Processing Adoptions for Offsite Cats

Streamlining your adoption process, like Bucks County SPCA did with its offsite adoptions, helps get cats into loving homes quicker. The Pennsylvania agency’s length of stay was reduced by two-thirds for cats adopted offsite!

Conversational Adoption Counseling

Bucks County follows conversational adoption counseling principles, like those outlined in The Humane Society of the United States’ Adopters Welcome handbook. With conversational adoptions, counselors recognize adopters come to them with meaningful experiences and together they work in a non-judgmental way to find adopters a suitable pet.

Conversational adoption counseling allows for a shorter adoption application since much of the information you need to make good matches is gathered from speaking directly with the adopter. Bucks County staff members were so happy with their one-page offsite adoption application, they started using it at the shelter too. And the shorter application makes it easier to fax or scan from a remote location.

Linda Reider, executive director of Bucks County SPCA, recommends the following:

• Check for overnight faxes/scans of adoption applications each morning and throughout the day
• Use a dedicated fax line so partners never need to wait to send you an application—or have them scan and email applications
• Consider asking your partner contact to call or text you when an application is being faxed or scanned so that you can process it right away

As soon as someone submits an application for a cat, place an “on hold/adoption pending” sign on the cat’s kennel so that everyone is aware of the animal’s status. Be sure to remove the sign if the adoption falls through.

Sending Animals Home

Ideally, there should be no more than a 24-48 hour wait between when an application for a cat is submitted and when that cat is sent home.

When an animal is picked up, it is important to have a volunteer or staff member onsite to ensure that the exchange goes smoothly. Payment is accepted onsite and can be cash (exact change only), credit card or check and is stored in a secure lockbox.

Reider suggests keeping these details in mind at pick-up:

• Some stores may need to institute an evening deadline for cat pick-up because staff may be too busy tending to closing tasks to manage a pick-up
• Consider scheduling appointments for pick-ups so you can be sure to have someone available to assist

Reider has two separate paperwork packets for each cat: a “Give to Pet Parent” packet and a “Pet Parent Must Sign” packet.

The following items are in the “Give to Pet Parent Packet”:

• Adoption contract (adopter copy)
• Medical and behavioral history
• Microchip information
• Coupons for cat food
• Map to your shelter (for returns)
• URI instruction sheet
• Health insurance information

The following items are in the “Pet Parent Must Sign” packet and are returned to the shelter:

• Adoption contract (shelter copy)
• Microchip re-registration
• Special adoption agreement waiver (if animal has any behavioral or medical concerns)
• Payment of adoption fee receipt (documents method and amount of payment)

Replenishing Cats

It’s important to have an accurate status on every cat at all offsite locations so you are prepared to replace an adopted cat with an available cat right away. At Bucks County, there is a standing order for 25-35 cats per week. For smaller programs, having one or two cats prepped and ready to fill in should be adequate.

This is part 4 in a series

More

• Successful Offsite Cat Adoptions
• Working with Offsite Adoption Partners
• Preparing for Offsite Cat Adoptions