Our Adoption Process
If you’re looking to add a furry member to your family, this could be the start of your journey!
We operate as a foster home for Gutter Kitties and 9 Lives Orphanage. We act on behalf of these rescues, helping to facilitate the cats’ adoptions when they are ready to move on to forever homes, with 100% of the adoption fees going back to the rescue.
We run our adoptions very different from most. It’s very much a bespoke adoption service, where we undertake a thorough vetting process. This involves multiple meetings where we will ask you lots of questions so we can best gauge if you are a good fit for the cat(s) you’re interested in.
Our adoption process can take up to several weeks as we do it while running the business and juggling full-time jobs. If you are hoping to adopt a cat quickly, then we are not the avenue for you.
To be clear: we don’t ever do rush / same-day adoptions or operate on a “first to apply, first to get” type arrangement and we will never adopt a cat out contactless. Adopting a cat is not a transaction; our foster cats are not for sale, they are up for adoption. This means we decide who we feel is the best, most suitable home for the cats.
It is our goal to match each foster cat in our care to the family that best suits the cat’s needs. We are looking for serious families who see having a cat in their home as more than “just a pet” and understand that when you adopt a cat, you are committing to looking after them for their entire life.
Please note that more often than not we do favor and push for pair adoptions. In the rare occasion we do have a single cat up for adoption, we would prioritize a home that already has another resident cat as cats do thrive best on company and in a social setting.
Adoption Criteria
To adopt one of our foster cats, you must:
be at least 21 years old
be a NZ citizen or permanent resident
have landlord permission to have a cat, if renting
most importantly understand that adopting a cat is a serious decision. It’s essentially adding a new member to your family and can potentially be a 20-year commitment.
You must have met and spent some time with our fosters first - please don’t submit an expression of interest otherwise. We always endeavour to take multiple expressions of interest for each foster before taking the time to consider each one and which family will be the best fit.
Please note fosters that have recently arrived won’t be available for adoption just yet. Do not fill in an expression of interest form or email us during this time as you will not be considered. We take the time to first get to know each foster so we can ascertain what sort of family and living situation will best suit them before listing them for adoption.
We will always post on our social media and update our Adopt Me page when we are ready to take expressions of interest.
Adoption Process
If you are interested in adopting from us, the first step is to book a visit to meet the cats! To reiterate, you will not be considered if you haven’t met the cat(s) you are expressing interest in.
There are 2 ways to meet our foster cats:
Book in General Entry (admission $20.50pp, age restriction applies) for an initial quick ‘meet and greet’
You will be given the opportunity to pop into our adoption room during your session for a brief visit. Flag with us when you’re in that you are interested in adopting so that we definitely get you in.Book in Adoption Room Entry (admission $10.50pp, age restriction applies) by making a booking HERE
If you would prefer to only just meet our foster cats, we are able to do adoption room only entry on selected days / times, subject to availability.
We will often recommend booking in at least one more follow up visit so you can spend more time with the foster cat / kitten you’re considering on two different occasions.
Met the cats and 100% keen to adopt?
Fill in our expression of interest form here. (Again: please do not submit this if you have not met the cats or if the cat(s) in question aren’t up for adoption yet - you will not be considered.) Please supply us with as much information as possible - the more detail, the better. If we believe you could be a good match with the cat(s) you are hoping to adopt, we will get in touch in due course to meet in person and discuss further.
Please note filling this form does not guarantee adoption. Out of consideration for the time and energy that goes into considering all expressions of interest, please do not apply on a whim and please do not submit one when we are not taking expressions of interest for the cat you are interested in or again, if you have not met the cats. Apply only when certain that you are ready, able to adopt, and that you meet all the adoption criteria.
Once you’ve submitted your expression of interest, please be patient to hear back as we do receive lots of expressions of interest and as mentioned we do this alongside running the business and while juggling our full-time jobs as well. Following up with us or resending your expression of interest will not expedite this process.
Successful Adoption Requests
After we have gone through all expressions of interest forms, we will be in touch (either way). If we believe you may be a good fit for the cat you’re interested in, we will arrange a time to meet with you to discuss further.
Following this meeting, if we decide you are the best match, then the next step will be to pay the adoption fees to secure the cat(s) and to complete the adoption contract.
The adoption fees per cat generally ranges between $100 and $220 per cat depending on the age of the cat and the rescue. All cats and kittens will be desexed, microchipped, up-to-date with their flea/worm treatment and had their first vaccination. They will also be signed up to 30 days free pet insurance with Pet-n-Sur.
Once the rescue have confirmed receipt of the adoption fee, we will then arrange a day / time that works for both of us for you to come and collect your new fur baby! This will usually be 7-10 days later to give you time to buy supplies and prepare your home. During this time we will email you some tips and recommendations (tailored to the cat) on how to best get the cat to settle into their new home.
On the day of collection, we will conduct a thorough handover to go through any final pertinent information. And if it’s okay with you - we will snap a photo of you with your new fur-mily member so we can share the good news on our social media!
When you adopt from us, you will also receive a Hill’s Pet Nutrition adoption pack which includes a small bag of Hill’s Kitten / Adult food and some comfort items for the cat.
Post-Adoption
We always check in after the cat’s first night in their new home to see how they went. We will then usually check in again after about 3 months but we are always happy to to be contacted by our adopters if they did need any advice further down the track.
As we care for every one of our fosters like they are our own, we love receiving updates on how they are doing - it gives us great joy to see them live their best lives!
Still need more info?
Email us on purrsandbeansnz@gmail.com if you have any further questions. Please only do so if your question hasn’t been answered above. If you’re wondering what cats are up for adoption, you can check our Adopt Me page or our social media.
