Thursday, September 24, 2015

Adopting A Cat

Myself and my family have recently adopted Daphne, a cat from Cats Protection Aberystwyth. I know it isn't beauty related but we have had such a positive experience that I wanted to share my story today! I've even filmed a "Meet My Kitty" youtube video, which you can watch here or scroll down to the bottom of this post and press play!




Earlier this year, our family cat Daisy passed away. She had been with us since she was a kitten and had become an integral part of our family for 15 years. So when I came back for the Summer this year, I was really missing feline company and decided to get in touch with Cats Protection.

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Sleepy Kitty

The Adoption Process 

After some research on cat adoption in my area, I decided to get in touch with Cats Protection Aberystwyth. I simply called the number on the website and left a message stating my name and that I was interested in adopting a cat. They rang back and asked a couple of general questions about me, my family and the house. I was also asked if there was any cat in particular that I was interested in. 

When I had called, I was under the impression that all of the cats were under one roof and that you could pop into and pick up a cat. In the case of Aberystwyth, the cats are all with different foster homes.

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Princess Puss
From a simple google search, I could see a whole list of cats that were up for adoption in the local area. I had been looking at the cats beforehand and had been interested in Daphne from the start and I mentioned this to the woman on the phone, along with a couple of other cats. I was told that Daphne was with a fosterer called Judy who also had four other cats up for adoption. I was given Judys contact details and got in touch with her.

In order to adopt a cat, you have to have a house check. Judy was keen to do the house check herself as she had a particular interest in where Daphne went. She came over a few days later for around half an hour and just asked some more general questions. She wanted to just get a feel for the type of family we were, the house and what kind of cat we were interested in in order to be able to match us up with the right cat. We seemed to pass the test and we went to her house the next day to meet the cats. 

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Daphne being nosy
When we arrived, Daphne actually came to greet us. She was very sweet, friendly and inquisitive. My brother instantly warmed to her, as did I. Before being under Cats Protections care, she was living on a caravan site. Judy decided to adopt Daphne herself but unfortunately Daphne and her other cat didn't get on. After Daphne had been attacked a few times, Judy decided to put Daphne up for adoption. 

All of the other cats up for adoption were in her shed, in separate enclosures. They all looked very comfortable and accommodated for and they all adored Judy. I met all of the cats and all of them were lovely and loved getting fuss. I met Buster, Luna (now adopted, yay!), Jac and Marlon. Judy matched us up with Marlon and Daphne out of all of her cats. Marlon was lovely, really affectionate and loved a cuddle. After a lot of deliberation, we decided to adopt Daphne and took her home that same day. 

I had to pay a small fee of £30 for Daphne. This included her being treated for worms, fleas, fully vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. It's really generous for Cats Protection to provide such great treatment of the cats for such a low price as vet bills can be horrendously expensive.

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Forever Vogueing
Settling In

As soon as we arrived home, we let Daphne roam around downstairs. She was comfortable in no time and we have never had any trouble with her being nervous or anything like that. She was already litter trained and adjusted straight away to her new one. 

The hardest part was not letting her outside for a while. She would stare out out of the windows but we obviously didn't want her going out and getting lost. After a week and a half, we took her out a couple of times a day to get her used to her surroundings.

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Explorer Kitty
She settled in completely really quickly, which was a real relief to us all. I had read some stories about cats being very nervous and hiding a lot but Daphne was absolutely fine. She is really friendly to new people and loves making her presence known for a bit of fuss. We have also been privileged enough to be brought little "presents" every now and again outside of the door. One morning we were greeted with two mice and a vole.

She is yet to be a lap cat but I think she is coming around. She will happily sit on my lap now, once I've put her there and giving her lots of fuss! We have found that she loves following people around, and has often tried following me walking to work! One day she even succeeded. Thankfully there was a cat box and we were able to bring her home.

Adopting a cat G Beauty
Bath time
Daphne has really settled in and we're really loving her company. I'm so glad that we decided to adopt with Cats Protection and would definitely recommend adopting a cat through them. Everyone was really helpful and lovely and I am so glad that I have been able to work with such a lovely charity. If you are from the Ceredigion area, please do go and check and like their Facebook page. They always post lovely pictures of the cats and are very helpful with trying to reunite lost and found kitties.

Click play to meet my kitty with me! 


I hope you enjoyed my slightly different post and please do feel free to let me know what you think. Have you got pets? Have you ever adopted a pet? I'm always really interested to know!

Thank you for reading.

Love, Gweni xxx 
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