If you are thinking about getting a cat, adoption is the best place to start. Wherever you live in Australia, thousands of cats and kittens in shelters or foster care need permanent homes.
If you can provide a safe, happy home, adopting a cat is a rewarding pursuit that will bring you both joy for many years to come.
The cat you adopt may share your home for the next fifteen years or more, which means it’s important to choose the right match.
The cat you fall for first might be perfect for you. They may also be a high-energy kitten who needs another young cat, a timid adult who would hate your busy household, or a confident cat who has no intention of sharing territory with the cat you already own.
From age, temperament, energy, social needs and care requirements, here are some tips to help you choose the right cat for your home and lifestyle.
Start with your life, not the adoption listings
Before you look at cats, look at your household.
How much time are you usually home? Do you travel often? Is the house quiet or busy? Are there children, dogs or other cats? Do you rent? Are you prepared for daily litter cleaning, scratching, veterinary bills and the possibility that your cat may live well into their teens?
None of these questions is designed to talk you out of adoption. They help narrow down what kind of cat is likely to thrive with you.
A very sociable young cat may love a household where someone is usually around, while a calm adult may suit a person who works full-time. A shy cat may blossom in a quiet home but struggle in one with frequent visitors and energetic children.
The attendants at the rescue organisation will be valuable sources of information. They can help you choose a cat that will best suit the environment you can offer.
Make sure the timing is right
Before you commit to adoption, be sure that it’s the right time to add a cat to your family.
If you are about to move house, travel for several weeks, renovate extensively or go through another major upheaval, it may be kinder to let that period settle first.
Likewise, think beyond this month. A cat is a long commitment. You don’t need to know exactly where you will be in 15 years, but you do need a realistic plan for housing, veterinary care, holidays and the everyday costs of ownership.
If you decide the timing is not quite right to adopt a cat, that is not a failure. Waiting until the household is ready can be one of the most responsible adoption decisions you make.
If you are about to move house, travel for several weeks, or go through a major upheaval, it may be kinder to let that period settle first.
Kitten or adult cat?
Kittens are extremely persuasive.
They are also tiny agents of chaos who require more supervision, more play, more teaching and often more social interaction than people expect.
A kitten’s adult personality is still developing, which means there’s a little more uncertainty. Very young kittens may also do best with another compatible kitten or young cat, particularly when a rescue recommends adoption as a pair.
Adult cats have one significant advantage: you are often adopting less of a mystery and more of a known personality.
An adult cat may come with an established preference for quiet, people, other cats, laps, independence or all of the above. Foster carers and rescue staff can often tell you how the cat behaves in a home, which is incredibly useful when you are trying to make a match.
Adult cats can also be easier for households that want companionship without the intensity of kittenhood.
And then there are senior cats, who are often overlooked despite being some of the loveliest cats to live with. An older cat may want a quieter home, predictable routines and plenty of comfort rather than three hours of evening parkour.
Don’t choose by colour, breed or photograph alone
There’s no shame in having a soft spot for ginger cats or fluffy tabbies but looks tell you very little about whether a cat will enjoy your home.
A beautiful long-haired cat may require regular grooming. A particular breed may have health considerations or an activity level you hadn’t anticipated. Two cats who look almost identical can have completely different temperaments.
Photographs are especially unreliable. The solemn cat hiding at the back of a shelter enclosure may be affectionate and confident once settled into a home. The cat reaching dramatically through the bars may turn out to be charming but relentlessly busy.
Read the description. Ask about behaviour. If the cat is in foster care, pay particular attention to what the foster carer has observed in an ordinary household.
Read the rescue profile recommendations
Good adoption descriptions contain clues that are easy to skim past when you are already emotionally invested.
Phrases such as ‘would prefer a quiet home’, ‘needs a cat companion’, ‘must be the only pet’, ‘confident with dogs’, ‘best with older children’ or ‘takes time to warm up’ are not decorative biography.
They are part of the matching process.
If a rescue says a cat needs a feline friend in the home, don’t apply hoping to convince them that your cat-free apartment will be fine. If a cat has struggled with other animals, adopting them into a busy multi-pet household is setting you all up for failure.
The rescue may know the cat from a shelter environment, a foster home or both. Their recommendations should carry more weight than the picture you have already formed from three photos and a name.
Ask questions from current carers
If the cat is living with a foster carer, you have access to something unusually valuable: information about normal life.
Ask where the cat sleeps. Are they affectionate immediately or only after they trust someone? Do they like being picked up? Are they playful? Do they hide when visitors arrive? How do they react to noise? Have they lived with children, cats or dogs?
Ask what a normal day looks like.
A foster carer may tell you that the supposedly shy cat spends every evening on the sofa once they know you, or that the extremely affectionate cat also needs two serious play sessions a day.
Those details are far more useful than whether the cat behaved perfectly during a 20-minute meet-and-greet.
Don’t expect your cat to choose you
There is a fabled adoption tale in which someone walks into a shelter, a cat reaches out a paw, their eyes meet, and both parties immediately understand that fate has intervened.
Sometimes that happens. Sometimes the right cat stays hidden under a blanket.
Shelters can be noisy, unfamiliar and stressful. A cat’s behaviour in the shelter may not represent how they will behave after several weeks in a quiet home. A cautious cat may barely interact during a meeting. A highly confident cat may charm everybody.
Use the meeting as information, but don’t make instant affection the only test.
A cat who needs time is not necessarily less loving. They may simply be showing you that trust is something they build rather than hand out at reception.
Shelters can be noisy, unfamiliar and stressful. A cat’s behaviour in the shelter may not represent how they will behave after several weeks in a quiet home.
If you already have a cat, their opinion matters
Adopting another cat is not just a decision between you and the newcomer.
Your resident cat already has a territory, routines and preferences. Some cats genuinely enjoy feline company. Others tolerate specific cats. Some would strongly prefer that you never bring this subject up again.
Tell the rescue about your existing cat honestly: age, temperament, activity level, previous experience with cats and any history of conflict.
A playful young cat may be too much for a quiet senior, while a confident adult might overwhelm a timid resident cat. A bonded pair may be a better fit than trying to make two unrelated cats become friends later.
Even an excellent match requires a slow introduction. The goal is not to find a cat who can be placed beside your existing cat on day one. It’s to find a cat with a reasonable chance of sharing the home successfully over time.
The same applies if you have a dog
A cat who has previously lived comfortably with dogs gives you useful information, but the individual dog matters just as much.
A calm, cat-savvy dog is very different from a dog with a strong chase response. Introductions should be gradual and controlled, with the cat always able to retreat to a secure dog-free space.
If the rescue knows the cat’s history with dogs, ask for detail rather than relying on a simple ‘dog friendly’ label.
And if your dog has never lived safely with cats, be realistic about whether adoption is appropriate before asking a cat to be the experiment.
Children change the equation too
A cat and a child can have a wonderful relationship, but the right pairing matters.
Some confident cats enjoy a busy family home. A nervous cat may find unpredictable movement, noise or enthusiastic handling overwhelming.
Behaviour matters more than ages when it comes to kids and cats. A calm child who understands boundaries may be easier for a cat than an older child who constantly pursues interaction.
Ask whether the cat has lived with children and what the rescue recommends. Once home, give the cat places where they can retreat completely and teach children that a hiding or sleeping cat is unavailable for visitors.
One cat or a bonded pair?
Occasionally, the adoption listing comes as a package deal.
Bonded cats are cats who have formed a close relationship and should remain together. They may sleep in contact, groom one another, seek each other out and rely on the relationship for security.
If a rescue describes cats as bonded, treat that seriously. Separating them because you only planned to adopt one may cause unnecessary distress.
Adopting a bonded pair does mean double the food, veterinary care and much of the ongoing cost, and you still need enough separate resources for both cats.
But there can also be something reassuring about adopting two cats who already know they want to live together. You are not hoping they become friends. They already are.
Be honest in your application
Adoption applications can feel surprisingly personal.
You may be asked about work hours, your home, other animals, children, previous pets, whether you rent, where the cat will live and what you would do if your circumstances changed.
Different rescue organisations have different processes. Some conduct interviews, request proof of permission to keep a pet, arrange home checks or ask for a video of the home.
It can be tempting to answer with what you think the rescue wants to hear, but it’s important to be completely honest.
The application exists to identify fit. If you travel frequently, say so. If you have a dog, describe the dog accurately. Explain the routine you intend to create if you’re away from home for most of the day.
Being declined for one particular cat doesn’t mean you are unsuitable to own a cat. It may simply mean the rescue believes that specific cat needs a different environment.
What should an adoption fee include?
Adoption fees vary between organisations.
Cats adopted through major welfare organisations and many reputable rescues are typically desexed, microchipped and vaccinated before adoption, with other health treatments varying by organisation and the cat’s needs.
Ask for the cat’s veterinary history and any information about ongoing medical care, medications or special diet.
A cat with a manageable health condition can still be a wonderful adoption. You simply need to understand the practical and financial commitment before saying yes.
Likewise, don’t assume that a lower adoption fee means a cheaper cat. The lifetime cost of care matters far more than the amount you pay on adoption day.
A cat with a manageable health condition can be a wonderful adoption. You simply need to understand the practical and financial commitment before saying yes.
Ask these questions before you say yes
- How long has the cat been in care, and what is known about their previous home?
- What is the cat like once they feel comfortable?
- How active and playful are they?
- How do they respond to visitors and unfamiliar people?
- Have they lived with cats, dogs or children?
- Do they need to be the only cat, or do they need feline companionship?
- Are they comfortable being handled and brushed?
- Do they have any medical conditions, medications or dietary requirements?
- What litter and food are they currently using?
- Are they desexed, microchipped and vaccinated, and what records will come with them?
- Do they have any known toileting, scratching or behaviour issues?
- What type of home does the foster carer or rescue think would suit them best?
- What support does the organisation provide if the cat struggles to settle after adoption?
Prepare your home before the cat arrives
The adoption process doesn’t end when the cat carrier goes into the car.
Before bringing your cat home, prepare a quiet room or contained area with food, water, litter, a comfortable bed, a hiding place and a scratching surface.
Resist the urge to show a new cat the whole house immediately.
A smaller starting area gives the cat somewhere predictable to decompress. Some cats will be asking to explore within hours. Others may need several days before they are ready.
If practical, keep the food and litter they are familiar with, and avoid changing every variable at once.
If you already have pets, introductions should happen slowly rather than at the front door.
Expect the first version of your cat to change
The cat you bring home on adoption day may not be the cat you know three months later.
A shy cat may gradually become demanding and affectionate. A cat who initially refuses to sit near you may eventually become a dedicated lap cat.
This is sometimes called a settling-in period, but there is no fixed timetable.
Give the cat routine, space and time. Let them approach. Keep the environment predictable. Notice progress in small things: eating while you are nearby, sleeping somewhere open, playing for the first time, appearing when you enter the room.
Trust can build quietly.
What if the match is not working?
Sometimes, despite everyone’s best intentions, an adoption doesn’t work.
A resident cat may be chronically distressed, a dog’s behaviour may make the home unsafe, or a newly adopted cat may have needs that the household genuinely cannot meet.
Contact the rescue early rather than waiting until everybody is overwhelmed. Reputable organisations would generally prefer to help troubleshoot or arrange a responsible return than have the cat remain in an unsuitable situation or be privately rehomed without support.
Returning a cat can be upsetting, but forcing a poor match indefinitely is not necessarily kinder.
The goal of adoption is to provide a stable home in which the cat can thrive.
The right cat might be the unexpected cat
You may begin the adoption process convinced you want a kitten but decide that an older cat is a better match.
Similarly, you may intend to adopt one cat but discover that the bonded pair on the website comes with exactly the relationship you hoped to create.
That is the advantage of treating adoption as matching rather than shopping.
Go in with preferences but leave some room to be surprised.
The right cat is more than a certain age or colour; they are the one who suits your lifestyle and the home you can provide.
When that match works, the story of how you chose each other won’t matter. It’s everything that comes after adoption day that really counts.
Adopting a cat in Melbourne?
If you’re in Melbourne, I can highly recommend Ingrid’s Haven.
Ingrid’s Haven is a non-profit shelter based in Sunday Creek, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne.
They’ve cared for cats for more than thirty years and they matched us with our perfect pair — Solo and Scribe — more than ten years ago.
