Feline Adoption Application




Adopting this feline means that the adopter (including all other members of the household) agrees to:






Adopter (including all other members of the household) understands that:








Kitten and Cat Health Information for Adopters

Thank you for adopting your cat from Kitten Division! Because of your adoption, you have helped save not only the life of the cat that you adopted but even more lives because for every cat we can place into a forever home, we can provide care and a chance at a forever home for another homeless cat waiting for the opportunity.

This informational handout will describe some illnesses and diseases that kitties may develop and is intended to provide education and help answer some questions you may have after you bring your new cat home.

Transition into a new home is very stressful for kitties. Stress can cause severe immune system compromise. For this reason, we highly recommend that you schedule a physical exam with your veterinarian within a few days of bringing your new cat home. Your veterinarian can check to see if your new cat is developing any illnesses due to their compromised immune system during the period of transition.

While at Kitten Division, your cat has received all necessary vaccines appropriate for their age. Depending on how long your cat was in our care, they may still require boosters to be fully protected from the diseases of concern. Kittens adopted at younger than 4 months of age may need their rabies vaccine when they reach 4 months old and adopter will need to arrange for this vaccination with their veterinarian.

Cats adopted from Kitten Division have also received:
• Routine deworming to rid them of potential roundworm infection. If other types of parasites were diagnosed, they will have received treatment for those as well.
• Flea control when they arrived at Kitten Division
• FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) testing
• Spay or neuter surgery
• Microchip as permanent identification.

While we try to provide the best possible health care for the cats while they are in our care, we hope you understand that because Kitten Division is a non-profit animal rescue organization, we do not have the resources to perform every diagnostic test necessary to obtain a definitive diagnosis. We do however, try to perform as many tests as necessary to be able to provide information to adopters so that they can make informed decisions about whether they have the resources necessary to care for a particular cat. Cats who require specific veterinary care have received the best care that we can provide to control any health problems they had when they entered our care or developed while they were at Kitten Division. The majority of cats in our care do not come to us with any kind of health history and we only know as much about their health as they are willing to show us. Although some of the pets adopted from Kitten Division may not have exhibited any signs of health problems while they were at Kitten Division, you and your veterinarian may discover a health problem after adoption.

By submitting this online Adoption Application and Contract, adopter indicates their understanding of these more common issues that could arise when adopting a new cat, regardless of whether adopted from Kitten Division or acquired by any other source.

_____ Upper Respiratory Infection (URI): A very common health problem that cats may develop soon after adoption is URI. The most common cause of URI is viral which requires the cat’s immune system to resolve. Signs of uncomplicated URI include sneezing with clear nasal discharge with or without decreased appetite and/or activity. Often cats will develop secondary bacterial infections which may require antibiotics to prevent progression to pneumonia. Indications of secondary bacterial infection include yellow or green nasal discharge. Your cat may have conjunctivitis as part of the URI complex and this may require topical treatment to prevent permanent damage to their eye. Exposure to the organisms that cause URI likely occurred from their mother or other cats your cat may have been exposed to. Any compromise to their immune system may allow these organisms to cause illness in your cat. The good news is that once your cat gets over their bout of URI, is settled into your home and their immune system is no longer compromised by stress, they are unlikely to develop URI unless their immune system becomes compromised again.

_____ Diarrhea: This is usually due to a combination of diet change and the stress of transitioning into a new home. Changes in type of food, time of feeding, type of dish, location of feeding may all play a role in causing a change in stool quality. Sometimes a change to a bland diet for a short amount of time may help regulate the stool. For some kitties, they may just need a little time to adjust to your home to settle their tummies. Some kittens may have diarrhea because of intestinal parasites. While we routinely deworm all cats, there are many types of intestinal parasites that kittens can be infected with. Your veterinarian may recommend a fecal exam in case the parasite eggs were missed.

_____ Ringworm: Ringworm is a superficial skin infection caused by a fungus. The young of all species, including people, are most likely to develop lesions. Signs of ringworm in both kittens and people are usually one or more circular patches of fur / hair loss with or without skin crusting and redness. Typically, kittens will resolve their ringworm infection when their immune systems mature but because ringworm can infect people, kittens should be treated to decrease the length of time that they can act as a source of infection. At Kitten Division, we make every effort to only make kittens that do not have signs of ringworm available for adoption.

_____ Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP): FIP is a complicated disease that may develop in kittens. FIP is a devastating disease caused by a common virus called the Feline Corona Virus. For many kittens, the Corona virus may only cause a transient bout of diarrhea or upper respiratory signs during the initial infection. However, up to 10% of infected kittens develop FIP, either due to a mutation of the Corona virus or how the kitten’s immune system deals with the virus, or a combination of both. Most often signs of FIP are non-specific and can include decreased appetite, chronic intermittent diarrhea, weight loss, un-thriftiness, potbellied appearance, respiratory difficulty, or neurological problems. Infection with Corona virus is usually from their mother and kittens can develop FIP at any age but most commonly the signs of FIP develop at about 4-18 months of age. Once clinical signs of FIP appear, the disease is most always fatal. FIP is a very frustrating disease for veterinarians to diagnose, and ultimately sad disease for cat owners, because there is currently no specific method to test for FIP and a majority of kittens have been exposed to Corona virus as it is very common. If a cat’s test result indicates s/he was infected with Corona virus, there is no way to predict whether it will progress to FIP. If a cat has clinical signs suggestive of FIP and the test results are positive for Corona virus infection, it may help to support the diagnosis of FIP but it is not conclusive since the signs of FIP are non-specific and can be due to other causes.

_____ Birth Defects: Because the numbers of kittens that come into Kitten Division’s care, some will have been born with congenital birth defects. Some of these defects will be observable and for those that don’t seem to compromise the kitten’s quality of life or that can be corrected with the resources at our disposal, these kittens are available for adoption. However, some kittens may have birth defects that have no observable signs or they may have unobservable defects in addition to those that we find and correct. These hidden defects may not cause the kitten any problems until after they have been adopted. We hope that you will still love your kitten and if veterinary care is required, that you can afford the care. If the burden of the kitten’s birth defect is too great or your veterinarian feels strongly that the kitten is suffering, you can always contact Kitten Division to return the kitten.