Pre - Adoption
At BFFR, pre-adoption refers to lining up the puuurfect forever families for our younger animals to be adopted into once they are fully vet worked and medically cleared to leave care.
We list many of our kittens for pre-adoption when they are 8 weeks or older. Our animals are only deemed ready to leave care once they have had all their necessary vet work completed. This means microchip, desexing, and at least 2 vaccinations – many rescues will only provide a single vaccination before adoption, but we like to ensure our animals are as healthy and protected as can be before starting their new lives.
After completing an adoption application, potential pre-adopters will have an initial phone interview then a meet and greet at the foster home to determine if the animal they are applying for is the right fit for them and vice-versa. If all goes well, you will be approved for pre-adoption and we will begin the process of providing you with advice and support to set up your home for your new arrival so that by the time they are ready for you to pick them up, the transition is as smooth and successful as possible.
We know that adding a new family member to your life is a BIG deal, and after the hundreds of hours of care and resources we lovingly provide each and every one of our animals, it is equally as important for us to ensure they are set up for success in their new lives. We maintain relationships with our adopters ongoing in case they require extra advice or support post adoption, as well as to get much loved updates of our BFFR alumni as they grow and blossom.
Things to Consider
It’s important that you take into consideration that your new family member will need sufficient time to settle into their forever home. Before adopting, ask yourself, do you have a small room to set up base camp and do you have the time to help settle them in? This may include ensuring the first few days, you are home with them.
If you’re going away shortly after you plan to adopt, please mention this in your application as we will discuss the best time to look into adoption. If you’re going away in the future, do you have someone who can look after your pets or a plan of where they will stay?
When adopting a new pet, you will need to take the time to slowly introduce them to an existing pet. We have guidelines on how this needs to be done and this process needs to be followed to give both animals the best chance at becoming friendly towards each other. A rushed process may lead to a failed introduction and furthermore, a failed adoption. Please be prepared to take the necessary time and steps for a safe and happy introduction.
Adopting an animal is a huge commitment, in most cases this will be 15 – 20+ years. Ask yourself, are you ready to commit to caring for an animal for this long.
Veterinary visits are an essential part of owning an animal and unfortunately, just like humans, animals will get sick too. You will need to be prepared for an annual check-up, annual vaccination and any potential illnesses that may arise and require treatment to keep your family member happy and healthy.
Pre-Adoption FAQ
Yes, a meet and greet is necessary as we require our carers to meet potential adopters in person before determining if they are the right fit for the animal they are applying for and vice-versa. We want to ensure we make the right decision for both our animals and their adopters and that we are confident that we are setting them up for success.
At the time of organising a pre-adoption, many of our kittens are still at least a month or slightly longer away from being ready to go to their forever homes. To avoid disappointment, we cannot guarantee an exact date of pickup until after 7-10 days post desexing. We need to ensure that their desexing wound is fully healed before they leave care to avoid any complications such as infection or their wound reopening.
Although we are unable to provide exact dates of pick up, our team will keep our pre-adopters updated through the process of their new fur baby receiving their vet work. Once they have received their final vaccination, our vets will give them their post-op health check to ensure they are ready to head to their furever homes.
We do not proceed with desexing our animals until they are at least 1kg and 10-12 weeks of age. This helps ensures they are at a healthy age and weight for such a big procedure. Desexing is not guaranteed to be completed during the 10-12 week of age mark due to the schedules of both veterinary clinics and the foster carer, and if there are any health concerns. At times appointments may have to be rescheduled due to unforeseen circumstances.
No, all of our animals are legally required to be fully vet worked by us before they leave our care. We only work with a select few vet clinics that we trust to provide the highest possible quality of care and ensure that all of our animals are given ample time to fully recover from their procedures in a calm and familiar environment where we can observe and treat them for any potential complications.
There is no guarantee that you will be approved on the day of your meet and greet for pre-adoption, however if you would like to bring along a blanket, teddy or something else that you could leave so that if you are approved your fur baby will have an item familiar to them with their scent to take home with them on their adoption day.
Along with the supporting documentation that we send via email to our adopters, we also have a Facebook group available for our adopters to join where they can interact with the BFFR team, foster carers and those who have also adopted from us.
Look who is available for PRE-Adoption
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