On this page, you’ll find information on Bushy Tail Cat Aid’s vision and aims. We outline our policies on neutering, what we look for in adopters, a cat’s place in the family, diet and the importance of keeping in touch over the long term.

Neutering

Our first and foremost aim is neutering cats. Whether we are able to rehome a cat is determined by the space we have, but we believe that no cat should be roaming the streets unneutered. This has devastating consequences and it is the core of the tragedies rescues and some members of the public see all the time. An unneutered cat means death and suffering to countless needlessly born cats destined to have miserable and short lives. We cannot stress enough that with millions of strays and thousands of routinely euthanised perfectly healthy cats daily due to lack of adopters and lack of shelter space, it is utterly irresponsible to do nothing to prevent this fate. The most common example of animal abuse is not having your own pet neutered.

What we look for in adopters

We offer our livelihood and our own home to provide a safe haven for the cats in our care. Each cat is an integral part of our household until they get rehomed. They live with us and most of them sleep in our arms. “Worship the cat”, as we jokingly say to our adopters truly means just that. We seek like-minded individuals for whom these little lives are going to be the extension of their heartbeat, as they are for us. We are looking for adopters with some knowledge on feline care including diet, behavioural needs and health care. We welcome first time adopters who have done some research prior to approaching us. Our adopters need to be aware of potential veterinary care cost and be able to cover these. The cats live with us as part of our family and they will remain our family for life. This means that we will ALWAYS provide back up for them should the circumstances of the adopter’s life change. They will always have a loving home with us. Our door is always open for our adopters and we are always accessible over the phone should the kitties need any help throughout the duration of their life. Ultimately, we are seeking adopters who share our values and who see adopting as an opportunity to save a life.

We respectfully ask you to remember that what we do, we do voluntarily and this is unpaid work in our private time. We are not here to provide customer service and to facilitate obtaining a cat. There is absolutely no possibility that anyone would be able to get a cat from us that is intended as a present, or for a child as a way of teaching responsibiity, to a flat share or any temporary and unstable accommodation. We have given everything we own to these cats: we have converted our private home into safe haven for them, they eat, sleep and live with us as family, and our personal, private time is dedicated to them. They have the use of our private cars, and we pay their house bills. We welcome adopters who are able to offer the same level of care and commitment to the adopted family member.

What makes a perfect cat-human family?

We all believe that we have cats’ best interest at heart and we all have a vision of what a perfect cat-human family should look like. This, however, may mean many different things. It is, of course, important to choose the cat that is right for you and your lifestyle, but it is also important for the cat to live with someone who understands and accepts their personality, their needs and their boundaries. Some cats build the relationship with their new family easily, others take time. Some people are willing to wait for months for the cat to accept them, while being scratched and hissed at, other people are looking for a cat that is already cuddly, easy to pick up and who will love everyone straight away. And that’s OK! These cats are equally homeless and equally in need of a home. Our role as a rescue is to match these two worlds and to ensure that our cats and the adopter are well suited. A photograph of a cat won’t tell you if the cat is right for you, but it’s a good start. Essentially, this isn’t about “is this cat available”. It is about: are you the right family for this particular cat.

Indoor cats and feline diet

Our rescue welcome adopters who are looking for an indoor cat, as long as they have their property prepared to provide safe and stimulating environment for the cat. For ideas of how to secure the windows, balcony, how to secure the garden or the examples of catios, click here:

Each cat in our care is carefully assessed for suitability of such lifestyles. We have had indoor cats since the nineties, as this is our personal preference, and we understand the pros and cons of this particular choice.

After looking after cats who have developed medical conditions such as diabetes, bladder or kidney issues, we are continuously researching causes and preventive care, to limit the risk of any health problems that may arise. For this reason we ask adopters to feed the cats wet only, high meat content, raw or whole prey diet. All cats in our care are being transitioned to eating healthy food and we ask the adopters to continue this. This diet is not expensive and all it requires is reading the label on the tin and identifying the percentage of meat content. Most commercial food is 96% vegetarian and it is not suitable for an obligatory carnivore. Take it from vegans who are prepared to handle meat to keep the cats healthy!

Keeping in touch

Bushy Tail cats remain our family members for life. This means that we will ALWAYS provide back up for them should your circumstances change. We don’t wish to overburden the adopters with asking for the updates, but we would love to hear about how are the kitties doing throughout their lifetime. We would be honoured to be considered important enough in the life of your cat to share some stories and photos of them. This helps give us the feeling of a job well done.