Procedure

To adopt an animal

1. Make sure that you are in our area

Check whether you are within our area of coverage remembering that we are based in West London.

2. Give us all the information we need

For cat or kitten adoption: Please fill in our application form and allow time for your home visitor to be allocated and for them to make contact with you.

For all other animal adoption enquiries (apart from cats): please email us including your full name, telephone numbers (home, work and mobile), full home postal address and reference numbers/names of the animals you would like to adopt to: otheranimals@haws-animals.org.uk
OR telephone us (10am – 5pm), and leave a short message including your name, area you live, and telephone number so that a volunteer can call you back.  Please let us know if you have already filled in an online form. Please note that this number is also for emergencies so kindly avoid calling or leaving messages overnight.

3. 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. 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. We will also explain what happens next and give you details of where your chosen pets are.

4. Visit the foster home

Providing everything is ok with both parties, you can visit the animal in the foster home. If everyone is happy, you might be able to take the animal/s straight away. We cannot hold animals unless you have completed the adoption process and we do not generally put animals on hold for longer than a week. Please note that we are under no obligation to home any animal with you even following a successful home visit.

5. Adoption

Once you have decided on an animal(s) the foster carer will fill out an adoption form which you will sign. You wll have to agree to have your new pet neutered (if not done already), keep up regular vaccinations, etc., and to look after it responsibly for the rest of its life, which includes taking on future veterinary fees etc.
You will also pay us a minimum adoption fee which for cats and kittens is currently £100 each. For rabbits we ask for £45 (neutered with Myxomatosis) and for guinea pigs £15-£25 (depending if neutered). This is paid at the time of adoption and collected for us by our foster carer. All of our cats are now vaccinated, microchipped and deflead/wormed. If over 5 months old he/she will also have been neutered. Please note that we are not government funded in anyway so we do rely on this money to carry on rescuing these animals and keep them in our care while they are looking for new homes.

6. 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.
You can email your updates and photos (not too many!) to us at: feedback@haws-animals.org.uk