I suggest that we begin with an application, then you and whoever else lives in your household on a regular basis come to visit, and together we'll select a good match.

Please note that rescue is at its peak time and maximum capacity during this time of year: rescuers are drowning in work to save lives, but still, many cats die because they don't get into rescue fast enough or not at all. We encourage you to please decide carefully but swiftly whether or not you are ready to move forward with an adoption... and if so, please move quickly. Also, we encourage you to remind us and "pester" us when you don't get responses: we are only human and so overwhelmed at this time that something might get lost by accident unless you take charge and help the process along. Thank you.

I have to “warn” you: there will be “adoption fees” and an application process. I will explain each item in more detail, please read on…

In terms of “adoption fees”, the money really is not a fee but rather reimbursement of the basic medical expenses that we incurred, and that varies from cat to cat. Note that this does not include cost of flea meds, ear mite meds, antibiotics, food, litter, urinalyses, blood work, surgeries on sick animals, most dental work, grooming, food, litter, supplies,… Any of those interventions we usually don’t recover and have to pay from personal savings (which, if you figure in how MANY cats need those interventions, runs into double digits of thousands of dollars per year, sadly enough). While the reimbursement varies from cat to cat, I can give you the general pattern for “fees”:

• To get them vaccinated (usually the “starter set” of two feline distemper vaccines, plus a rabies vaccine which must be given by a vet thus requires a medical exam and an exam fee) and tested for FIV and FeLV -- all of which is standard procedure -- I pay $150, which I would like to recover in full. This amount constitutes a discount rate, as we get “mass discounts” due to the number of animals we take to the vet, and due to the vet wishing to support our rescue efforts.
• All cats get an ID microchip so that, should they ever accidentally get out, you can be identified as owner and reunited with your kitty; since I get rescue discounts for both the chip and the registration, I get this done for a one-time fee of $25. The chip stays active during the cat's entire life, and contact info can be updated and changed as necessary. (Usually, at a vet clinic, one pays between $55 and $95 for the chip plus registration... but knowing that adoption also has a price tag attached, we work horribly hard to do most of the work while the cat is in the rescue thus gets rescue discounts, and to ask for reimbursement of those low costs from the adopter).
• If a cat needs to be spayed (female), then that adds $50, while neutering a male costs $45. But older cats usually were previously spayed or neutered, which gives a financial advantage to balance the age disadvantage. We do not ever release cats unaltered, it's a matter of policy and our unwavering commitment to help with the cat overpopulation. It's either we spay/neuter prior to release, or people need to get a cat someplace else.
• If it helps in doing the math, please take into account that I am willing to accept two half-price checks to spread out the payments. Also, please consider that having a pet is and always will be expensive, no doubt about that.

• Please take a close look and truly compare “apples to apples”. When you adopt from a shelter for only $25 or so, then usually the cat has only its first distemper vaccine, if that. Which leaves you with another distemper vaccine, plus the rabies vaccine, plus a vet visit, plus the FIV and FeLV tests (because you really need to know what you are dealing with)... and you'll be above the $150 before you know it. Unfortunately, shelters don't say that outright, as to not scare away adopters... but it makes us rescuers look like vultures when, in fact, we offer a great deal in that all the vetting is already done, and done cheaply, and the animals are cleaned up and healthy (which is particularly of importance with longhairs that tend to be a mess when they get dumped, like the Persians and Himalayans). Also, remember that county shelters, as government-subsidized operations, get supported by your tax dollars and mine; out of the home rescues don’t get that privilege and have to manage on personal savings, thus are always much more threatened by bankruptcy than shelters. Yet, little rescues often do a fabulous job in physically and emotionally rehabilitating cats that, frankly, in shelters would simply get euthanized. So, when considering “fees”, please understand that your money helps us to keep going on with saving lives… these moneys are definitely not for personal use or fun or bureaucratic overhead, trust me.

Now, about the application as such, please keep reading...

Please note and take into consideration that these documents are NOT designed to upset you or scare you off; they are the result of years of rescue experience, which, at times, included very unpleasant experiences. Thus, the documents were altered and fine-tuned to keep our rescue legally protected (so that we don't get sued), to make sure that, if there ever were abuse, a court order would give us the right to retrieve our animal (so that adopters cannot say: "I didn't know I was supposed to feed the cat every day... so I did it once a week or every other week and thought that was enough"), to keep the animals safe (so that we can send away applicants with poor vet history or with convictions of past animal cruelty) and to adopt them into appropriate, loving homes (so that they don't end up in hoarder situations as one of a gazillion cats later confiscated by Animal Control due to neglect). Believe me: we have seen it ALL! So, having that in mind, I hope you won't feel like you are subjected to the FBI, the "Feline Bureau of Investigation", and can follow the instructions:

APPLICATION -- Please print, fill out, and fax back to me at 703.995.0391 (my e-fax number) OR use the Word document to directly type in your answers (never mind re-formatting), save, and return as email attachment. When I receive and review it and everything checks out, you are an approved adopter. From that point, we can schedule a visit, and you'll be on your way.

RULES & CONTRACT -- For preview at this time. Front page spells out our expectations of good adopters, and reverse page has adoption language. Together, when signed, they make a legally binding document. You will be asked to sign this when you take home your kitty. However, previewing it might trigger early yet important thoughts, questions, or concerns and save all of us from possible later surprises, so I encourage you to have a look.

Last but not least, as you are considering a trip to see cats, please note that most cats reside in our home in Berryville, VA (which is 10 minutes East of Winchester) unless otherwise noted in their description. If there is a comment about another location, then the visit you should plan goes to another foster home per Petfinder description. You will get detailed addresses and directions when you are preapproved and a visit is being scheduled. ALL of our foster homes are volunteers, there is no “facility” here. ALMOST ALL of them work day jobs, so please bear with the foster families as they do their best to schedule a visit with you, and keep in mind that you not only will come to the foster family’s home but will spend some of their volunteered spare time as they let you visit the cat(s).

If you have further questions, please email away.

Margarete