# Cat Rescues Refusing Indoor Homes



## henryscat (Jul 2, 2014)

We recently adopted our third rescue cat. All three of our cats live indoors and do not go out. They are all happy, healthy, well cared for and the vet complements us on how well our cats are. 

When we were looking to adopt, we found a marked resistance amongst local rescues to allow cats to be adopted to an indoor home. In one case, we had enquired about a deaf kitten, explained we were an indoor home, visted the foster home, explained same, had home visit and were then refused. I challenged the rescue in question who not only mis-managed the whole process, but in my view were grossly irresponsible in insisting that a deaf cat went to home where it could roam outdoors. It was clear that the person running the rescue was acting on their personal preferences and putting those above the need of cats in their care to find a home.

We enquired elsewhere and found similar attitudes. There is clear evidence that cats thrive perfectly well indoors if they have an environment with plenty to do. By acting in this way, those running rescues who refuse indoor homes are acting against the interests of cats that desparately need homes. In my view, there desparately needs to be a change of attitude. Not only do cats need to find homes but they face a multitude of dangers in being allowed to roam freely, as well as terrorising the local wildlife population.


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## Little Zooey (Feb 4, 2014)

Oh, where do I start? Not only not indoor, but you can't have kittens if you work, or can't adopt at Christmas, even if (like us) you spend two weeks at home with no visitors. Until recently we had 9 cats - not the most we have ever had and all extremely well cared for. I doubt we would have been accepted by any of the rescues, even though I have home checked for a few. We now take rescues from Romania and have two adorable girls coming over in the next few weeks. Chai had both her front legs broken and her neck slashed, so her rescuer will only accept an indoor home (or with a safe cat fence)


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## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

Not tried to rehome from a rescue myself...(cats just turn up) but I sometimes feel they (rescues) can be sticking too rigidly to their own guidelines. Most won't rehome to families with young children. Why? Not all parents let their kids run riot and maul animals. Surely it should go on an individual basis. My kids were bought up with cat, dog, guinea pigs and chinchillas, they were taught from a very early age to respect animals and now as young adults they all totally adore animals. 

Rescues do a fantastic, often heartbreaking job in limited space. Most rescues house their cats indoor, in a small pen, I can understand this, space, ease of cleaning, able to keep an eye on litter, food etc etc but surely, when it comes to rehoming, a whole house is better than a pen? Refusing a home based on not having outdoor access is not in the cats best interests IMO but I would hope those rescues are rare. I know the 3 rescues that I follow treat each case individually. I do find it very strange that any rescue would insist on a deaf cat being allowed out:confused1:


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## henryscat (Jul 2, 2014)

Little Zooey said:


> Oh, where do I start? Not only not indoor, but you can't have kittens if you work, or can't adopt at Christmas, even if (like us) you spend two weeks at home with no visitors. Until recently we had 9 cats - not the most we have ever had and all extremely well cared for. I doubt we would have been accepted by any of the rescues, even though I have home checked for a few. We now take rescues from Romania and have two adorable girls coming over in the next few weeks. Chai had both her front legs broken and her neck slashed, so her rescuer will only accept an indoor home (or with a safe cat fence)


There does seem to be an absence of common sense in some instances. I know of a well known rescue that refuses to home cats to anyone living on or near a main road - even where that would be an indoor home or one with a cat proof garden rendering the location of the house irrelevant. The irony there is one of the fosterers lives on a very busy main road!!! I do wonder how many homes get turned down for spurious reasons.


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## henryscat (Jul 2, 2014)

Polski said:


> Not tried to rehome from a rescue myself...(cats just turn up) but I sometimes feel they (rescues) can be sticking too rigidly to their own guidelines. Most won't rehome to families with young children. Why? Not all parents let their kids run riot and maul animals. Surely it should go on an individual basis. My kids were bought up with cat, dog, guinea pigs and chinchillas, they were taught from a very early age to respect animals and now as young adults they all totally adore animals.
> 
> Rescues do a fantastic, often heartbreaking job in limited space. Most rescues house their cats indoor, in a small pen, I can understand this, space, ease of cleaning, able to keep an eye on litter, food etc etc but surely, when it comes to rehoming, a whole house is better than a pen? Refusing a home based on not having outdoor access is not in the cats best interests IMO but I would hope those rescues are rare. I know the 3 rescues that I follow treat each case individually. I do find it very strange that any rescue would insist on a deaf cat being allowed out:confused1:


Yes, going on an individual basis would be sensible. I found it mind boggling that an indoor home for a deaf cat would be refused. The person from the rescue just kept repeating "I want him to go out" - the language was all "I" or "me" and nothing to do with the best interests of the cat.

A local RSPCA branch was one that didn't want to re-home to and indoor home, so it isn't just independent rescues where this might be encountered.


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## Sherylina (Sep 17, 2012)

Lets not tarnish all rescues with the same brush now. 99% of good, decent, respectable rescues work with common sense and will have individual requirements for each cat.

For example, we (Lina's Cat Rescue) will insist that some cats are allowed outdoor access in their new homes as they will get stressed being kept indoors permanently. Likewise, if someone was looking for an indoor cat we would recommend cats that we feel would be happy in this environment. 

We have recently failed a home visit because they had indicated they were going to let their adopted kitten outside when old enough however they had an extremely busy dual carriage way at the back of their garden. They still don't agree with the decision as there are apparently several cats in the area and there has never been a problem but it was too close and way too busy a road for us to make an exception unfortunately. It was a reluctant fail as they were great in every other way and had they chosen an adult cat who we knew wasn't too adventurous then it may have been a pass.


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## aria2013 (Feb 23, 2014)

I know a rescue that will not rehome to someone in the forces x


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

henryscat said:


> We recently adopted our third rescue cat. All three of our cats live indoors and do not go out.
> They are all happy, healthy, well cared for, & the vet compliments us on how well our cats are.
> 
> When looking to adopt, we found a marked resistance amongst local rescues to allow [adoption] to an indoor home.
> ...


I can't agree more, & it's common on PF-uk to see the results when cats are allowed at large: missing, injured,
dead, or sick cats, threads about the wildlings they've brought home dead or injured [all of whom need antibiotics
if they are to survive at all - even if the wounds can't be found], & so on.

We are expected to empathize with the distraught owners, & not mention that IF their cat had not been outdoors,
roaming at will, s/he wouldn't have been hit by that car, gone missing for the past week to an unknown fate,
come home carrying a fledgling, developed FLV/ FIP / other contagious disease, & so on.

Prevention, IMO & IME, is always better than a cure. :nonod:

As for allowing a deaf-cat to roam at large, that's asinine - it's no more intelligent & reasoned to allow
a blind animal to roam at large, since any hazard that requires the use of either major sense CAN'T be
sensed, & avoided. Deaf animals are at far-greater risk for auto-accidents, plus their own species cannot
communicate with them vocally - leading to misunderstandings that can be fatal, or serious injuries.


Little Zooey said:


> Oh, where do I start?
> 
> Not only not indoor, but you can't have kittens if you work, or can't adopt at Christmas, even if (like us) you spend
> two weeks at home with no visitors.
> ...


Congratulations on the coming arrivals. :yesnod:


Polski said:


> Not tried to rehome from a rescue myself - cats just turn up, but I sometimes feel rescues can stick
> too rigidly to their own guidelines.
> 
> Most won't rehome to families with young children. Why?
> ...


Very much agree. I've volunteered with rescues who housed their cats in single large rooms, one colony
of compatible cats per room, with multiple trees, shelves, litter-boxes with & without hoods, & so on -
but no way that arrangement is the equivalent of a multiple-room apt or house for one or several cats.

The big gap i see in the USA is the number of cat-owners who don't grasp that cats are vertical animals
& that time-sharing of space means they MUST have at least 1 cat-tree, & preferably 1 per cat in more than
one room. Resting shelves [hooked to window-sills, designated by grippee pads on bookshelves or curio
shelves, etc] & enclosed hiding spaces [barrels, cubbies, an open box or basket on its side, etc] are also
cat-pleasing 'architecture'.

Windows with an outdoor bird-feeder, a hummingbird feeder, butterfly-attracting plants, etc, are other
cat-enrichment "toys" for enjoying watching critters. Indoors, a *well-protected* aquarium is a nice
add-on, with denizens to watch - fish, invertebrates, _________ .

I've heard cat-owners tell me their cat _"doesn't play"_.
Well, duh! - they don't often do so ON THEIR OWN. A flirt-pole wielded with skill is a very cheap toy, & i have
many times demonstrated how their supposedly-dull cat can come to life in a matter of seconds, pouncing,
stalking, leaping like an acrobat, & getting a terrific workout while having great fun.

If U own a cat & are too dam*ed lazy to play with her or him, but would rather Ur cat would amuse her-
or himself by assaulting the local wildlife, I don't think U deserve a cat. "Easy maintenance" shouldn't include
letting the wildlife community take up the slack for owners who don't give a rat's a$$.


henryscat said:


> There does seem to be an absence of common sense in some instances
> 
> I know of a well-known rescue that refuses to home cats to anyone living on or near a main road - even where that
> would be an indoor home, or one with a cat-proof garden, rendering the location of the house irrelevant.
> ...


It's a valid question.

I think shelters or rescues should give their reasons for refusing to permit an adoption - & allow the applicant
to correct the deficiency.

But *i would not change my mind*, & allow a cat to roam at large,
merely to get an adoption approved. I've seen the bad outcomes far too-many times, for the roaming cat
& for the local community - human & non -- to alter my indoor-only policy. It's not worth the risk.

I'd love to have an outdoor space like the screened-room that i borrowed to rehab a crow, years ago -
the owner had 3 or 4 gorgeous Persians, & had built her 10 x 15 screened room for her beloved cats.
It had resting & climbing shelves, fully-enclosed tree trunks to climb, faced southeast for sun with less
intensity, had 3 birdfeeders - one on each open side - & a solid wall to the north for storm protection.

Wonderful for the cats - & crucial for the badly-injured crow, who learned to fly again in a protected space.
.
.


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## BeauNoir (Sep 16, 2012)

We found it was the other way around, our cat is indoor and outdoor (well, 98% indoor but has issues with litter trays and enjoys a good sunbathe so goes outside occasionally.)

We went to a rescue and said it would be pretty tough to keep the second cat inside all the time and they said they only rehome to completely indoor only homes. :/

You can't win!


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