What is the adoption process?
You must have vet records for previous indoor only cats in your own name, or experience of indoor only cats. We do not feel that a pedigree cat should be your first cat – they do need more vet care, more grooming and more stimulation as indoor-only cats.
- Email us on strawberrycatrescue@outlook.com with an email address and then we can send you a form to apply to adopt or download a form from here.
- Message our facebook page to ask for a form in Word format.
- If you are giving up a cat/s then please read about us on here and feel free to phone if you want to on 07722826935 – strictly for people giving up cats ONLY. (If you want to adopt, please email rather than phone, as we do not have enough time to explain every line of the adoption process that you can read on this website, we are very limited on phone cover due to so many people wanting a cat – the phone is for cats needing help – your call could prevent or delay an urgent rescue.) If you do not get a reply by email within 24 hours please email or text us. Always bear in mind that everyone is an unpaid volunteer and they may be at work or minding family or at medical appointments as no-one is a full time volunteer. So if we are not able to answer the phone, do leave us a message and someone will call you back.
- When you email back our form, on which you can describe what you are looking for in a cat and what you can offer a cat, your lifestyle, etc., then we can match current cats available cto your form.
- If your form matches a cat, you can then reserve the cat – subject to vet-check or other checks and subject to our team being happy you are a match. This match is subjective and is at the discretion of our volunteers. We want the best thing for the cat -a happy cat and a forever adopter.
How does reservation fee work?
If you reserve a cat, it is only held for a short period of time for you (never ever more than 2 weeks – so please DO NOT APPLY FOR A CAT IF YOU ARE GOING AWAY OR MOVING HOME – THE CAT WILL PROBABLY BE HOMED BY THE TIME YOU ARE READY TO APPLY, APPLY ONCE YOU ARE READY TO ADOPT. The cat is only held for longer than that if the it is not well or the rescue feels is not ready to be homed yet (it could be recovering from spay or dental, etc). The reservation fee is £50 and is paid via the Friends and Family option to our paypal account strawberryrescue@outlook.com
Is a reservation fee refunded?
This is NOT refunded if you just change your mind and then do not want to adopt the cat by the agreed adoption date. So please be sure you want to adopt a cat before you pay reservation fee.
IT IS refunded if your homecheck/checks/calls makes us feel that you are not a suitable match to the cat (this is subjective and completely at our discretion).
Why won’t you hold a reserved cat for more than 2 weeks as a max period of time?
If that cat is ready to be rehomed and vet-treated – it is in the best interests of the cat to start its new future. It is not fair on the cat to be held in foster for any weeks more than necessary. That cat is also taking up a rescue space that could be given to another cat in need.
Can I meet a cat before reservation?
You can meet a cat before reservation, but only if you have done a form and we deem it a match for that cat. We will not hold a cat you are interested in if someone else applies and is a match. We may agree to hold it if you are a match and coming to view the cat within a short period of time. This is completely at the discretion of the volunteer Rescue Manager.
You must be aware that cats are in the homes of a fosterer, so you cannot just phone and come and browse in someone’s home. You have to do a form and be a match and then we can liase with the fosterer about you viewing a cat when they have someone else home. If you arrange to come and view a cat, we may more it to the main fosterer – so you need to keep any arrangement made.
Where are rescue cats located?
They are in the homes of fosterers (there is no rescue centre), Most cats are in foster in Worcestershire (near Worcester/Birmingham areas), Oswestry (North Wales border near Cheshire and Wirral), Durham/Newcastle upon Tyne area (NE of England). Look at each cat’s listing to see location.
We do have other fosterers around England at times and a safe house in Wales and some other areas to take in cats if urgent, while we can arrange to collect from them.
Can you help transport a cat to an adopter?
No, this is not possible. We may have volunteers to try and get to collect cats in need when they can, but not to take to adopters, as all our volunteers are unpaid and many cannot drive, do not own a car or are not well enough to travel. You cannot adopt and travel by public transport with a cat either, so you will need to find a friend or family member who can take you or collect the cat by car.
Can I have a cat for free?
No. Without adoption fees, a rescue would not be able to keep going. We are a small specialist pedigree-looking or part pedigree cat rescue. We take in many old or ill cats that we are told other rescues have refused to take. DO NOT ASK FOR A FREE CAT.
We have committed volunteers, but they are normal people like you – giving up their time for free. They cannot fund all vet bills for cats, flea and worm treatments, bedding, food, litter, petrol, equipment needed for each cat, so that you can have a cat who is ready for adoption for free.
Why aren’t you so grateful we are prepared to take a rescue cat that we can have a cat for free as we are prepared to feed and love it forever and do you a favour?
We are very, very grateful to you for looking to adopt a rescue cat, but only if you can afford adoption fee for the cat and afford vet treatment in the future for the cat (ideally also get some whole of life insurance for it too, which may help with some vet bills) and afford good quality food for the cat and afford boarding or pet care while you are away from home and afford any equipment the cat may need, etc. We cannot afford to work in our jobs and volunteer for the rescue – we work to pay our own bills and our own cat bills, we are often already donating a lot to the rescue and donating our time free – we cannot fund your pussycat adoption fee and all other costs to save each cat.
Why do adoption fees vary?
We take alot of old or ill pedigree looking cats that other rescues may have refused. This actually means that our vet bills and care is extremely expensive. We have therefore found that we can only afford to help them if we charge a higher adoption on younger or apparently healthy younger cats.
What happens if I can’t keep a cat after adoption?
If after the moment you adopt a cat you feel you cannot keep it, he/she must be returned to Strawberry. This can be for any reason and we do not judge. It can be because you cannot integrate them with other cats, if you find you cannot cope with a cat, or you get ill, or any other reason. We take a Strawberry cat back at any time in their lifetime, whether old or ill.
Adoption fees are not refunded after adoption if you do not want to keep the cat. That is because funds coming in can be used for bills outstanding and cat care. As soon as money is available, it can be committed or used to pay rescue bills to save cats or help save cats.
Can you guarantee that a cat will never stratch or bite or hurt a child?
No, they are living things and as animals will scratch, bite, etc. We can only tell you what we are told about a cat’s temperament the previous owner has told us and what we have observed ourselves.
Why don’t you now rehome cats with children under 8 or even older children?
We don’t do this anymore as too many cats were returned for scratching or biting or hurting a child. Cats will scratch and bite, depending on if they are ill, scared or what is happening to it. Look at a cat’s details as some are not ok with children even older than 8, depending on what we have been told or have seen of the cat.
What do you need in a fosterer?
You must have a spare room where the foster cat can be kept separate from your other cats or your home. This is needed as some may be ill and need space or be scared. You need to have that space for ideally 8 weeks in case the cat does not home quickly. We have some cats who need us for months to get well or come around from being shy (some may have been kept in a pen in garden and used for breeding, or left to live in a garden when owner moved, etc. Some can have been injured by neglect or intentionally). Many are just awaiting a new home as they didn’t get on with other cats/dogs/children.
Does fostering mean I can get a kitten free and you cover costs forever?
No. If you foster and then decide you want to keep a cat, you have to pay adoption fee.
We now follow the model that many rescues follow. Fosterers just get a litter tray, starter pack of food and cat litter. The fosterer has to be prepared to fund the food after that starter pack and cat litter. The cat remains owned by the rescue and will be rehomed as soon as it is ready and well enough to rehome. Without adoption fees, we cannot exist.
What do you do to cats pre rehome?
We look at vet history we are provided for every cat. We take to a vet to have a vaccination done and they do the usual vet check that that vet may do for a cat pre vaccination (think back to when you have annual vaccination done on your own cats).
We have been asked for the following, but we do NOT do: DNA testing, ultrasounds, x-rays, dentals on every cat, we do not research cat pedigree history for any history of illness, we do not do bloods, urine analysis, etc. on every cat).
We do blood analysis and urine analysis where we are very worried about cat and its condition, where the cat looks poorly and is old, where the cat looks very ill and does not respond to love and TLC, worming, feeding and flea treatment (some look so much better after that being done). We work with advice from our vet and our own experience with rescue cats and our own. Some fosterers have their own concerns and may do other vet work.
Why don’t you do blood analysis, urine analysis and dentals on every single cat?
We just cannot fund this. We have to do work that is needing doing in our opinion or the vet opinion before rehome (not every vet advises the same thing). Dentals are very expensive as we do pre-op bloods usually for older cats, fluid support during the operation, x-rays if needed, and medication and pain medication as needed post-op. We do as many as we can and always where the vet says it must be done straight away or the cat is suffering. You will see how many we do from looking at our listings!
What happens if my vet says a dental is needed post adoption?
Every vet has their own perspective and sometimes subjective opinion. We will tell you if our vet says that a dental is needed in a period of time. Sometimes our vet will say needed probably in 1-2 years and if this is said – we will tell you. All cats need dentals at some time in their lives and we do a lot as we take so many old cats. Some cats can develop gum and dental issues in a short space of time and even though we may have done a dental, another may be needed after a certain period of time.
Can I get the vet record of the cat we are adopting from your vet?
Of course you can. This is important where we have funded bloods and expensive treatments, as we funded that for a reason – the cat’s health. You can get this before adoption if you want to.
Will you pay my vet bills after adoption?
No, we can’t do that. Adopting means you take on the liability of that cat you adopted – which is why we suggest whole of life insurance.
We struggle to fund every cat coming in with work they have may have been needing for some time. Very very few people want to spend £350-450 on a dental for a cat they are giving up and few contribute even petrol cost to us collecting their cats from all over England and Wales. That cat may be in terrible pain. We have cats coming in with abscesses and in agony. We fund their work. We cannot fund cats who have been re-homed, as we are small and fund raising is very difficult and can yield very little money. We suggest that you get quotes for a Whole of Life/Lifetime insurance policy for your newly adopted cat.
We have a deal with Agria Insurance, which means that every single cat comes with 5 weeks’ free pet insurance. If you adopt a cat of 9 and older from Strawberry, Agria will let you have insurance if you opt to continue the policy before the 5 weeks expire! We think that is truly amazing and we are very pleased to ensure older cats have insurance. Agria will not insure cats 9 + as a rule, only those adopted through Strawberry. We personally only take out LIFETIME policies for our own pets, which cover the conditions for a lifetime up to their max level of cover you opted for, not ones which only cover a condition for that year of the insurance policy. Our rescue number is 21584 with Agria, so even if you previously adopted via Strawberry – quote this number for a discount and quote. We can’t recommend insurance companies, as we are not financial advisors – we recommend you check any policy meets your requirements, as we all want slightly different things from insurance. For every policy you take out and quote the 21584 rescue number, Strawberry gets donations from Agria back to the rescue each year.
YOU MUST CHECK ANY POLICY YOU TAKE OUT SUITS YOU AND EXCLUSIONS, COVER ETC ETC ETC ETC. WE DO NOT KEEP UP TO DATE WITH INSURANCE POLICES OR COVER.
Do we have cats who don’t cause an allergic reaction?
No, if you are allergic to cats or your children are, please don’t apply to adopt. It is very distressing for cats to settle into your home and then have to be homed again.
Is there such a thing as a pedigree cat who won’t moult, won’t scratch furniture, won’t scratch or bite at times?
We do get at least 2 calls a month wanting these things. No, they are living things and do all of these things at times. We’d suggest buying a teddybear instead.
Can we guarantee a cat won’t get ill?
No, at some point every animal and living creature will get ill. That is why we recommend whole of life insurance.
Can we phone for advice after adoption?
Of course you can or message our Facebook page – we will help with questions whenever we can. If your cat is very ill though, please get it to a vet – as we are not vets.