Cats Protection has launched a new Hands-Free Homing scheme to allow potential owners to adopt a cat online while centres remain closed to the public.
Prospective owners keen to share their homes with a furry companion can browse the cats on offer via the charity’s website at www.cats.org.uk/hands-free-homing.
Photos, videos and full descriptions of all the moggies will be available to give new owners as much information as possible before they select their chosen cat.
If a match is made, Cats Protection will arrange a virtual meet-up to do the necessary checks, and once the adoption fee has been paid, the cat will be delivered to its new home in a Cats Protection van, with social distancing rules strictly observed.
All Cats Protection cats come neutered, microchipped and with a clean bill of health.
Follow-up care calls over the following couple of weeks will ensure that the cat and their new owners are both happy, with plenty of support and advise available via the Cats Protection website.
Claire Bekkenhorst from Sutton, Surrey and her eleven-year old son Cooper adopted seven-year old black cat Wilfrey from Cats Protection’s Mitcham Homing Centre under the new scheme and couldn’t be happier.
Claire said: “We are so in love with Wilfrey. He has bonded so specially with my son and follows him everywhere. They have become very firm friends and sleep together every night. For a seven-year old cat he is super playful and inquisitive. He has loads of toys, to be honest, his favourite game is chasing his own tail.
“We are so very grateful to Cats Protection for matching us with Wilfrey. We lost our first cat in January and I honestly couldn’t imagine another cat coming in to our lives and being adored so much, but it turns out it is possible.”
Cats Protection’s Director of Operations Mark Beazley said: “This is a fantastic scheme, which will not only help us to find loving homes for cats in our care but can also help provide much needed companionship for people at this difficult time.
“We know from our own research that nine out of 10 owners say their cat has a positive effect on their mental wellbeing. And two thirds also said that their cat helps them calm down when working from home, which it looks like many of us will be continuing to do for some time to come.”
