We’ve been looking for a cat to adopt for several months now in Suisse romande and I’ve followed all the advice in past threads re. refuges, associations, Coop/Migro announcements and even random sellers on Anibis. No luck–if it’s not scams, then it’s associations/refuges with strange adoption rules (keeping their name on the microchip indefinitely; refusing to allow their cats to leave Switzerland if we were to move to another country; requiring us to install cat doors so the cat has liberty at all times, etc).
Basically, I’m just wondering if anyone on this forum has a friend or neighbor who has domestic shorthair kittens/young cats that are looking for a good home. A sibling pair would be ideal, but we are also happy to take a single cat, as we previously had a single 15+ year-old cat that had a wonderful life with us. Thanks for your help.
Thanks. It’s more that we are looking for cats now as we have the time to really raise them at home over the next few months. That said, though, given the lack of available cats here in Suisse, we might really be hitting the streets this spring!
It’s the wrong time of year for kittens at the moment. They tend to be born in spring and are ready for new homes in late spring/summer.
If you can wait that long ther’ll be loads of farms giving kittens away then, just look on the usual sites (anibis, petites annonces etc).
We got our two little terrors from a local farm.
We’ve adopted our cat (standard issue) years ago from a private person but the cat “belonged” to one of the associations which kept their name on the chip. To be honest we haven’t found that to be a problem - we discussed this with the association beforehand and they were very flexible. They haven’t bothered us with anything in the years we had the cat. For us the only reason they remain on the chip record is for reassurance someone can take care of the cat should something catastrophic happen to us.
And this was refreshingly different from the breeder that wanted to “lease” us a 2kCHF (undeniably cute) posh male cat with full “visitation” rights for breeding for several years, no rights to castration or roaming outside the garden, etc.
So look around and discuss your issues with the people involved. You might find some associations are simply just acting in the best interest of the cat.
We got our two British Shorthair kittens from a professional breeder we found on Anibis three years ago. They came with a pedigree and the parents’ health certificates. On Anibis you’ll find all sorts of sellers, from farms to professional breeders, and, of course, some dodgier ones as well.
If you’re after a specific breed, it’s worth checking the relevant breed association, as they usually list certified breeders. You can then contact them directly. Many have waiting lists, so you may need to wait for one or two litters.
Another option is to look at farms or rural breeders, as some have mentioned.
That’s good to know about the chips. Some of the contracts I’ve reviewed, though, also require that they be contacted in the event that a cat needed a significant medical intervention. I’m not sure to the extent to which these things are legally enforced, but it makes me uneasy as a pet parent who should be the ultimate say in my animal’s suffering (if that makes sense). Anyway, I guess it depends on the particular association and the directors running it…
Our 14 year old cat was born in October and we got him in November as a six week old kitten when he was orphaned but autumn born cats are by far in the minority so they are more difficult to find. You might get lucky but don’t pin your hopes on it.
My experience with Anibis has been uniformly bad, I’m afraid. I asked for the lineage of one cat and the ‘breeder’ had to confess that the kittens were inbred (though not without trying to convince me that this was really the best thing for preserving the purity of the breed…). Then there were the endless scams asking for a deposit.
Anyway, I’m sure by springtime, some of the local farmers will be on the website, but until then I’m giving Anibis a wide berth! Glad you were able to find your BSH kittens, though. I hear they are really wonderful companions.
We had to visit the cat breeder three times before we were allowed our kittens - it was all very jovial but the breeder was adamant that the cats she loved weren’t going to go to the wrong people.
People really do care about the welfare of pets here and as @Dandi wrote, many are simply acting in the best interests of the cats.