Before you consider giving up your cat
We completely understand circumstances change and you may need to rehome your cat(s).
We are here to help and support you, we will provide help and advice without judgement, and we aim to make the process as easy and as stress free as possible.
We always advise owners to consider all options before deciding to give up their cat and to explore if there are any alternatives that could help.
Please note our waiting list for gifted cats is currently closed while we process backdated applications
Pet Allergies
It’s upsetting and worrying when you or a loved one develop a pet allergy, or an existing allergy gets worse – particularly if it means you may have to give up your cat.
Here are some tips to help you manage cat allergies, without giving up your cat:
- avoid letting your cat lick you, as sometimes this can make symptoms worse
- create cat-free zones in your home, especially the bedroom
- keep windows open to ensure proper ventilation in your home
- keep your house clean and vacuum regularly to reduce allergens
- speak to your GP about medication such as antihistamines
Before taking the steps to rehome your cat, it’s worth speaking to your doctor, to make sure the symptoms are consistent with a pet allergy, and not caused by something else. It is also worth seeing if there are other measures available to help minimise the problem – the NHS advice guide and Allergy UK factsheet below may help.
Behavioural Issues
Behavioural problems can develop at any age or stage in life and for various reasons. If your cat has developed a new behaviour you are concerned about, you should firstly speak to your vet to rule out any medical issues that could be causing the change in your cat.
Why is my cat toileting in the house?
Cats are usually very clean animals, so it can be a big concern if they suddenly start peeing or pooping around the house where they aren’t meant to.
If your usually clean cat has suddenly started to toilet inside the house, there could be lots of reasons for this. It’s important to rule out medical reasons first so take a urine sample or faecal (poo) sample, depending on the issue, to the vets. They can provide sample pots for you and discuss the different ways to collect a sample.
Cats feel particularly vulnerable when they toilet, so they may shun their litter tray if it doesn’t feel safe – or clean. If your cat toilets next to the litter tray, that’s an indication that they want to use the litter tray but something is putting them off.
If your cat usually goes to the toilet outdoors but is suddenly soiling inside, there may be a reason they don’t want to toilet outdoors anymore. Something might have spooked them (such as a neighbouring cat), or the weather might be bad, and they don’t want to go outside.
Is your cat aggressive?
If your cat is aggressive, ask your vet for advice. There may be a medical reason for their aggression. If not, ask your vet to recommend a qualified behaviourist. Your cat could become aggressive for a number of reasons. By understanding the causes of aggression, you may be able to help your cat to feel calm, secure and less aggressive.
Cat Behaviour – Help and Advice Caring For Your Cat (cats.org.uk)
Has your cats behaviour changed due to pregnancy or a new baby?
Cats can make great family pets, but their behaviour can change when your pregnant or the new baby arrives, however there’s lots of help and advice available to you. Before you make the decision to place your cat up for adoption, use the below link to see if you can find a solution for you and your cat.
Lifestyle Changes
It’s tough when your circumstances change, but help is available.
If you are struggling to meet the cost of your vet bills, speak to your vet about it first. Some may offer you a payment plan or another way of spreading the cost.
Animal charities may also be able to help, depending on your location and circumstances.
Veterinary Financial Assistance In Your Local Area | RSPCA
Before making the decision to give up your cat, we know you’ll want to explore all of the options for getting help with your finances. Speak to family or friends who may be in a position to help and make sure you’ve explored all the financial assistance available to you through various government schemes.
Being made redundant: finding work, claiming benefits and managing debts – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you are struggling with the financial burden of feeding your cat there are various pet food banks in the area, many of which we support with food donations.
If you’re escaping domestic abuse and will be moving to emergency accommodation where they don’t accept pets, help may be available.
Paws Protect | Fostering for families of domestic abuse | Cats
Still looking to rehome?
If you feel you still need to consider bringing your cat in for adoption, the first step is to fill a ‘gifted’ form in below and one of our team from the Arrivals Centre will assess your application. Please provide as much detail and history as possible. If we feel we can help with your cat you will automatically be added to our waiting list and contacted when a time for assessment becomes available.
Please bear in mind, we will only accept cats who pass our assessment process. We will email you to notify you if we cannot help with your cat. If we need to gather further information about your cat one of our arrivals team will call you to discuss further.
Please note our waiting list for gifted cats is currently closed while we process backdated applications.
Gifted Form
Please note our waiting list for gifted cats is currently closed while we process backdated applications.
Fill in this form to begin the process of gifting your cat to the shelter.
Alternatively, if you are not able to fill this form in, please give the team a call on 0191 215 0435 and leave a message with a member of staff and a member of the welfare team will aim to call you back to discuss any options available to you.
Rehoming your cat can be a very emotional experience. Please make a note of the following points prior to contacting us:
- Be completely open and honest about your situation – the more we know, the easier it is for us to understand the best way to proceed. We are not here to judge or criticise you, we are here to help you and your cat.
- When you call you will be diverted to an answer machine, please leave only one message. We appreciate calls are urgent, every call we receive is logged and will be responded to, usually within 48 hours (please note, as we are currently experiencing high numbers of cats needing to come into our care, our Welfare team will only be able to contact you once there is space available for your cat/cats).
- If you choose to fill the application form in, please do not ring us to follow up, we will contact you if necessary using the details you have provided, usually within 48 hours.
- If you are not the sole registered owner of the cat, we will need to speak to anyone else who may have a claim to the animal. The cat’s microchip details need to be current and correct.
- If we are able to bring your cat in for adoption, we will add you to our waiting list and you will be contacted when space becomes available to arrange a time for our staff to meet the cat and carry out an assessment to ensure we would be able to bring your cat in for adoption.
- Each situation is individual, and we assess each application on a case-by-case basis.
- We will never put an animal to sleep unless they are found to have untreatable medical problems, or to have behavioural issues so severe that we believe we will be unable to safely rehome them, or if the animal is a banned breed and we are legally obliged to.