Why it’s so difficult to adopt the UK’s glut of rescue cats

It is not an outlandish statement to say that we are a nation of cat lovers. Some 11 million felines live on our island, a quarter of homes own one, while numerous studies show they can help reduce feelings of stress and loneliness.

Timothy St. Ather, 73, a psychologist who lives in Barnes, west London, understands this all too well. A life-long cat lover, he has owned six cats through the decades.

These include a “shy and morose beast” nicknamed Oney, and two Siamese called Frank and Gilbert. Then there was Max, his “best cat ever”, a ginger and black who came free with a house he bought in Cambridge. He likes cats because they provide company while maintaining their independence, he tells the Telegraph.

So it came as something of a shock when – after St. Ather’s last cat, Alfie, died in March at the ripe old age of 19 – his application to adopt a new cat from a rescue centre was refused.

Not just refused by one cat rescue centre, either – but in fact several. And it didn’t even work out with the famous Battersea Cats and Dogs Home.

He blames the charities’ stringent checks and demands on potential owners, and the modern world where organisations are “too afraid” of criticism to take a chance on anything.

“I have always had cats and they have all lived long, happy lives,” he explains. “There cannot be anyone more suitable than me to have a cat. But not only was I repeatedly refused, I also had to listen to a lecture on how what I wanted was irrelevant, and only the cat’s needs mattered, as if the two things had to be incompatible.

“I can understand them being careful, but surely a cat is better off in a less-than-perfect home than a cage.”

Anecdotally at least, this is an issue affecting not just St. Ather but countless others. As one person on Mumsnet wrote: “Trying to adopt a cat at the moment. Why is it such an ordeal? I’ve filled in application form after application form. Had to supply multiple forms of ID. Been given [the] third degree over my motivations. Questions upon questions. After jumping through all the hoops, the applications go into a black hole and we hear nothing in response.”

The rejection of potential owners is made all the more puzzling by the sheer number of animals needing homes. Currently, across the UK’s 1,000 or so animal shelters, there are around 250,000 pets – mostly dogs and cats – seeking new owners. Cats Protection, the UK’s largest cat charity, currently has 4,800 cats to rehome, while the RSPCA says its facilities are “at breaking point” – with a rise in the number of animals abandoned attributed chiefly to the cost of living crisis.

Despite this huge need, however, there has been a downward trend in rehoming. In 2022, for instance, the number of pets rehomed by the RSPCA was 30 per cent lower than in 2019.

In part this has been down to a drop in demand, with surveys showing many people are put off by potential behavioural problems and costs. But there is also the question: how easy is it to actually adopt a cat?

Head to the Battersea website to apply, and it seems the answer is: “not very easy”.

Far from being met by a warm, positive welcome, instead there is an off-putting warning. Its opening page reads: “We always ask that you keep an open mind and see the form as a way of registering your interest in rehoming, not an application for a specific animal.

“As our dogs and cats have individual characters, behaviours and needs, you might not find an animal to rehome from us. But if that’s the case, we offer plenty of guidance to help you continue your search beyond Battersea.”

Then there’s the lengthy questionnaire. Do you already own a dog or cat? Both are red flags. Do you have experience of owning a cat? If the answer’s ‘no’ that also counts against you. Having a young child is a black mark, as is having children visit your home.

The form inquires about the hours you work, any holidays you have planned and whether you live in the city, countryside or a suburb. If you are refused, it simply sends you an automated response. No human ever reads the application.

Other charities also have set criteria for adopting but seem less officious. Cats Protection, for instance, states you must be over 18 to adopt and all members of the household should be in agreement. Meanwhile, the Blue Cross does not reject people outright if they already own a cat or dog, nor does the RSPCA.

This checkbox of requirements was not what St. Ather was expecting.  “Given the demand, I imagined adopting a cat would be an easy thing to do,” he says. “But with Battersea, I had to fill in a very detailed questionnaire, then wait. They eventually offered me an incontinent cat and said I had to have two indoor litter trays, despite me saying I’d never had any problem with toilet training a cat.

“This was not an animal I had chosen or seen, but clearly one Battersea wanted to get rid of. It was take it or leave it, so I left it.”

St. Ather didn’t have better joy with the two other charities he tried. “I showed one around my six-bedroom house with a large garden via a video link and they told me it was unsuitable,” he says. “They wouldn’t tell me why though.

“And the next one said, because I lived on a main road, I wasn’t allowed a cat. None of my cats have ever been out the front door, but the person said it might go into the house of a neighbour and sneak out of a window – presumably to throw itself under a bus.”

But for rescue centres, the responsibility to get a good match between cat and potential owner is paramount. “At Battersea, we welcome applications to rehome a cat from thousands of people each year. Last year we found loving new homes for 2,112 cats,” says a spokesman for the centre, when approached by the Telegraph.

“After a thorough assessment to fully understand a cat’s individual needs, our rehoming team uses their extensive knowledge to expertly match each cat in our care to a new home that best suits their rehoming profile. We want to give every cat the best chance of finding a home, and our priority will always be to ensure our cats go to homes that can meet their specific needs.

“In some instances we may not always have the right fit for an applicant, which we understand can be disappointing. We will always encourage applicants to be as open as possible with the type of cat that they are looking for in order to have the best chance possible to find a match. If we do not currently have a cat that we think would suit an applicant’s lifestyle or home environment, we would encourage them to also apply to other rescue [centres], as they may have a match for them in their care.”

For Lucy Hoile, a cat behaviourist in Southampton, she is well aware of the difficulties many hopeful cat owners face, and feels the tight restrictions are often counterproductive.

“Cat charities are very cautious about placing cats in homes as the worst outcome would be for the placement to not work and for the cat to be bounced back and forth,” she explains. “They have to try and minimise the risk, such as by not placing cats with small children or by a main road. However, while I do understand this, I don’t think there should be blanket rules. People should be judged on a case-by-case basis.”

She explains that cat charities often refuse to rehome cats in solely indoor environments. But, she says, many breeds of cat are fine with this, and she adds that stress felt by the animal can be mitigated with decent advice on how to help them settle in.

She warns of unintended consequences from ”overly stringent” ownership restrictions. “These blanket rules are driving people to smaller, perhaps less reputable cat charities and also abroad,” she says. “There are plenty of suitable homes who can provide a loving home with the right support in the UK.”

In recent years, the internet has seen a growing number of websites dedicated to rehoming cats from abroad, with such Facebook groups often boasting thousands of members. According to the PDSA, roughly five per cent of adopted cats now come from overseas – a rise of two percentage points in four years.

Of those who adopted internationally, seven per cent said they did so because it was easier than rehoming in the UK. Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson came across a stray kitten while holidaying in Turkey – Didi arrived in England a few months later.

Isabelle Moore, 33, an IT manager living in Basingstoke, was one of those who went abroad after being refused in the UK. “We did an application for Battersea but got an automated ‘no’ back because we already have a cat,” she explains. “So I looked abroad and found a charity called Please Adopt Me Meow based in Abu Dhabi. A person in the UK asked for a video of our house, two references and our motivations, and then we got the cat we wanted.”

She adds: “To be honest, I have had problems with both my cats getting along, but I got some tips from a cat expert and now they are okay and touch noses. I’m glad we did it as the animal welfare situation out there is non-existent. But I find it terrible that we couldn’t get a cat from England. Charities don’t give people a chance.”

Still, for many, adopting a cat from abroad is not a desirable or sensible option.

“It simply seems to me that many UK cat charities have forgotten their primary aim – to get a cat into a new home,” says St. Ather. “They are too afraid of something going wrong and of being criticised to think sensibly.”

For him, however, there has been a happy ending. In recent weeks, he has finally managed to adopt a 12-week-old black kitten from Cats Protection in Mitcham, who he has called Rocky.

He adds, “In the end, I have been fortunate. Rocky hid for the first two days but now has completely settled in and is destroying things around the house, as cats do. Life is better with a cat, so I am very pleased to have him. But, of course, he was the one that needed rehoming, so it is also very good for him.”