There is no greater reward than seeing a stray cat who once shivered in the cold stretch out in complete comfort in the warmth and safety of their very own home.
We are delighted you are considering adopting one (or two!) of our Sanctuary cats.
If you adopt from us, you can expect a highly supportive and personalised adoption experience. We are committed to finding our cats the right homes based on their individual needs, a home that can provide them a lifetime of love and care. In turn we will only ever adopt a cat to you that is genuinely right for you and your home.
Our sole aim is to find the most harmonious match for our cats and their new families.
Our step-by-step process
1. Apply to adopt
To start an adoption application, you can complete our on-line adoption form. Alternatively, you can send an initial enquiry to us using the contact form on this page.
2. Chat & Home Check
We’ll get in touch to arrange a time to meet with you in person in your home so we can learn more about your requirements and the home you are able to offer a cat.
3. Meet the Cat(s)
After a successful home visit we’ll invite you to meet the cats! You can spend as much time as you like and we are on hand to answer all of your questions.
4. Adoption & Support
We provide support to help you welcome your new cat home and provide Rescue Back Up so we are available to answer questions or address any concerns that you have.
What’s included when you adopt
All adult cats adopted from the Douglas Sanctuary will be:
- Neutered
- Microchipped
- Fully vaccinated
- Up to date with parasite control
- FIV/FeLV Tested
They will come with:
- 5 weeks free Agria pet insurance
- Full veterinary records, available to your vet post adoption
- Lifetime Rescue Back-Up (RBU)*
*Lifetime Rescue Back-Up (RBU) — meaning if your circumstances ever change, we will always take them back into our care.
Adoption fees
Our adoption fee is £120 per cat. Every penny goes directly towards our substantial veterinary costs.
Our Adoption Criteria
We know our cats — their histories, behaviours and needs — and our criteria reflect the environments in which they will feel safe and thrive.
We know our cats — their histories, behaviours and needs and our adoption criteria reflects this. Each cat has their own specific adoption criteria which you will find on their homing page. In addition to which our general requirements are as follows.
To adopt from the Douglas Sanctuary, you must:
- Be adopting for yourself, not on behalf of someone else
- Be 25 years or older and have a regular income
- Be a permanent UK Resident
- Be able to independently afford veterinary care or have Insurance
- Ensure existing household cats are neutered
Our cats are not suitable for homes in built up residential areas or towns unless they are to be kept as Indoor Only. We do not rehome cats into living arrangements which are house shares, near main roads, schools, bus routes or railway lines.
We love dogs! However, any dogs in the home must have previously lived with cats and we won’t adopt into homes with dogs that have a high prey drive.
Indoor Cats
Some of our cats require Indoor Only homes. “Indoor only” means no free roaming but access to a secure catio or cat-proofed garden is always welcomed for our Indoor only cats.
Indoor-only adopters must have:
- Adequate space and enrichment
- Door protection systems (baby gates, barriers or similar)
- Window restrictors or cat-safe screens
We will indicate whether a cat available for adoption must be strictly indoor-only. However, applications from Indoor adopters are welcome for any of our cats and we will look at these based on their own merits and whether we feel the cat will thrive in the Indoor environment being offered.
For further information on living with Indoor Cats, take a look at our advice page below.
How We Handle Your Application
Once we receive an adoption application, if we think you are a match we aim to be in touch with you within a few days to arrange to meet with you in your home. In busy periods it may take us longer to get back to you. Please be patient our cat’s welfare and care are our priority. However, if you haven’t heard back from us by 7 days feel free to send us an email in case your application has been lost.
If you have applied for a specific cat but are open to being considered for other cats in our care, it is important that you indicate this on the adoption form or we will assess your application solely on the cat you’ve applied for.
We are not a Rescue, so we do not operate adopter waiting lists. If we do not currently have a cat suitable for you, we will not hold your details on file.
Meet-and-greet appointments with our cats will only happen after a successful home visit and all our identity and residency checks are complete.
Managing Your Data
- If you apply for a specific cat and are not a match, your application will be deleted unless you ask to be considered for other cats in our care
- If you make a general adoption enquiry, we will hold your details until we determine if we have a cat suitable for you, if this is not the case your details will be deleted and not held on file
- For adopters, application details and the adoption contract are kept indefinitely to support lifetime RBU.
Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Complimentary Insurance Cover for Newly Adopted Cats
As part of our rehoming process, cats adopted from Douglas Cat Sanctuary receive 5 weeks of free insurance cover with Agria Pet Insurance.
This complimentary cover provides peace of mind during your cat’s first weeks at home, giving you time to settle in and arrange long-term insurance that suits your needs.
- 5 weeks of free cover via Agria’s rehoming scheme
- No obligation to continue after the free period
- Time to review long-term insurance options without pressure
We strongly recommend that adopters arrange ongoing insurance before the free period ends, to ensure continuous protection.
If an adopter chooses to continue with Agria Pet Insurance after the free period, Douglas Cat Sanctuary may receive a donation from Agria. This donation helps support the ongoing care of our sanctuary cats.
Adopters are under no obligation to continue with Agria and are free to choose any insurance provider that best suits their needs.
The video below shares a bit more information about Agria and how they help.
You’ll find more information in Agria’s downloadable leaflet below.