Admissions to the Ark

Sometimes cat owners can be faced with circumstances which prevent them from keeping their cats any longer or in continuing to provide good care and affection.  Factors such as working or travelling long hours, homelessness, illness, relationship break-ups, poverty, changes in circumstances, etc, are typical reasons for this. 

At Westgate Ark Cat Refuge, we accept that sometimes this unhappy situation is going to occur, and we try to constructively help find suitable new homes for such cats, rather than trying to preach or criticise. Pets are a serious commitment and no one should take animals on lightly, but sometimes things do go wrong, and people make mistakes. Where this happens we are a Refuge that is dedicated to trying to help both the cats affected and their owners.

Relocation

If you need to surrender your cat due to circumstances beyond your control, then

you may complete the Surrender Application Form below. Surrendered cats are temporalily housed with us, and cared for at the Ark, whilst we endeavour to find them quality new permanent homes that match their needs.

Not all cats are suitable for admission to the Ark, or for rehoming, but we help where we can.

Rescue Cats

We try to admit as many cats as we can from living rough without a carer, along with cats who have abandoned, lost or mistreated, as well as those born feral. These cats can be far harder to care for and find homes for, sometimes, the only realistic long-term option with feral cats is to help get them neutered, and then placed on a suitable location where they are wanted, such as on agricultural land or stables.

If we rescue feral kittens at a young age, then it may be possible to domesticate them through gradual increased exposure to people.  Sometimes this can be successful, but the window of opportunity to do so is very narrow.

Cats suitable for admission

The Ark works best when rehoming healthy domestic cats who just need a temporary place of care and safety, while our experience is used to find them permanent loving new homes appropriate to the individual cat.

If a cat's health issues, character, or behaviour make a cat unhomeable, then it it may be difficult for us to admit the cat if rehoming is most unlikely. We can't solve every issue, and it would be unreasonable to expect us to tie up a room indefinitely, thus denying other cats a chance of help!

Treatment of our Volunteers

Our volunteers work hard for the cats we admit and care for, and are generally the best and most caring of people. Cat rescue work, especially the areas of  admissions and homing, can be very emotional for people, different views may be held by different parties and frustration is possible.

Despite this our volunteers must be treated with curtesy, respect and politeness. Management policies at the Ark forbid any tolerance at all of rude, threatening or unpleasant behaviour levelled towards our staff or organisation. This includes both physical and online abuse. We will not help anyone who is bullying or aggressive.