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Our rehoming process works through an application and appointment basis.
All of our Cats that are available for rehoming are listed on our website here. Our Sanctuary is also open for public viewing on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons between 1.30pm and 4.00pm.
If you are interested in rehoming one of our Cats; please fill in an application form for them. You can do this here or in reception at our Sanctuary.
If you meet the criteria for that individual, the staff may contact you to arrange a first meet. During this meet we will discuss our adoption process, give an overview of the history of the Cat and then you will meet your potential new companion with a member of our team.
After this meet, if you would like to move forward with adoption we will complete a home check first.
A virtual or physical home check will be necessary and one of the team will either need to see videos of or have access to your house and garden – arrangements to do this will be made with you. After this has been completed, we will book an appointment for adoption.
All successful adopters will be asked to pay an adoption fee of £100 for a Cat or a Kitten.
This fee covers the cost of their spay/neuter, vaccinations, a full veterinary health check, blood tests for FIV and FELV, deflea and deworming treatment, microchip and 4 weeks insurance.
It is recommended that Cats are neutered/spayed at 4 months of age – if your Kitten is too young to be neutered/spayed before the date of adoption, we will cover the cost of the procedure at Firmount Vets when the time comes.
We ask that you bring a suitable carrier on the day of adoption to take them home in (if you don’t have one we can lend one to you).
Please ensure there are suitable means to secure the cat carrier in the car to enable safe travel home.
Cats tend to settle into their new home easier if it smells familiar – in order to help them get used to your scent and the scent of their new home we recommend that you bring a blanket or an item of clothing from your home and leave it here at the Sanctuary with the cat in the lead up to the adoption date. Then when you come to pick them up you can place that item into the carrier with them – this will help reduce stress during the journey home and help them to settle in.
Post-Adoption Advice
We offer the following rehoming advice in order that your new pet gets the best start in their new home:
- When you get home – open the door to the cat carrier and allow the cat to exit in its own time and explore their new surroundings.
- Have a safe, quiet area/room set up for the cat including:
- An area for food and water
- At least one litter tray (far away from the food and water, we use wood based litter here at the Sanctuary)
- A place to hide (a bed or a cardboard box)
- Access to a high spot (a perch or a cat tree)
- A cosy place to sleep
- A scratching post and toys
- To further assist with this transitional period, we recommend you consider introducing enrichment activities such as water fountains, toys and scratch posts. The cats would have had experience of these while resident in the Sanctuary so continuing with familiar activities can be useful in helping them to settle.
- While we advocate that you start with the routine you wish to continue with, we do suggest that in respect of feeding, that for the first few weeks you follow the routine the cat was used to while in the Sanctuary.
- Our cats have access to dry food all the time – they get fed Royal Canin for Shelter Cats/Indoor Cats. They get fed wet food twice a day – at around 9am and again between 4pm and 5pm. The type/brand of wet food varies as this is just what we get donated to our Sanctuary. We also have Tuna Tuesdays here.
- Ease the cat gently into family life with very little stimulation in the first few days including restricting visitors to the house.
- Be aware of anything that might frighten or worry the cat and try to desensitise the cat in a calm and patient manner.
- Introduce them to other cats in the home carefully and under supervision – the slower the process, the better chance of success (see our additional info pack).
- A change of environment is often stressful for a cat, and it can take them a few weeks to feel relaxed.
- Signs that your cat is settling in well:
- Exploring the house – no longer hiding away
- Eating well and grooming themselves
- Seeking you out for attention and playing
- Signs that your cat is struggling to settle in:
- Hiding and avoiding you
- Not eating or only eating at night
- Only toileting overnight or spraying
- Under or over grooming
- Not displaying natural behaviours – like exploring or playing
- Over time these behaviours should improve – each cat is different, and some may take longer to settle than others. If your cat is stressed for a prolonged period of time without showing any signs of improvement, please don’t hesitate to contact us or your vet for advice.
- We recommend keeping your new cats indoors for approximately 6 weeks to ensure they are settled and familiarised in their new surroundings.
- If at any point in the future you can no longer keep the cat in your care, they must be returned to our Sanctuary for rehoming.
- If the cat is returned to the Sanctuary within 3 weeks of adoption and there is an adoption cost refund requested, there is a process to follow and, if approved, 50% of the adoption cost will be refunded.
Our staff team are happy to offer advice or answer any questions you may have.
Please feel free to contact us on 028 9446 3993 or email contact@midantrim.org should you have any concerns.
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