Questions to Ask When Adopting a Cat
24 questions to ask a shelter, rescue or foster carer before adopting a cat: history and returns, vet records and testing, litter box record, behaviour with other animals and children, ongoing costs, and what happens if it does not work out.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
How long has this cat been with you, and where did they come from?
Why ask it
A cat surrendered by an owner comes with a history someone can tell you. A cat found as a stray comes with none, and everything about their behaviour with children, dogs or noise is unknown rather than fine. Length of stay also tells you how much of what you are seeing is shelter stress.
Has anyone adopted and returned this cat, and what was the reason given?
Why ask it
Returns are common and not disqualifying, but the stated reason is the most useful sentence in the file. Litter box problems, aggression and hiding for weeks are very different from a landlord refusing permission.
How old are they, and how confident are you in that number?
Why ask it
Ages for strays are estimated from teeth and are often out by years. It matters because it changes what you should budget for: a cat described as three who is closer to eight is a different set of vet bills.
What has your vet found so far: weight, teeth, bloodwork, anything ongoing?
Why ask it
Ask for the record rather than a summary. Dental disease is extremely common in adult cats, frequently unmentioned, and a full extraction is one of the larger bills a new owner can meet in the first year.
Have they been tested for FIV and FeLV, and what were the results?
Why ask it
Both change how a cat should be housed, particularly if you already have cats. Testing status is a straightforward factual question, and a shelter that has not tested should be able to say why not.
What is done and what is still outstanding: vaccinations, microchip, neutering, worming, fleas?
Why ask it
The gap between what is complete and what you inherit is real money and several appointments. Ask for dates, since a vaccination given last week and one given last year mean different things for your first vet visit.
Are they on any medication now, and what does it cost each month?
Why ask it
Ongoing thyroid, kidney or urinary conditions are manageable and permanent. What you need is the monthly cost and whether the medication can be given in food, because a cat who will not take a pill changes the daily reality of the condition.
What is their litter box record here, and have there been accidents outside it?
Why ask it
Ask this plainly, because it is one of the hardest problems to resolve once the cat is home and one of the most common reasons adoptions fail. A cat who has been reliable in a stressful shelter is very likely to be reliable with you.
How do they behave when someone picks them up?
Why ask it
Ask the person who does it daily, and then try it yourself if allowed. Some cats tolerate handling briefly and then bite, which matters if there are children in the house or if the cat will need medicating.
Do they hide when something changes, and for how long?
Why ask it
Most cats hide for days after a move, and some for a fortnight or more. Knowing this cat's pattern in advance stops you concluding in week one that the adoption is going badly when it is going normally.
Have they lived with other cats, and how did that actually go?
Why ask it
Listen for detail rather than a yes. Sharing a shelter room quietly is different from sharing a home, and a cat described as fine with others who has only ever been observed at a distance has not really been tested.
Have they lived with a dog?
Why ask it
Cats who have never met one may cope, but you will be finding out in your own hallway. If you have a dog, ask whether the shelter can arrange any kind of introduction before you commit.
Have they been around young children?
Why ask it
A cat who has only known adults may find a toddler frightening rather than interesting, and a frightened cat scratches. If nobody knows, treat it as unknown and plan the first weeks accordingly.
Have they lived indoors only, or have they had outdoor access?
Why ask it
A cat used to going out may protest loudly and persistently about a flat, and one that has always been indoors is at genuine risk near a road. This is worth matching honestly to what you can offer.
What are they eating now, how much, and at what times?
Why ask it
Take the current food home with you and change it gradually if at all. Abrupt diet changes cause stomach upsets in the same week as a house move, and it is easy to mistake the result for illness.
How do they behave at the vet, and can they be given a tablet?
Why ask it
Some cats need sedation for routine examinations, which raises the cost and difficulty of ordinary care for their whole life. This is a fair thing to know before you agree, not after.
Do they scratch furniture, and have they been declawed?
Why ask it
Scratching is normal and manageable with the right posts in the right places. Declawed cats, where this has been done, can be more prone to biting and to litter box avoidance, so it changes what you should expect.
What would make you say this cat is not right for my home?
Why ask it
Describe your household honestly first: the stairs, the dog, the toddler, the twelve-hour shifts. A good rescue will tell you when it is not a match, and one that never raises an objection is placing cats rather than matching them.
What is the adoption fee, and what does it cover?
Why ask it
Fees usually include neutering, vaccination and microchipping, which are worth more than the fee itself. Ask what is not covered, and whether any free insurance period comes with it and what happens when it ends.
If it does not work out, what happens, and what support do you offer in the first month?
Why ask it
Reputable rescues take their animals back for life and will help with a behaviour problem rather than let the adoption collapse. An organisation with no return route and no follow-up is one to be cautious about.
Are they in a foster home or in the shelter, and who has actually lived with them?
Why ask it
Foster carers are the most valuable source of information available to you, because a cat in a kennel behaves almost nothing like the same cat in a living room. If there is a foster, ask to speak to them directly rather than relying on the summary on the listing.
Why did the last home give them up?
Why ask it
Most surrenders are about people rather than cats: a move, a landlord, an allergy, a death, money. But if the stated reason is behaviour, ask exactly what happened, how often, and what was tried, because that detail tells you whether it was a solvable problem or an unaddressed one.
Is there any history of urinary problems, vomiting, diarrhoea, or weight loss?
Why ask it
These four cover most of the chronic problems that turn into ongoing bills. Urinary trouble matters especially in male cats, since a blockage is an emergency, and a cat with a history of one needs a specific diet and a household that notices litter box changes quickly.
How long are they left alone in their current home, and what happens when they are?
Why ask it
Cats vary far more than their reputation suggests, and some become genuinely distressed alone, crying, over-grooming or soiling. If you work long days, this question and the answer to it should decide whether you adopt one cat or a pair who already live together.
Adopting a cat: what to check and what to expect
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
At the shelter
Talk to whoever cleans the pens
The staff member or volunteer who handles the cat daily knows more about them than the adoption coordinator does. Ask them the litter box question, the handling question and what the cat is like at seven in the morning.
Sit down and wait rather than reaching in
Sit on the floor, stay quiet, and let the cat decide. A cat who approaches on their own terms in a stressful building is telling you something real; one who is lifted out and held is telling you only that they tolerate being held.
Discount the environment, not the cat
Shelters are loud and smell of other cats. Withdrawn behaviour there often disappears at home, while confident, sociable behaviour there is a strong signal. Judge boldness on what you see and reserve judgement on shyness.
Ask for the written record
Intake notes, vet visits, weight over time and any behaviour reports. This is a normal request, and reading it yourself catches things nobody thought to mention.
Visit twice if you can
Cats have good and bad days in a shelter, and a second visit at a different time of day tells you which one you saw first.
What it costs, honestly
- Food, litter and routine flea and worm treatment, every month, for the cat's whole life.
- Annual vaccination and a check-up, plus dental work at some point for most adult cats.
- Insurance, or a savings buffer instead, for the emergency that arrives without warning.
- Setup in the first week: litter trays, a carrier that opens from the top, scratching posts, food bowls, a bed the cat will ignore.
- Boarding or a sitter for every holiday from now on.
- Ongoing medication if the cat has a managed condition, which is common in older cats.
- Replacing whatever gets scratched before the posts are in the right place.
The first two weeks at home
- 1Set up one small room with food, water, litter, a hiding place and something to scratch, and keep the rest of the house closed.
- 2Let the cat come out when they choose. Pulling a cat out from under a bed sets the process back rather than forward.
- 3Keep the food the shelter used for at least the first week, then change over slowly if you want to.
- 4Expect hiding, reduced appetite and a couple of nights of noise. Contact a vet if the cat is not eating at all after twenty-four hours, or if there is no urine or faeces in the tray after that time.
- 5Book a vet appointment for the first week or two, mainly to establish a baseline weight and a relationship.
- 6If you have another cat, keep them apart and swap bedding between rooms before they meet, then introduce through a door before face to face.
- 7Do not judge the match until a month has passed. Most cats are noticeably different animals by then.
Signals worth slowing down for
No vet records at all
Any established rescue keeps them. An organisation that cannot produce a vaccination date or a weight is either very informal or not disclosing, and both leave you with unknown costs.
Pressure to decide today
Urgency is sometimes real, but a rescue that discourages a second visit or a conversation with the person who cares for the cat is prioritising placement over the match.
No return policy
A commitment to take the cat back at any point in their life is the clearest marker of a responsible rescue. Its absence tells you where the animal will end up if something goes wrong.
Behaviour described only in positive words
Every cat has something: a dislike of being picked up, a habit of biting during play, a preference for one person. A description with no drawbacks in it means either nobody has spent time with the cat or nobody intends to tell you.