Adopting A Cat

I'm 100% a self-confessed cat person and have been lucky enough to have them as pets since I was little. Until August of this year I lived at home with my parents and two years ago we adopted a gorgeous ginger tom-cat from Battersea Cats & Dogs Home, before Red we had Scampi who was the kitten from a family member's cat so Red was the first cat we'd ever rehomed/adopted.

ADOPTING WHEN YOU RENT

I knew as soon as my boyfriend and I had our own house that I wanted to give a furry friend a new home, it was just a case of whether we could or not as we were renting. My boyfriend has always been a dog person but with both of us working full time it just wasn't fair to have a pet who needed a lot of attention all of the time, whereas we knew a cat would be happy chilling in the day whilst we're out at work. 

I wasn't really sure when the right time to reach out to our letting agents would be - I didn't want them to think that we weren't serious tenants by asking for a pet only a few months into our tenancy but then i saw the Cats Protection 'Purrfect Landlords' campaign and it gave me the boost and confidence I needed to ask the question.

The campaign is fantastic - it's all about asking landlords to consider their tenants to allow cats, especially with more and more people renting properties and bearing in mind the fact a pet can really make a house feel like a home it's a really awesome campaign with lots of tips and advice for both landlords and tenants (both private and social housing) looking to rehome.

VISITING A SHELTER

Luckily, our landlord was very quick to reply and say yes to us having a cat and we immediately started looking to find the perfect third member of our little family. We're lucky to both work just down the road from a Cats Protection shelter and that was our first point of call, we'd had a browse on the website and decided to just head down there and see who was around. Constantly refreshing the website I noticed a new name and face on there I'd not seen the last few times I'd looked - a gorgeous tabby cat called NooNoo (lol). I immediately forwarded the link to my boyfriend and he told me to go see her straight away! I'd booked a half day off work already and as soon as I'd finished I drove down to the CP shelter in Newbury and paid NooNoo a visit.

Saying I fell in love was an understatement, I spent about 15 minutes in her company and she was already asleep on my lap and I knew she was the one for us. I reserved her and agreed with the amazing team that work at the shelter to visit again the next day with my BF in tow.

It took him all of 5 minutes to become smitten with her and it was quickly decided that she was the one for us and we were the one for her.

THE ADOPTION PROCESS

At places like Cat's Protection they do so much to prepare the kitties for their new homes. They're checked out by vets as soon as they're brought in and have any treatments done that they need - our girl had almost all of her teeth removed as she'd lived as a stray for a long time before she ended up at CP Newbury but they have all the relevant tests done and get signed off as healthy before they're rehomed.

You also get 4 weeks free pet insurance and you get to take home any toys or blankets that they had with them. You're provided information on the litter they like, the food they eat and any personality traits they might have (some don't like other cats or small children for example). One thing I was sure of though is that all the cats in the care of these lovely people are well looked after.

Adopting NooNoo - now named Lady Nermal aka Nellie - was one of the best choices we've made as a couple and is definitely going to make for an exciting Christmas. She's already settled in after only 5 days with us and has so much love to give, loving cardboard boxes and cuddling up on the sofa and the end of the bed. Make sure to give her a follow on Instagram @ladynermal to see what she gets up to!

If you'd like me to share more tips on rehoming a cat, especially in rented accommodation then let me know!