Could you provide a loving new home for a cat? During the process of adopting a cat from us, we will consider everything from your potential pet’s personality and how this fits with your lifestyle, to your home environment – creating the perfect match for both cat and owner and the start of a wonderful feline friendship.
If you see a cat that you would like to adopt, please read our Adoption Procedure below first.
- Enquire. If you have found a cat on our website that you are interested in homing, send an enquiry through by clicking on the ‘contact us’ button and one of our Home Visitors will be in contact with you. If you do more than one, this will cause a delay in being contacted as it duplicates the number of enquiries we receive.
- Home Visit. You will be offered a face to face or virtual home visit so we can talk to you about cat care, look at the area where you live and give any advice needed. If you live in a rented property or if you own a leasehold property you will be emailed to ask for proof of consent from your Landlord prior to being passed for a home visit, please keep an eye out for this email as it can end up in your spam folder.
- Reserve your cat. Once your enquiry has been passed to a home visitor we will put the cat/kitten on reserve to allow your application to be fully processed. Following a successful home visit you will then be contacted by the fosterer to arrange viewing the cat/kitten before you make a final decision to adopt. This can either be virtually or in person. We ask for reservations to be no longer than 10 days.
- Adopt. Once you have reserved your cat/kitten, your adoption paperwork will be emailed to you to complete via the Adobe e-sign process, and details will be provided on how to pay the adoption fee. If you are unable to complete the paperwork by email we can arrange for this to be signed on the day of collection. However, please note you will be not able to take your new family member home until the paperwork is in place and the adoption fee received.
The adoption fee is £95 per adult cat and £115 per kitten up to the age of 6 months. We are no longer offering discounts for a pair of cats/kittens or for elderly cats.
This Adoption Fee includes your new family member having had any necessary medical treatment, being neutered before they are homed, microchipped and vaccinated. You will also receive 4 weeks free Petplan Insurance as well as being provided with information when they have had their latest flea and worm treatment. Please note that this Adoption Fee does not cover the cost of the cat whilst it has been in our care, but will help towards the costs we have spent.
If you are able to give us a donation on top of paying the Adoption Fee, this will help towards the care and treatment of the next cat we take into our care. For any added donation, we would be grateful if you tick the Gift Aid box on the Adoption Form. This would also help neglected, unwanted, lost or stray cats in the Bedford & Biggleswade area for the future.
- Bringing your cat home. Once the paperwork and fee have been finalised, the fosterer will arrange for you to collect your cat/kitten.
- Be supported. You will receive 3 follow-up calls. The first approximately 3 days post adoption, then a week after adoption and again at around 3 weeks to check that your new arrival has settled in. You can also find help and advice on the Cats Protection website at www.cats.org.uk/advice
OTHER POINTS TO NOTE
- Adopting a kitten - Please note that if you or your family are out at work all day, we would prefer you to adopt a pair of kittens or a slightly older / adult cat or pair of cats.
- Existing pets in the home - We do not home any cats to homes where the existing pet(s) is(are) not up to date with their vaccinations as this could cause a potential risk of passing cat flu or other illnesses between the new and existing pet(s). Nor do we home them where cats/kittens over 4 months old are not neutered.
- Busy roads - It is our policy not to place our cats in homes which are on, or close to, busy or main roads. We would recommend an indoor cat in these circumstances. We do not home kittens as indoor only unless there is a medical reason to do so.
- Free access via a catflap - Apart from cats who have special needs, we would like all of our cats and kittens to go to homes where they will have free access to the outdoors where they can exhibit their natural behaviours.
- Our catchment area - To adopt from our Branch, you will generally need to live within our catchment area, which covers postcodes MK40 to MK45 and SG15 - SG19. If you live outside this area and are interested in a specific cat, please contact us so we can arrange a virtual home visit or a face to face home visit by your local Branch/Centre. However, if the distance is too great for the cat or kitten to travel we would refer you to your local Branch/Centre and suggest you home from them or a nearer Branch/Centre.
- Holidays/Moving House - If you are going to be on holiday, or moving house, within 2 months of wanting to adopt, we would recommend you wait until you return. Moving to a new home is stressful enough without their new family leaving them alone so soon after adoption. They need to be fully settled before any changes are implemented.
- Christmas - Our Branch is closed from around 10th December to 3rd January every year as it is our policy not to home cats or kittens during the festive period as this is normally the busiest time for families to get together and we do not encourage cats being given as presents.
Cats/kittens available for adoption from Bedford & Biggleswade Branch are featured below. To express your interest in a particular cat, please enquire via their listing.
