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Adoption Process

Thank you for considering adopting from the Mini Kitty Commune. We have a network of foster carers as well as small home run central catteries to help you with your cat choice.

MKC cats are the healthiest, most socialized and fully backed cats in Australia. You have made the right decision with a quality rescue group

How to make contact

You can make contact by clicking through on the messenger button at the top of the page. We absolutely prefer Facebook contact as it is easier to manage the mailbox, there are more people manning the inbox and it is easier to stay in contact. However if you want to make an enquiry about an an adoption, go on the wait list we will eventually ask you to submit a request (see the big “click here to provide your details” button top of page? Right there.

(Sadly, our email inbox is smashed with so much SPAM that important messages get lost)

Planning your visit.

Your next step is to visit the adoption center or foster home, where an MKC team member will help you determine the type of animal that will best fit your lifestyle. An important part of the adoption process is to match the lifestyle and needs of the adopter with the individual cat being considered.

We will likely talk to you on the phone first and arrange a time for a meet and greet. We only do adoptions by appointment (as adoptions are in our homes) and depending who you are working with we can do meet and greets in the week (mostly they are on the weekend)

They will introduce you to the animals you are interested in adopting. The meet and greet will give you the opportunity to bond with your potential companion. You will have plenty of time to play and interact with your new friend.

You can come back as many times as you like as it is a big decision, but MKC cannot hold cats over for people longer than a week. (Quite often we get asked to hold cats for people for extended periods)  If you are going on holiday, wait till you come back and we will introduce you to new cats.

So on the phone and in person. We aren’t a “shopfront”, please understand that our first priority is to consider every animal’s needs and best interests so we ask a few questions first.

The important questions we ask before adopting

We have a few simple questions we ask all our adopters. We ask everyone the same questions and we have a legal obligation in many council areas that we have to ask them.

  • Your housing situation (renting vs. owning), and if you are renting, do you have landlords permission to have animals.
  • Are you seeking an indoor cat or an indoor/outdoor cat?
  • Do you have any children and what age (this tells us what type of cat/kitten may be ideal)
  • Do you have any other pets at home and what age/species (really important!)

It’s also helpful to know your previous experience with pets and your activity level, lifestyle, and expectations for a new animal

Our Solo Kittens/Two kitten rule. We only adopt young kittens in pairs unless you have another cat at home. Please let us know if this is an issue before you drive all the way over. We adopt juveniles and adults solo but not kittens . Please ask if this creates any issue before driving over. Kittens above 6 months we can adopt solo but young baby kittens we don’t. This is a very common policy in rescue groups.

Why do we ask adopters questions?

Consider why pets are surrendered in the first place. Among the top five reasons that people give up their pets are landlord issues, moving/family changes, and the cost of pet care, allergies and having too many cats to care for.

Many animals lose their homes because their owners weren’t prepared to invest the necessary money and time to care for a pet. In other cases, families and pets are mismatched. Consider these all-too-common scenarios:

  • A high-energy pet is adopted by a family that doesn’t have time for play.
  • A scared/quiet kitten is chosen by hyperactive children whose parents aren’t inclined to actively supervise their kids
  • A cat with a predictable fondness for chewing catches the eye of someone who has no interest in proofing her home.

To prevent such painful situations for both the pets and people involved, shelters and rescue groups carefully evaluate adopters in the hope of avoiding these mismatched relationships.

  1. To ensure long-term homes for the animals in their care
  2. To facilitate good matches between people and their adopted companions.

As the MKC provide a backup for all of our cats in care, we work hard to make sure that cats have a safe long term home for the future. We dont just adopt to anyone, we look for the ideal homes that are able to support and maintain a healthy long term future for the cats.on the .

MKC will cover the costs of any illnesses that may occur in the first 2 weeks of adoption, we also will take your cat back at any stage. It would be ideal if you contacted us if you have health concerns so that we can support you and also point you at one of our vets if that is near you, however dont delay vet treatment if this is needed fast

 

Our costs

Our cost can vary depending on the cat and the circumstance. It is normally a donation of $185 per kitten or a range between $285-350 for 2 kittens. Adults around $150. This includes the desexing, vaccination, worming, flea treatment and microchip as well as FIV/FELV and Parvo test.

Consider becoming a sponsor – www.mkc.org.au/sponsor 

Is that a lot? No. MKC makes a loss on every cat we rehome as our costs are about double that.

“Why so much” do the maths, ask your vet how much that costs to get done and you can see we have costs to try and partially recoup. This includes the desexing, vaccination, worming, flea treatment and microchip.

But sometimes the pound does cats for $29 dollars? Yes, and they are not fed the same diet, given the same tests and guarantees that we offer . . they are also heavily subsidised by the government and we arent. We do our best to keep the costs down and if you are a sponsor already that helps.

How to pay your adoption donation – click here www.mkc.org.au/donate  this is payment by Visa or Paypal. This is the best/only way we accept donations as you are then issued a receipt and this you can then use for accounting purposes.

You can also consider becoming an MKC Sponsor www.mkc.org.au/sponsor and commit to a monthly sponsorship as that covers the costs too. Sponsors adopt at a lower price.

The meet and greet at a foster home.

Most meet and greets happen at an MKC foster home. So you are visiting someones house and seeing the cats in the ideal home environment. It’s not a shop front or a cafe . . so we ask a few things to ensure the home environment works.

  • Children. If you are bringing children please only bring immediate family and maximum two children (three immediate family at a stretch).  We ask this as if we don’t, people have sometimes brought a school bus.  This is hard to manage and risky on the cats. If you do bring children please make sure they have gone to the toilet first and aren’t sick (again, sorry to mention but many past experiences) and that they don’t hate cats or are mid tantrum (again past experience, sorry…all of this is to keep the cats safe.)
  • What to wear. Anything you don’t mind getting fur on;) if you turn up in high heels and chanel clothing it is not practical, you are going to get fur on you and high heels are noisy and dangerous around cats.
  • Bring loads of questions and happiness. The cats love it.the time is all yours too so you get to ask as many questions as you like. There is no pressure or rush!

Things to consider before you adopt. (Important section!)

Things to consider and to let us know first.  The interviews are about adoptions. We  we give up our personal time for interviews so if you aren’t in a position to adopt in the coming weeks or have major life changes about to happen please wait till you are and we will always find the ideal kitty for you!

Here are some common things that happen.

  • Have you checked with your landlord or strata and gotten permission? We cant rehome a cat to you if you are not allowed to have one.
  • Are you about to have a divorce or a major life change, it is to best wait till you do that before adopting a new family member (I know, that actually happened)
  • Are you moving house in the next month? It is best to wait till you move. This is one of the most common requests we get. We cannot hold over cats whilst people are planning a move.
  • Are you going away on holidays or planning a trip so you can’t adopt yet. This is also a very common request…if you come all the way over THEN  tell us in the interview “oh I’m planning a trip can you hold him till I get back” we can’t do that sorry. Please contact us when you are back from your trip

Basically…Are there any other reasons you should not be making an adoption decision? “Just tell us” before you take the effort and drive over.

It’s a big step and good to consider , it’s ok to say “I’m not ready yet” but we can’t take up weeks of time and space reserving a cat you aren’t able to adopt.

What happens next

If you have made a decision to adopt and you have your house ready, we will work through the adoption paperwork. All MKC Cats are adopted out desexed, vaccinated, wormed, flea treated and microchipped with complete records given to the adoptor.

We will talk you through basics of cat care, the paperwork you have just had and what to expect in the first few days, this may include

  • How to introduce your cat to your other pets or family.
  • What can go wrong in the first few days and how to manage it
  • What good and bad looks like and how to prepare.

We also maintain a helpline for you. All adopters are part of our ongoing adoption forum that gives you contact with MKC team members and volunteers. If something happens and you are concerned, contact us. If you are worried, contact us .. we don’t just disappear and the cats are part of the family.

Once we have completed the adoption paperwork with you then we will safely put the cats in a carry cage and help you to the car, ensure they are seatbelted in.

Important. At any stage if you need to surrender your MKC cat or it is not working out we will take them back. Do not put it in the pound, or on gumtree, or give to a friend. We are here for them and for you.