Giving up part of your family should be your last resort. Before you decide to surrender your cat, consider the reason for the rehoming. CC4C strongly recommends that you do everything possible to keep your cat, e.g., work through behavior problems, take the cat for a physical checkup, find an apartment that does take pets, find a boarding kennel that accepts pets, etc., because re-homing is challenging and may not provide a better or safer home than your cat already has with you.
Please note that CC4C does not have a shelter and cannot accept surrendered cats that have been pets.
If you are considering surrender due to…
- a behavioral problem, see Behavior Modification or Litter Box Behavior
- transitioning between housing,
- contact your family and friends to see if they can house your pet until your situation changes and you are able to take your pet back,
- call veterinarian offices or boarding facilities to see if they offer savings for a lengthier stay
- contact qualified pet sitters to see if they might assist you
- medical or financial hardship, see Medical Financial Assistance, Pet Food Resources – Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (arflife.org)
If you must rehome your cat…
- Notify friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers that you need to re-home your cat. If you choose to advertise on Nextdoor or rehome to someone you do not know, always charge at least a $50 adoption fee to ensure it is not used for snake food, dog fighting, sold to a laboratory for testing, or other ill intent.
- If you are able to continue housing the cat and it is spayed/neutered, then a CC4C member may be able to sponsor you to bring the cat to our adoption site on the weekends or provide a courtesy posting online.
- Check other organizations for assistance:
- We recommend that you surrender your pet to a shelter ONLY as your last option.
Do not abandon your cat by leaving it outside, thinking it will survive on its own. Abandoned cats typically do not survive outside, and die of starvation, disease, dehydration, accidents, being attacked by a wild animal, suffer injuries, and are helpless.