratching post.
Preparing the animal for transfer
If you did everything correctly, applications from potential owners will begin to arrive very soon. Make sure the kitten is in good hands. Sometimes people who resell animals look for kittens through advertisements. They often ask to reduce the price. If something confuses you in a conversation with a person, it is better to refuse him - new applications will definitely come.
It is worth getting a phone number or other contact information from the future owner. It is better not to give the kitten to minors or people who live in a rented apartment - the owners of the property may prohibit them from keeping pets, and the kitten will again end up on the street or in a shelter. If your pet already has a veterinary passport, it should be given to the new owner. After 1 week, you can call him and ask how the kitten is adapting to the new environment.
Assessment of the situation
Before deciding where to surrender a stray cat, it is worth considering the benefits for it. An adult animal that has gained authority in the pack will have a hard time with shelter and attempts at socialization. This is especially true for males. Moving from conquered territory to a cage or room with other occupants will cause stress to the fighter.
The street hardens. The suburban environment provides the animal with combat experience and resources for survival. Thanks to loopholes in houses, small animals and permanent residents, the country (rural) cat can withstand winters. The city influences conditions in two ways. It is easier for the animal to find food. But safe housing is limited by competition, municipal policies (brewing, installation of fine-mesh grates in basements) and the activities of dog hunter activists.
When you see a stray, you shouldn’t immediately think about where to place the stray cat. Perhaps the pet has found its niche. Yards and villages include quite altruistic-minded citizens. It is worth taking care of your pet if it:
young – kittens without a mother have a low chance of survival;
clearly recently been a pet - the pet is characterized by a neat appearance and increased attention to people.
Often the characteristics are combined. A kitten that has disappointed its owners with its behavior or health status will be drawn to people. This feature distinguishes it from its wild relatives and potentially simplifies socialization.
Possible actions when discovering a stray cat
In cases where stray cats are found, a person must decide where to go when they find them. Someone will pass by, someone will feed them, and some will try to take part in their fate. Active action is required in 2 cases: the pet is clearly lost or cannot survive due to health conditions.
A missing animal has a chance of being reunited with its owner. Cats rarely voluntarily stray far from home. The owner may be in the same entrance, residential complex, or yard with the temporary owner. It’s worth posting advertisements and studying messages from local thematic groups on social networks.
Animals are often thrown away. Unwanted litter suffers, adults who have lost their owner due to:
change in marital status;
Pets that come outside from home have less chance of survival. A slow cat can be attacked by a dog or hit by a car. Having noticed a new animal, an individual with obvious signs of injury or disease, it is worth taking action. Help is also required for pregnant females and females caring for their offspring.
Support for homeless animals
Providing comfort is a simple way to help stray animals that have “legally” settled in the territory. Yards are often inhabited by dogs and cats - their presence does not indicate low social status. Thus, animals become voluntary guards, rid the territory of rodents, and bring joy to people who are unable to keep pets at home.
Yard pets create an ecosystem that is maintained by residents. Those wishing to take part should think about what to feed stray cats. Cheap dry food is a potential treat. For stationary feeding, porridge with chicken neck broth is suitable.
Sending to a shelter
TSA (catch, neuter, release) programs control the dog population by sterilizing both sexes and then microchipping them. Deciding where to give a stray cat is more difficult. Social shelters in Russia and the countries of the former USSR accept guests sent by municipal institutions. They accept animals from private individuals in exceptional cases:
an emergency such as a fire.
Shelters limit cooperation with individuals due to fraud. People are trying to donate unwanted offspring, animals they don’t want to take care of, for free.
Where to place a cat: the first option is foster care
Overexposure is the temporary transfer of an animal to people who can house it if the owners are leaving or they have other reasons to be without a pet at the moment (for example, relatives who are afraid of cats are coming). Many similar offers can be found on the Internet.
If you decide to use foster care, you need to give the person looking after the animal all the care products, as well as your favorite toys. It is important to leave money for food and pay for the service.
Overexposure has many advantages. First of all, it is a calm home environment to which the kittens get used. You can also always keep in touch with the person providing supervision, asking if everything is going well. The disadvantages include the presence of other animals in the house and the inability to check the conditions in which your pet is kept.
What do you need to know about the new place?
You cannot give a cat to people who cannot care for it . When choosing a candidate for adopting a cat, you should pay attention to a number of factors.
Who will take care of the animal
If a cat is adopted by an acquaintance or friend, the likelihood of cruelty is low. If a pet falls into the hands of a stranger, there is a possibility that it will be treated poorly.
Before giving the cat away, you should talk to the person, ask him a few questions regarding living conditions, etc. It is important to obtain contact information from the new owner so that you can check that the animal is okay.
Having children
Animals rarely get along with children who were born during the pet’s adulthood. This is due to the fact that the child does not calculate the strength when playing, and the cat perceives him as a threat. Children are most likely to suffer from allergic reactions, so having children in the house may cause your cat to have to find a new home.
Presence of other animals
If other animals already live in the new house, the cat may have conflicts with them, which can lead to serious injuries. Before you permanently leave your cat in the house with other animals, you should introduce them.
To do this, you need to temporarily bring the cat to the future home and observe the behavior of the new “neighbors”. If the relationship does not work out, then you should look for another place of residence for the pet.
Living conditions
Before giving your cat away, you should make sure that she will be comfortable in the new place. If the animal previously lived in a large house, then living in a small room will become stressful for it. Equally important are temperature conditions, the presence of noise or other irritants.
Catcafe
If you do not have the opportunity to keep a kitten, you can give it to a cafe where visitors come to chat with cats. Recently, such establishments have become very popular. Perhaps your city also has such a cafe, and you won’t need to worry about where to place your pet.
The advantage is that the cat will be well looked after, and a large number of visitors will definitely ensure constant communication. The disadvantages are the high demands placed on animals. In addition, there may not be a similar cafe for animals in your city.
Also read a separate article about the cat cafe.
Through the Internet
Nowadays, on the Internet you can find addresses of hotels for animals or contacts of people willing to adopt a pet free of charge. Plus the speed of finding the owner. The downside is the lack of verified information about it. Resellers often hide on websites.
You can post information on online message boards in your region, as well as make posts on social networks. You can use the website avito.ru.
In good hands with friends
You can ask your friends and relatives if they would like to get a pet. Perhaps someone was just about to do this. Taking a pet that is already litter trained and vaccinated is always beneficial. That's why people often agree to it.
The advantages are that the owner can be found quickly, in addition, you can visit the kitten from time to time. There are practically no downsides - except that a person may later abandon the animal and begin to look for somewhere to place it.
Other options
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of advertisements in which people are ready to adopt kittens that have just been born. With their entire appearance, they show that they are doing a good deed, relieving the owner of the need to support the kids and bear all the associated expenses. These are the so-called “box breeders” who use homeless or newly born animals in order to pity passers-by and get money.
Fraudsters do not feed the animals, but simply throw out their corpses and go for a new batch of “goods.” This is why it is so important to look at who exactly you are giving your pet to.
Cat's House website
This is one of the well-known resources that publishes photographs and data of animals that owners plan to give away for various reasons. The site has strict moderation and high requirements for the preparation of advertisements, since the more complete the information, the easier it is to place an animal. That is why, when composing an advertisement, indicate:
- age, date of birth, gender;
- presence or absence of diseases, vaccinations;
- habits and skills.
On the site they are looking for new owners for adult animals - newborns cannot be placed here, but an older kitten can be offered by making an advertisement.
Mr. Cat offers: tips when a cat is found on the street
If you see an animal on the street, you need to immediately take it to a place where it will feel safe. Examine your cat for wounds or illness. It’s good if you can keep him at home until you find the previous owner or place the pet in good hands. The cat needs to be fed, washed, treated with anti-parasite medication, and shown to a veterinarian. Then you can take a photo of it and post an ad on websites to find the owner.
If it is not possible to keep the animal at home, you can find a shelter for it and bring food there every day. Join forces with other people who care about the fate of homeless animals. It is better to keep information about where the shelter is located secret, devoting it to a minimum number of people, so that no one kills or steals the cat.
It is better to wean kittens from their mother after 2 months
This is due to one feature of the species - early weaning threatens problems with digestion and wildness of the animal. The cat must raise its offspring and teach it to contact people, otherwise the cat child will live with complications.
The medical aspect consists of age-appropriate vaccinations and treatment for external and internal parasites.
Ideally, before transferring animals, it is better to sterilize them so that the problem of placing new offspring does not arise. But if you are placing kittens up to 6 months old, then the new owners will have to do this.
What to do with purebred kittens, and how to check the future owner
Breeders with experience rarely have problems placing purebred kittens - on the contrary, a waiting list forms for them even before the babies are born. But beginners may find that there are still very few applications. This means that you need to look for buyers or give animals away for free. Many, after a series of painful searches, renounce raising animals for sale altogether.
To avoid such situations, remember the following:
- It is better to breed a female through a club, with the help of which you can find a purebred cat. Its owners may already have contacts of potential buyers.
- It is better to look for clients before mating in order to understand the level of demand - it even changes depending on the season. For example, in summer animals are bought less often than at other times.
- Use social media and the internet to post your sale. Also, buyers often pay attention to certificates and pedigree.
- If you plan to breed for a long time, create groups and communities in which you will post photos and information.
- Kittens with good photos are successfully sold on websites, so there is no need to skimp on this.
The new owner can be checked on social networks to see if there is any negative information about him. It is also important to exchange contact information with him and call him within a week to ask how the kitten is feeling. You can even ask permission to come and visit him. You need to be wary if a person arrives drunk, is confused in answering questions, is nervous, or bargains.
We build proper communication with future owners
Some time after you submit your ad (usually a week), potential owners will contact you to receive the pet. Be attentive and careful - the future life and fate of your four-legged friend depends on your choice. Questions to consider:
- Why do they take a cat? Many people do not think that animals are not toys for small children; animals also feel pain, get angry, know how to stand up for themselves and will not hesitate to bite or scratch their offenders. This behavior in adult cats is also aggravated by stress from changing their usual habitat, you need to be prepared for this.
It is important that future owners understand: cats are not toys for their children
If the cat lived most of its life in a private house, then transporting it to an apartment will lead to depression
Don’t be afraid to be curious; the more you learn about the future owners, the calmer you will be. It would also be useful to agree on periodic contact with the owners to check how the animal is settling in.
Finding new owners for a pet is not a quick process. If possible, start early. Place advertisements on thematic websites and pages of social networks, in groups and communities, interview acquaintances and friends. Take photos of the animal, add interesting text. Be sure to agree to monitor the future fate of your furry friend.
Animals are often abandoned
Many people encounter stray animals. People often limit themselves to a fleeting glance, a handout. But some want to help. When thinking about where to hand over a stray cat, you first need to assess the condition and situation of the animal. Shelters accept guests from private individuals in exceptional cases. Those who want to help should rely on their own strength or other volunteers.
Animals are not allowed on the streets
Often, desperate to find a new owner, or simply due to lack of time, people simply let their animals go outside, believing that nothing will happen to them - this is how stray cats and dogs live. But you should not compare a pet, accustomed to comfortable conditions, with a yard pet.
A kitten or even an adult will die from relatives or from hunger. The animal is not accustomed to defend itself, hide from the cold, or get food. It also doesn't know how dangerous cars are on the roads. Only a tenth of abandoned kittens survive on the streets. Therefore, it is better to take them to a shelter than to kick them out of the house.
Remember, buying a pet is a serious responsibility. Plans and circumstances change, but this should not prevent the owner from remaining human to the end, making sure that the pet continues to live in comfortable conditions.
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