Adoption Policies & Fees

Please read carefully! This should answer most of your questions concerning our adoption process.

You must be willing to make a 20-year commitment to the cat or kitten you want to adopt.
Must be 21 years of age and able to provide a valid driver’s license or photo ID with your current address.
All pets in your home must be sterilized and current on vaccinations, heartworm meds, etc. unless there is a medical reason validated by your veterinarian. We STRONGLY believe that all cats should have an annual vet visit even if they never go outside.
You must be willing to provide veterinary references for current and/or past pets or at least three personal/professional references if you have never had a pet.
You must be willing AND able to spend the time and money necessary to provide training, medical treatment, and appropriate care for your pet for its entire lifetime (i.e. annual vet visits, procedures recommended by your vet, emergency care as necessary.)
Male kittens under the age of 20 weeks must be adopted with another kitten unless there is another male cat in the home 5 years or younger. This decision is based on returns of male kittens reaching one to two years and becoming destructive and/or aggressive due to the lack of a playmate to serve as an outlet for the energy of a male kitten/cat. Female kittens stop playing much earlier than the males. Humans and dogs cannot provide adequate interaction to account for this, so please consider this when adopting. Male kittens need a lifelong playmate and companion to thrive.
Female kittens under the age 16 weeks must be adopted with another kitten unless there is a cat in the home 5 years or younger. After 16 weeks, female kittens can go alone although it is not recommended.
To adopt a kitten under the age of 16 weeks, any children living in the home should be at least 5 years old.
For certain breeds and dogs that do not currently live with a cat, or at our request, you must agree to a home visit and a dog test before the application can be approved and adoption finalized.
Because our cats are in foster homes and all of our foster parents are volunteers, we cannot arrange a meet and greet with a cat or kitten until your application has been submitted and approved.
If there are multiple applicants for the same cat or kitten, we will choose what we consider to be the most appropriate applicant for that particular animal. Each of our rescued cats and kittens has individual personalities and needs, and we know that every home is not appropriate for every cat or kitten.
Applications submitted on the weekends cannot be processed until Monday or Tuesday, holidays and other factors may slow this process. We require at least 2 business days to process the application and contact you. Once you have submitted your application, please contact your veterinarian and authorize the release of your veterinary records. Not all require this, but many do, and it will help speed the process.
We do not hold cats. Once an applicant is approved, the adoption must be completed within 48 hours unless specific arrangements are made with the rescue.
If an online application is approved, and the cat or kitten is scheduled for an adoptathon, the approved adopter must show up at the beginning of the adoptathon on the day the cat or kitten will be at PetSmart. After 15 minutes, the cat becomes available to any approved adopter waiting.

New Additions to Policies (Effective March 1, 2022):

ESA Animals: We do not adopt kittens out to be ESA animals. We cannot guarantee the personality of a kitty long term, and we do not feel it is in the best interest of the adopter or the kitten. We know our cats well, and we can recommend older teens and adults as potential ESA animals.
We are not currently approving applications from applicants that are enlisted in the military and posted at surrounding military bases. We have had a 100% return rate of cats adopted by enlisted military, and we do not have the ability to continuously take back cats when adopters are transferred or if housing becomes an issue. We apologize for this, but our experience has shown us the likelihood of return is high.
We have made the decision to NOT APPROVE applications unless the adopter has a green card. We receive many applications from graduate students in the US on a work visa. However, when it comes time to go back to the country of origin, many times people find it is cost-prohibitive to take their cat with them, or their country requires such extensive quarantine, it is not in the best interest of the cat to go. If you are not a citizen of the U.S., and you do not have a green card, we encourage you to consider becoming a foster for us. This is a huge need, and when and if the time comes that you must leave the country, adoption may be possible depending on circumstances and your status. You can complete a foster application at this link: FOSTER APPLICATION.
Individuals over the age of 72 are encouraged to learn more about our Seniors for Seniors program and must have a plan in place for what will happen to their adopted cat should they become unable to care for them. We encourage seniors to adopt adults and older cats who desperately need a second chance, or foster for us if they are interested in kittens to see why this is a requirement.

Adoption Fees (Effective October 1, 2024)

Adoption fees go a long way to supporting the rescue and allow us to continue to save cats and kittens. We take in many sick and injured cats and kittens, and many of them end up needing expensive surgery and emergency care. In order to continue to be the rescue that often steps up for these desperate cats and kittens, we must have help for these extensive veterinary bills. Our adoption fees reflect people’s desire for particular types of cats and kittens — and those fees help others in need. Every penny of every adoption fee goes to care for other cats and kittens. We have no paid employees: we are an all-volunteer group.

All cats and kittens have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, tested, treated for fleas and other parasites both internal and external, and are microchipped. To bring a cat or kitten to adoption costs us between $150 and $200 — and that is if it never gets sick and needs no additional care — which is rarely the case!

Short-haired Cat Adoption Fees (does not include medium/long-haired, purebred or specialty breeds)
Kittens (Up to 6 months)	$150
Teens (Over 6 months to 1 year)	$140
Adults (Over 1 year to 10 years)	$120
Adults (Over 10 years)	$50
Special Needs	$50
😻 Foster-to-Adopt	$50

Medium- and Long-haired Cat Adoption Fees (does not include purebred or specialty breeds)
Kittens (Up to 6 months)	$175
Teens (Over 6 months to 1 year)	$175
Adults (Over 1 year to 10 years)	$175
Adults (Over 10 years)	$50
Special Needs	$50
😻 Foster-to-Adopt	$75

Specialty Cat Adoption Fees (Siamese/Color Point, Maine Coon Crosses, Russian Blue Crosses, etc.)
Kittens (Up to 6 months)	$200
Teens (Over 6 months to 1 year)	$200
Adults (Over 1 year to 10 years)	$200
Adults (Over 10 years)	$50
Special Needs	$50
😻 Foster-to-Adopt	$100
Purebred (as determined by us and our veterinarians)	$300

❤ Special Needs: Cats with chronic medical conditions requiring prescription medications, prescription food, ongoing medical care and monitoring, etc.
😻 Foster-to-Adopt: Terrific cats who have been overlooked and just need to find their special someone — See them HERE!

TRIAL PERIOD: With every adoption, we offer a two week trial period and encourage you to use that time to be sure the cat or kitten you have chosen is a good fit. Don’t make a decision in just a few days – use the entire two week period. At the end of the trial period, make a decision as to whether this is the cat or kitten for you. Should you decide it is not, you may return the pet for a refund of your adoption fee less a $25 processing fee, or you may choose a different cat. While we will always take the cat or kitten back, refunds will not be made after the two-week mark.

RETURN POLICY: We make a lifetime commitment to these cats and kittens, and we hope adopters will do the same. It is very TRAUMATIC for a cat to lose its home, and as a rescue, this presents huge problems for us. We are usually always full, and finding space in a foster home can be extremely difficult. It is especially true for an adult cat. We encourage you to find a way to keep your cat since that is the agreement you make as an adopter. However, should you have to return the cat, please notify us. We will ask that you provide a good picture and a write up so we can start posting your cat immediately on our website. Our hope is to find a good home so the cat can go directly from your home to a new home without having to enter foster care. It may take us a month or so to find a foster, and during kitten season, it becomes much more difficult. Should you find another home for your cat, please contact us so we can work with the new owners to update the microchip information and add them to our database. Our cats should NEVER be turned into a shelter, abandoned, advertised on websites such as Craigslist, or placed in a home that is not approved by us.

*** Unless it’s a major emergency, we ask that you do not return adult cats during kitten season. If possible, please make arrangements to return them between November 30 and March 15. ***

Adoption Application