1. Give us all the information we need to get the ball rolling...

...we are often delayed in arranging homevisits or answering enquiries because we don't have all the details we need, so:

• If you are interested in adopting cats or kittens, please read all the following information and then fill in our online form.
• For other animals (dogs, rabbits, etc) please ensure that you include your full name, telephone numbers (home, work and mobile), and full home postal address when you email us*.
  
  
• Your enquiry is then passed to a local HAWS volunteer so that they can contact you to arrange a homevisit. They may choose to contact you either by phone or email - please make sure you check your spam/junk folders regularly.

Note that so many cats have been relinquished back to us, because of issues with people moving within privately rented accommodation and landlords refusing pets, that we have had to review our guidelines. Because we do not want any animal coming back to us in the future (when the owner may have to move to other rented accommodation where no pets are allowed, or the landlord imposes new rules), we are unable to permanently rehome into privately rented or housing association accommodation. Fostering could be an option if your rental situation is fairly static and with full written permission from your landlord or association. If you feel that your rental situation is so exceptional that circumstances mean that it may be possible for us to consider you, then please explain fully in your contact email to us.

Make sure that we do cover your area by checking whether you are within our Area of Coverage remembering that we are all volunteers and we are based in West London.

If you know the name of the animal you are interested in and are ready for an immediate homevisit, please let us know as this also helps and include the code at the end of the animals description - it helps us to identify the foster home.

* OR phone us and leave a short message including your name, area you live, and telephone number on 020 8832 7398 and a volunteer will call you back. However we would really rather you email us your enquiries for adoptions. The call will only be passed on to the person who receives the emails and arranges home visits, so it is no quicker! IMPORTANT: Please do not phone the above number to follow up a homevisit request form you have already filled in - it can take several days or even a week or more to allocate a volunteer to do your homevisit. If you are concerned (after a sensible wait) that no one has contacted you then please drop us an email at cats@haws-animals.org.uk.

PLEASE DO NOT RING US OVER NIGHT BETWEEN 6PM AND 10AM AS THIS LINE IS FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY DURING THIS TIME - please save your enquiries until the following morning - thank you.

* OR come and meet us at our Adoption Centre at: Pets at Home, 2-10 London Road, Brentford at weekends from 11am - 3pm. You can leave your details with our volunteer at the adoption centre. Please mention to the volunteer that you have already contacted us online or phoned us if applicable and be sure to indicate this on the sheet that you fill in.


2. The Homevisit

We will arrange a time to visit you and your family (including other pets if possible), hopefully within a few days of you contacting us - see guidelines above. It is just an informal chat to make sure you know what responsibility you will be taking on, and that we are happy our animals will be going to good homes.


3. Select an animal from our rehoming lists

Providing everything is ok with both parties, you can either go and visit cats (having seen them on our rehoming list) in their foster homes, or after discussing all options, it may be possible to bring the cat(s) to you. After your viewing you may be able (if the foster home is also happy) to take the cat(s) straight away, or go away and think about it. If you are interested in animals other than cats we will discuss the meeting and viewing procedure with you when we do the homevisit. You are never under any obligation to take an animal at any stage. A foster home is also under no obligation to home any animal even following a successful home visit.


4. Adoption

Once you have decided on an animal(s) you will need to fill out an adoption form (when you actually take the animal) containing it's details and agree to have it neutered (in the case of a kitten) and to look after it and take on any future responsibilities including veterinary fees etc. We rely entirely on donations and are not government funded in any way, so it will be expected that you would like to help us continue our rescue work by donating at least £65 per cat aged over two years and £75 for any cat or kitten under two years. This is payable to the foster home on adoption. Other animals may invoke a different fee. Remember we are one of the few rescue centres which has an anti-destruction policy, therefore we always have many elderly and recovering animals in our care. Without your donations we would not be able to carry on.
If you already have cats or other animals in the house, there is an option to return a cat which is not settling down after a few weeks, or causing an insurmountable problem with your existing pets, but please note the donation is not refundable.


5. Let us know how the new addition to your family is getting on!

We may from time to time contact you to see how your new pet is settling in. It is always lovely to hear from you too - it makes giving them up all the more easier to know that our animals are happy in their new homes.


ARE YOU UNSURE whether to adopt or foster? or committing to an animal for life? or can't afford the costs of keeping an animal? or don't have a garden?

If you are unsure whether you can look after any animal for the rest of it's life please do not adopt one! But why not consider fostering?

You could have one of any age for just a few days, from time to time, or for as long as it takes for us to find it a home. Alternatively you could take on one of our senior feline residents. If you don't have a garden, this is not a problem. You could consider some of our indoor cats or those with FIV...>more