Sunny Harbour operate a strict adoption process which consists of our Adoption Application Form as a first step to enable us to assess suitability and compatibility with the cats we have at the rescue.

Once we have received your form we will then contact you to let you know if your preferred cat is a suitable match or if not, provide you with details of other cats that are suitable.  You will then be invited to visit with said cat(s) at Sunny Harbour at a designated appointment to discuss suitability further.

At this meeting you will be given all information about said cat(s) and be given a care pack to take home, read and asked  to consider the discussions had at this meeting.  You will be asked to contact us within 48 hours to discuss your thoughts and if both sides are agreeable to an adoption you will be informed of how to proceed.

Staff from Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue will visit your home as part of our adoption process.  The stage at which this happens can vary depending on various criteria. The purpose of this is not to pry but to ensure a safe environment for said cat or kitten and to ensure that you have considered all aspects of caring for your pet.  More so, this is to offer advice and information as relevant or needed.

Applications should be submitted using our online Application Form here.

Typically you will hear back from Sunny Harbour within 24 – 48 hours however during exceptionally busy times it can take up to 4 or 5 days.  If longer than this has passed and you have not heard from Sunny Harbour then please check with us to ensure your form was successfully received.

If your application is successful you will be invited to visit Sunny Harbour and meet with Sarah & Paul and the cat(s) in question we feel are suitable for you.  We do not permit a ‘pick and buy’ approach and if this is what you wish we are not the rescue for you.

You will not be permitted to leave Sunny Harbour with said cat(s) on the same day as your visit.

The adoption donation at Sunny Harbour is £100 per cat or kitten who is vet health checked, neutered (if over 6mths of age), microchipped, flea & worm treated, and comes with food voucher, Pet Remedy New Home Pack (worth £28) and 1 months full insurance cover. They are also vaccinated where possible.

Cats leaving Sunny Harbour will have been vet health checked, neutered (if 6mths or older), vaccinated where possible, microchipped, wormed, de-flead, and insured for the first month by Pet Plan.  We also provide a Pet Remedy New Home Pack (worth £28) and vouchers for Royal Canin food to allow you to continue their current diet while they settle in.  These vouchers can be redeemed through Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue and generate free food donations for future cats at the rescue when they are redeemed.

Funds from adoption donations go directly to Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue to help care for our existing cats & kittens.  This donation does not begin to cover the costs involved in the care of each individual cat we rehome but helps in some small way to meeting a small portion of our running costs.  All staff at Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue including Paul & Sarah are unpaid so all funds raised through our fundraising and adoption donations goes to pay for food and veterinary care.

For more details on the costs involved please have a read through the cost breakdown here.

Yes, you will receive a detailed care pack at your adoption meeting.

You can contact Sunny Harbour for advice regarding feeding, grooming and routine care queries at any time following adoption.

Kittens younger than 6 months of age will generally not be rehomed to adoptees with children under 5 years old.   There are a number of reasons for this policy and we can assure you that it is not that we are anti children! (we even have 2 of our own)

Small kittens are very fragile and often suffer from broken bones and minor injuries un-noticed by owners from over zealous children who, through no act of intentional harm cause injury. They simply do not know how to handle or interact with young kittens appropriately and it is not the first time a very young kitten has been killed as a running toddler fell on them.

Also, many young kittens find babies and toddlers very scary and despite the old wives tale that getting a kitten to grow up with a toddler will mean they get on – it does, in most cases work in the opposite way. Many kittens brought into the home for young children grow up to become fear aggressive and nervous and find themselves back in rescue before they reach 2 years old.

Also, as we said above we have a fantastic youngster of our own who has been brought up with very strict rules around the cats and we still wouldn’t allow him to pick up and handle any cats at all as he is unknowingly over eager and too rough in handling them and makes them scared or they may even get hurt.  Through our experiences with him it made us even more sure that homes with young children and kittens are a bad combination.

We do not rehome kittens before 12 weeks of age under ANY circumstances.

More information can be found on our website under the Adoption menu option or by calling us on 0300 330 1412.

We sometimes have kittens come into the rescue on their own who having been on their own for a long time and would cope fine being re-homed on their own.

Outside of these circumstances we don’t generally adopt single kittens brought up at Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue into homes where there is no existing cats, as our kittens thrive in the company of other cats.  Where a household has no existing pets we will always look to place kittens raised at the rescue in pairs.  This provides physical, emotional and behavioural advantages for the kittens and owners alike.

We LOVE applications from indoor only homes and are always happy to dispel the myth of indoor cat = unhappy cat.  Indoor cats live just as happy, fulfilled lives providing their owners recognise and stimulate their needs.  We are always happy to provide advice on Indoor Cats.