THINK VERY CAREFULLY AND TAKE TIME TO CONSIDER BEFORE SURRENDERING YOUR CAT! PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT ONCE YOUR CAT IS SURRENDERED TO US WE WILL NOT SPEAK TO YOU REGARDING THE NEW HOME/LOCATION AT ALL DUE TO GDPR. 

 

Please do not ask CWRS to rehome your cat to a particular home and sometimes the name of the cat will be changed.  Thank you.​

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PLEASE NOTE: Once your cat has been surrendered you will not be allowed to visit as this will greatly upset the cat. Thank you for understanding.

 

What do I need to do if I want to give up my cat for rehoming?

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In the first instance, contact the shelter to register that you would like to rehome your cat.  It is highly unlikely that we will have space immediately, due to the heavy demand for our services, but we aim to help as soon as possible. 

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Please have all the information possible to give to the shelter - this helps us to prepare properly for admission.

 

What details will I have to give to the centre?

 

We will need to know the reason you want to give up your cat, together with its age, colour, gender and temperament. We will also ask if the cat is neutered, whether they are up to date with vaccinations, and whether they have been to see a vet in the last year. If your cat is already neutered, vaccinated and vet checked, this will help speed up the process of rehoming, but we cannot guarantee a space straight away. If your cat hasn't had these treatments, it will take longer for us to help you rehome your cat.

 

PLEASE PLAN AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE if you need to rehome your cat.

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If it is an emergency situation we will look to speed the process up!

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What happens on the day of the handover?

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Ahead of your cat coming into care we will ask you to sign one of our Surrender Forms.  Preferably this will be done over email, but if you don't have easy access to a computer we can provide a hard copy on the day.  Please complete this with as much detail as possible - everything you tell us about your cat will help us to find the best possible home for them.

 

When bringing you cat to the shelter please make sure your carrier is completely secured (no gaps, broken catches and definitely no cardboard boxes)!  We can provide a carrier if you don't have one, in which case we'll leave the carrier outside our front door and you can collect it, so if you are concerned about whether you can catch the cat we can give you some advice over the phone ahead of your appointment.

 

If you have any spare food, litter or pet accessories you can also donate these to the shelter if you wish, anything familiar will help the cat settle faster. We would also really appreciate any financial donation you can make to help us to cover the costs of looking after the cat you wish to give up whilst it is our care. Caring for a new cat often costs us in excess of £500. As a charity we do not receive any direct funding from the government and have to rely on donations from the public.

 

If possible, please ask your vet to email us your cat's recent medical history or provide us with the name and contact phone number of your vet so that we can contact them to obtain your cat's medical history. Providing this will speed up the process of providing your cat with a new home. If the cat is microchipped and vaccinated please bring records of these too. If you are able to write down some information about the cat's likes and dislikes in advance, this will help us provide potential new owners with background information on the cat.

 

What happens while my cat is waiting to be rehomed?

 

Your cat will stay at the shelter, unless they are placed in temporary foster homes, where they will be cared for and closely monitored until they are ready to be re-homed. Most cats settle in after a couple of days -although some do take longer, but we will do all we can to help them feel at home. We can send you updates on how they have settled and when they have left for their forever home - however we are extremely busy as all our volunteers work full time, please do not think we are not getting back to you, we will do so as soon as we get a spare moment.

 

If they are not already neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for worms and fleas, we will ensure that they receive these treatments whilst they are in our care. Any other necessary veterinary work will also be undertaken. Please be as honest as possible regarding your cat's health, its better if we know that there is a health issue sooner rather than later so we can get the cats to the vets faster. If there are any health issues this will not stop us from bringing your cat in.

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Our volunteers/foster carers spend time with the cats in our care every day. They spend time cuddling and playing with the cats, or sometimes just sitting and talking to them. As you can imagine, being in a strange environment can be very stressful for most cats, however we do all we can to minimise this and to make them feel safe. 

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If after reading this you feel you still need to rehome your cat then please complete the form HERE

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