[Poetess]

As some of you have probably seen, I posted a thread with a semi-feral cat that my brother took in, that later had kittens in their home.

My brother and sister-in-law have 5 cats (counting the momma cat and 1 kitten they decided to keep), 2 dogs and a rabbit. They don't feel they have enough room or time to keep all 4 of the kittens. I'd happily take one, but I'm bound by lease to have only one pet. They are hoping to find homes for the kittens in a couple weeks. Someone has offered to take them, but they want them for farms cats - they'd be outside in the country as kittens (when only ever being inside) but we don't want that. We'd prefer they get in homes. There is one no-kill shelter in this county, which is where I got Finn, but it's a small shelter and appears to be crowded with animals - couple cats in a cage, etc. They usually are there for at least a couple months before finding homes, so that's not ideal. We're trying to find good homes on our own, so they can stay in a nice home until they move.

Are there any good, free pet ad sites out there?

I'm putting 100% in to help them find some suitable homes to go to. Some ad/site options and advice would be extremely appreciated.

 

[shan841]

craigslist is prob your best bet- its a good idea to ask for a small re-homing or adoption fee, people actually take free animals and sell them for animal testing

 

[Ritzpg]

If you have any friends and/or relatives who work for companies that have an intranet site (site for employees only), ask them to post an ad on your behalf. My twin sister works for a large government agency and she posted ads for the teenage to adult cats (not kittens) my friend and I were trying to place into Forever Homes. We adopted three cats that way. If there is anything interesting about the cats--a "hook"--play that up in your ad. In our case, these cats had been abandoned and lived on the streets for several months before being retrapped and removed into my friend's cattery. After proper re-socialization, they were ready to be placed into Forever Homes.
PetFinder is an option, but I got spams and no legitimate inquiries.

 

[cinderflower]

craigslist is prob your best bet- its a good idea to ask for a small re-homing or adoption fee, people actually take free animals and sell them for animal testing

or you can even advertise a small fee, the people picking up free animals to resell them won't call. then if you trust whoever calls or shows up, you can waive the fee.

 

[Poetess]

craigslist is prob your best bet- its a good idea to ask for a small re-homing or adoption fee, people actually take free animals and sell them for animal testing

Yes, I went ahead and put up a listing on Craigslist a few days ago. I've had one e-mail that I replied to, and never got a call back or e-mail back. I later in the day got one call, and she said she'd think about it and call me back later in the day and never did. I believe she was about an 40 miles away, though. She may have decided to go with a near-by shelter. I live in a small town that's about 40-45 miles away from the capital, so I imagine some of the hits may come from the Des Moines area.

I listed them as being $5 apiece for rehoming fee, but I wasn't sure what would be appropriate for kittens that hadn't yet gotten shots or gotten neutered/spayed. I saw a lot of the pets on there to be rehomed were pets they'd had at least a couple years and already had shots, etc. Plus they had beds, toys, food, and such that went with them.

Should I have made it a higher fee?

I was hoping if I put up an ad on a couple places, that I may get some more serious and suitable inquiries.

If you have any friends and/or relatives who work for companies that have an intranet site (site for employees only), ask them to post an ad on your behalf. My twin sister works for a large government agency and she posted ads for the teenage to adult cats (not kittens) my friend and I were trying to place into Forever Homes. We adopted three cats that way. If there is anything interesting about the cats--a "hook"--play that up in your ad. In our case, these cats had been abandoned and lived on the streets for several months before being retrapped and removed into my friend's cattery. After proper re-socialization, they were ready to be placed into Forever Homes.
PetFinder is an option, but I got spams and no legitimate inquiries.

About PetFinder, I just went on the site and registered, but I'm not sure how to post an ad/classified. I clicked on "Classifieds" and it came up with this: The Petfinder Classifieds are no longer available. We encourage you to work with your local animal shelter to find and reunite lost pets.

So, not sure how to do it on the site.

or you can even advertise a small fee, the people picking up free animals to resell them won't call. then if you trust whoever calls or shows up, you can waive the fee.

Yes, that is an option. I/We will want to talk with these people on the phone and meet them before we let them take a kitten.

 

[marie73]

I put flyers up in my vet's office and had friends put them up at their offices. Also the eBay classifieds, kijiji.

 

[catloverami]

I would go with flyers in vet offices. I think $5 is much too small.....some people will use kitties as snake food. Most shelters in my area charge around $90+ for kittens (spayed/neutered, vet checked, shots, microchips and even "gifts" such as bag of cat food or toy), so I think you have to be close to your local shelter's price. In your flyers, use the most adorable picture you have....often it's the picture(s) that sell the kitty.

 

[Poetess]

I would go with flyers in vet offices. I think $5 is much too small.....some people will use kitties as snake food. Most shelters in my area charge around $90+ for kittens (spayed/neutered, vet checked, shots, microchips and even "gifts" such as bag of cat food or toy), so I think you have to be close to your local shelter's price. In your flyers, use the most adorable picture you have....often it's the picture(s) that sell the kitty.

Here the shelter charged me $35 for Finn - shots and neutering included. But I have a feeling if we put the fee upto $30-$35 like the shelter, people would just go to the shelter instead. These kittens need their shots and to be neutered/spayed. My brother and sister-in-law just bought a house a couple months ago, so they don't have a good $800+ to throw around - that'd be probably $150-$200 per kitten. Plus he's getting the momma cat taken in for all shots and to be spayed soon as well. Maybe I should go upto $15 per kitten. I will see about making some flyers, though.

 

[Jacq]

Most shelters in my area charge around $90+ for kittens (spayed/neutered, vet checked, shots, microchips and even "gifts" such as bag of cat food or toy),

The shelters here charge $200 for kittens. 8-O

I think putting the fee up to $15 is better. $5 is nothing, and if you're planning to waive it if you meet the right sort of people, all it does is get rid of the people that aren't serious.

 

[marie73]

When I rehomed Gigi, I put right in the ad that I was asking exactly the same as the shelter ($75 at the time). People on Craigslist will flag you if you ask too much, too little, etc. Bunch of jerks. They left my ad alone, thank goodness. But since the kittens won't be fixed, so you can't really do that. I would ask $25, and if you have a good feeling about the person, lower it.

I didn't even take the money in the end, didn't feel right. I really did just want a good home for her.

 

[Poetess]

Well, before I even had a chance to get on and edit the ad for a higher fee, I had someone call and wake me up this morning (granted I had trouble sleeping and didn't get to sleep until 3am, and they called at 8am), so I felt it would be wrong to tell them another fee than what was in the ad, then I get dressed and I start getting more calls, texts and e-mails today. I spoke with about 10 people, and decided on one young couple that wanted a pet together, and a married lady with a 1-year-old cat and a 9-year-old daughter. I think they were the best. I imagine they thought I was nosey asking if they'd been around cats, if they were allowed them, if they could afford them, what their plans were, if they had animals or kids. lol. But was determined they get the best. Two kittens were taken. Only one left to go. All I really did was specify in the ad later on, that they were using the litter box. I said they were ready, but I suppose I wasn't clear enough before.

 

[bkitty]

I've always had good luck im my vet's office.

 

[Ritzpg]

Didn't know about Petfinder no longer accepting ads.
My friend and I are fostering a pregnant cat. When her kittens are ready to be adopted out, we'll probably ask for a small amount of money or food (I take care of a feral cat colony) or around $100 if we spayed/neutered the kitten. It costs a minimum of $55 to s/n a cat through an organization I use to TRN other cats, up to $800 for female cats at a private vet. We will spay the mother cat as soon as medically possible.

 

[catloverami]

Adoption prices can vary

I would go with flyers in vet offices. I think $5 is much too small.....some people will use kitties as snake food. Most shelters in my area charge around $90+ for kittens (spayed/neutered, vet checked, shots, microchips and even "gifts" such as bag of cat food or toy), so I think you have to be close to your local shelter's price. In your flyers, use the most adorable picture you have....often it's the picture(s) that sell the kitty.

Correction on the price......I guess it depends how much the shelter does.....in my former town it was $99 for a spayed/neutered cat, with shots and deworming. Here in the area I've just moved to, a shelter cat is "......only $160 to adopt. This includes the early age spay or neuter, all vaccinations (except rabies), flea and dewormng treatments, microchip and six weeks of free pet health insurance." The shelter says their "adoption packages are fabulous deals since spaying or neutering alone can cost anywhere from $150 to $300."

 

[jadis]

It sounds like you have gotten some decent people responding to your ad. The key in my opinion is spending a little bit of time talking to the potential adopters and finding out what kind of people they are as much as you can.

Shelters here charge $35 last I checked and you have to sign a contract saying you will speuter, but it is up to you to pay for it. I don't know if they vet them, but whenever I have gotten a shelter animal I always take them to my vet anyway. Rescues around here are typically $100 for cats, fixed and vetted. I would much rather pay more and have the spay/neuter already done. I think it ends up being a bargain. For a rehome or a "free" kitten with no vetting I would say $15 max.