Our adoption application and interview
Our goal is to find loving, safe and responsible homes for our shelters’ cats. We take our adoption process seriously, so we review adoption applications carefully.
If you're interested in adopting from us, please download our adoption application below. Your application will be forwarded to our Review Committee, and once approved, we will contact you to set up an appointment to come in and meet our kitties and find your new feline friend(s).
Our adoption hours are Fridays 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Saturdays 10am - 4pm, and Sundays 12pm - 4pm. Please note that once you've made your decision, a second appointment will be made for you to finalize the adoption and pick up your kitty.
This online form sends directly to us via email.
Our Cats
If you wish to see our cats before you come to the shelter, please review below or click here to visit the Petango website.
Adoption Fees and requirements
Our standard adoption fee is $75.00 for one cat or kitten, and $25.00 for a companion cat or kitten. Please check with our website or with your adoption counselor for special fees that may be available.
For this fee, your cat will have had:
- A vet exam
- Spay or neuter surgery
- Feline leukemia and FIV tests
- Age-appropriate vaccinations
- Treatment for worms and fleas
- An identification microchip
Also included:
- A free exam at a participating veterinarian within two weeks of adoption
- A subscription to our Mewsletter
To adopt from us, you must:
- Be 18 years of age
- Have a valid ID with current address
- Bring your family or roommates with you
- Provide name and numbers for your landlord, your employer, your veterinarian, and personal references.
Our shelter, like many others, has a short application review period of 3-5 days. In our review, we telephone your vet, employer and personal references. Our review helps us find the best homes for our cats and gives you and your family a chance to carefully think about your decision.
Please discuss adopting with all family members, roommates, and frequent visitors to your home. A new pet requires responsibility, dedication, love and devotion, and sometimes, a great deal of money. Adoption of a pet is a lifetime commitment.
We want to find good homes for our cats, but we don't want you to feel pressure to adopt. If you change your mind or decide you're not able to provide for the lifetime needs of a pet, don’t hesitate to let us know.
Once we review your application, and you are approved to adopt, you'll sign an adoption contract.
Our adoption follow-up
Shortly after you’ve adopted from us, one of our volunteers will contact you. During this follow-up call, we’ll make sure the cat is happy and healthy in his or her new home and answer any questions you may have.
Our declawing policy
Cats use their claws for protection, balance, exercising, for stretching the muscles in the legs, back, and paws, and to mark their own territory. Not only does the cat mark an object visibly by scratching it, but the scratching deposits secretions from glands in the feet that can be smelled by other cats. In addition, scratching gives the cat reassurance of self-defense by the contraction of the claws. The standard declawing procedure calls for the removal of the claw, the cells at the base responsible for the growth, tendons and ligaments, and the terminal bone of the toe. The operation is actually an amputation comparable to the removal of the fingers of the human hand at the last knuckle. The cat experiences considerable pain in the recovery and healing process. In addition to the need for general anesthesia, which always presents a certain degree of risk to the cat's health and life, infection and blood loss are possible surgical complications of declawing. If the whole claw is not removed, misshapen claws can grow back, requiring additional surgery. Abnormal growth of severed nerve ends can also occur, causing long-term, painful sensations in the toes.A declawed cat is, in reality, a clubfooted animal. Posture, mood, and behavior can be irrevocably altered, and gone is the easeful grace that is the cat's birthright. Some cats experience severe stress, stop using their litter pan, and exhibit other side effects that they carry with them for the rest of their lives.
As a humane organization, the Independent Cat Society is obligated to be responsible for the health and well-being of the whole cat. Many people believe that declawing is not a serious operation, when in fact it is quite serious, and considered inhumane by many veterinarians and animal science experts worldwide. Many countries ban declawing, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Brazil, Austratial, and New Zealand. Most organizations in the U.S. dedicated to animals also oppose declawing, including the ASPCA, the Human Society, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, the Cat Fanciers Association, and PETA.
Our policy requires that the adopters of our cats not declaw, no matter what the cat's age. We will, with our adoption counselors' help, provide potential adopters with information and facts about the physical and psychologically damaging effects of declawing on the cat. We are also providing information about alternatives to declawing, such as:
- Soft Paws
- Sofa Savers or Sticky Paws
- Corregated cardboard scratching boxes
- Carpet-lined scratching posts
- Trim your cat's nails every two weeks
- Attach bubble wrap, aluminum foil, slippery wax paper, or double-sided sticky tape to the object you don't want the cat to scratch
- Use citrus-scented liquids or commercial cat repellant on items the cat likes to scratch
Check out http://www.catscratching.com for more information and ideas about preventing scratching if you are concerned about this issue. But above all - DON'T DECLAW!
Our lifetime return policy
The Independent Cat Society has a “lifetime return” policy -- we will happily welcome back any adopted cat, at any time for any reason, you feel you can no longer care for the animal.
Antidiscrimination Policy
The Independent Cat Society does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, religion, veteran status, or age (minimum volunteer and adopter age is listed) in its programs, employment, or activities.
The Independent Cat Society (ICS) is a no-kill cat shelter in Westville, Indiana. Established in 1977, ICS has continuously maintained its goal to find homes for homeless cats in our community. Once each cat is spayed or neutered, we focus on adopting the cat into a safe, loving and lasting home.
As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), the Independent Cat Society is funded almost entirely through membership fees, adoption fees, fundraising events, and the generous tax-deductible gifts of caring individuals, like you. Although we have a small cleaning and medicating staff, we operate our shelter mainly with volunteers. We do not receive any government funding.
