I’m really happy a lot of friends ask me about the cat adoption process, so instead of saying the same stuff again and again, I’ll write it here and give you this link! 😉
Caveat: Everything on this page is from my own experience with my own cat!
Advantages of adopting a cat from a shelter in the Netherlands
- Your cat has been checked by a vet, is chipped and vaccinated.
- Your cat has been been with the shelter for at least 2 weeks. This means the staff can give you an honest picture of your cat’s personality.
- It’s been socialised if it’s a kitten. Socialisation usually happens within the first 8 weeks of a cat’s life (so kittens younger than this aren’t usually available for adoption).
- You’re giving (your) cat a second chance.
Corollary: I’ve heard from colleagues at the animal ambulance that many cats brought to the shelter are there because the owner bought them ‘second hand’ from marktplaats, or a newspaper advert, etc.. The seller paints a less than accurate picture to make a sale, for example, that the cat is happy to stay inside. But the new owner brings the cat home to an apartment in a high-rise with no garden and the poor cat goes crazy. In frustration, the cat is brought to the shelter.
Shelters (“Asiel“)
Many shelters in the Netherlands work on “appointment only”, which means you can’t simply drop in, choose a cat and go home with it. The shelter wants to see the cat placed with a new owner (or “parent”) where there’s a good match, as well as in an environment where the cat will be happy and safe.
In practice, this means sending an email or filling out a form with information about yourself, your experience with cats, your living environment, etc.. In some cases you might need to state why you think you’d make a good match for the cat you’ve selected. If you’re lucky, you’ll be contacted by the shelter to arrange a meeting with the cat. If there’s a click…congrats! 🙂
Where to Find your Cat / Shelter
- Dierenbescherming (literally this means “Animal Protection”).
- Wamiz has much fewer shelters than Dierenbescherming and they tend to be situated quite far away from Bennekom. But as they are less well known, there is less ‘competition’ to adopt a particular cat.
This site shows available cats across many shelters registered with Animal Protection. The shelters are located all over the Netherlands. There are filters for the kind of cat you’re looking for (e.g. type, age, sex, colour, etc.) as well as for the shelter location.
The filters aren’t always accurate though, so look carefully!
Each page gives you a description of the cat – its history (if known), character type, etc. as accurately as the shelter is able to provide, and information on whether they want a form completed or an email with specific information.
Personal experience: I contacted a shelter from here about a cat and provided all of the relevant information. Within 2 hours I received a reply that the cat had already been placed and to keep an eye out on the website to see if cats are still available. i.e. the website is not up to date 🙁
Handy Hint 1
The sure way to have an “indoor cat” is to adopt one with Feline Aids (“FIV positive”) because these cats must stay indoors to prevent them from infecting other cats. I’m no expert, but I’ve read that cats with FIV can still lead healthy lives when looked after well. But please research this more.
Handy Hint 2
Choose a cat based on its personality not its looks. Beauty is only skin deep…
Stuff your cat needs
- A loving environment. Cheesy, but true.
- Cat litter.
- Grit for the cat litter. Comes as “clumping” which sticks to the crap which makes it easier to scoop out, and clumps around the piss which again, makes it easier to scoop out. You can also get non-clumping which I’ve no experience with.
- Poop scoop to scoop out the poop. It’s a cross between a trowel and a sieve so that the grit falls through but the clumps of crap remain on the scoop. Some people buy special bags to put the crap in, but I use a sheet of newspaper and bung it in the bin.
- Scratching post. Cats love scratching their claws. Give them a place to do it!
- Feeding and water bowls.
I got a load of good quality stuff in good condition at a fraction of the new price from second hand stores and – I hate to admit it – marktplats. Some stuff our cat doesn’t touch and it went back to the store. Cats are fussy! Buying new doesn’t mean it will be accepted, and ‘used’ returns aren’t always possible.
Optional stuff for your cat
Pet insurance
People don’t say “pets are expensive” for no reason. The reason they say it is because…pets are expensive! Medical costs for cats are truly astronomical.
My cat limped in from the garden with a broken leg. A consultation with the vet, surgery to pin the bone together, and another surgery to sort out the displaced kneecap was over 3,000 euros! The vet told me that most people without pet insurance would have gone for he cheapest option – amputation.
How sad for the cat 🙁
So whilst I’ve put pet insurance under “optional”, I’d argue it’s borderline to compulsory for the happy well-being of your cat. (Yeah I know 3-legged cats can be happy, but you get the gist…)
And on the financial front – a bit of cash every month you can afford to ‘lose’ is well worth it if it saves you a bill for a few thousand euros.
I use OHRA. Both my local vet (Bosweide Dierenarts) and the animal hospital in Arnhem (Evidensia) told me this was a good company for pet insurance. And indeed they’ve been awesome for my cat’s double surgery for her broken leg.
(For balance, I recommended them to someone with a puppy. It turns out out they’re already insured with the same company, pay a higher premium and get back an insultingly small amount for their dog’s medical bills. Don’t know why…)
Cat collar
My cat doesn’t like wearing hers, but it comes with a lot of advantages:
- It has a reflective strip on it, making her more visible to car drivers.
- We’ve attached a bell to it to scare birds away.
- It’s an easy sign to other people that the cat belongs to someone and is not a stray.
- It can be fitted with a small metal cannister which holds a piece of paper with your name and address (so finders of your cat who don’t have access to a chip reader know who and where the owner is)
Cat collars are designed to unclip if they’re pulled. This is to make sure your cat won’t strangle itself. This also means that you (i.e. your cat) will lose a lot of cat collars…
A tracker
A tracker will give you huge piece of mind!
GPS trackers give you accurate location information, but generally they are large and bulky and the battery-life is a few days to a week at best.
Long range bluetooth trackers like airtags (specific for iphones) or the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag 2 (specific for…you can guess!) work only if there are other people with the same phone in the vicinity of the tracker. It’s not always the case, and from what I’ve read, don’t give ‘live’ information.
My own experience: I borrowed an airtag from a friend to see how it would work as a cat tracker. I fitted it onto a special holder, then onto the cat collar and then onto the cat. 1 hour later she came back inside with no collar – let alone the borrowed tracker! No matter, it’s a tracker so I know where it is, right?
Wrong. No other iphones nearby. Stupid thing is lost. And the collar too. (But thankfully not my cat!)
Shops
Welkoop in Ede has amazing trained staff who know their stuff. They advised me well on what I needed for my cat. I saw a job advert there once which described how staff are encouraged to learn about the products they sell so they can better advise customers. And it shows! Against other branches, Ede stands out as top notch! Get a loyalty card and you get cash back (and a birthday present!)
Zoo en zo (rebranding of Pets Place?) in Ede is near the Welkoop branch. Hideously expensive, and the last time I was there they sold guinea pigs as singles (that’s a big no no…). But on the plus side, they have a huge range of stuff.
den Engelsen Dierenspeciaalzaak on Nassaulaan in Bennekom is a small local pet store in Bennekom with friendly and knowledgeable staff. It has prices befitting a small store, and as a small store it has only a small range…but also a small distance range to my house so it’s very convenient!
Questions / More Advice?
Let me know, and I’ll update this page!
Again my caveat is everything on this page is from my own experience with my own cat!
