pets4homes.co.uk

Author
Discussion

8bit

Original Poster:

5,001 posts

162 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Anyone had experience of using this site to find a pet? Seems to be a fair mix, apparently professional, licenced and registered breeders through hobbyists and down to randoms who have a cat that got pregnant. Any tips, do's and don'ts etc. when using this site? It's cats/kittens we're looking for in case that matters.

Jordie Barretts sock

6,018 posts

26 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Nothing wrong with it. We used it locally to buy our pedigree Springer.

Have you considered Cats Protection for your cat/kitten? They're in dire need of homes for cats.

paintman

7,765 posts

197 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Not used p4h but our two cats came from Cats Protection.
Viewed them at the fosterers & we had a house visit to check our house/garden was suitable.

moorx

3,930 posts

121 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
We found our most recent addition (whippet) on Pets4Homes. Not from a breeder and not a puppy; she came from a family that needed to rehome her.

As you say, there is a vast range of adverts and sellers. I would say trust your instinct, and do all the usual due diligence anyone should do when getting a pet (see with the mother if a kitten or puppy, ask lots of questions, etc).

But as a big advocate for rescue, I would back up the two other posters and suggest contacting a local rescue centre. There are masses of animals needing homes at the moment.

Good luck smile

Simpo Two

87,059 posts

272 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
When I had a vacancy I visited the local cat rescue places and the 'right' cat chose me.

Had a look at pets4homes.co.uk just now - seems to be mostly professional kitten-sellers.

dudleybloke

20,473 posts

193 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
I got my cat from there, wanted an older cat and the site allows you to search by age.
It was an urgent advert as his original owner had died and he was being looked after by a friend of the original owner but she couldn't keep him.
I picked him up about 4 hours after responding to the advert and he's been chilling out here for 3 years now.


steve2

1,797 posts

225 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
We got our last cat from Dog and Cat Rescue -Almere’s to uk as our local cat shelter said we were not suitable for rehoming, although we have had cats from there before.

Slowboathome

4,460 posts

51 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
dudleybloke said:
I got my cat from there, wanted an older cat and the site allows you to search by age.
It was an urgent advert as his original owner had died and he was being looked after by a friend of the original owner but she couldn't keep him.
I picked him up about 4 hours after responding to the advert and he's been chilling out here for 3 years now.

He's a beauty.

dudleybloke

20,473 posts

193 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Slowboathome said:
He's a beauty.
Cheers, he was about 5 when i got him but don't know his exact age, he settled in within a couple of days and he's one of the most chilled out cats I've ever known.

Roboticarm

1,500 posts

68 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Used the site twice.
It's only as good as the person you are buying from, think of it as a marketplace, some sellers will be better than others.
First dog was a KC reg pedigree Cocker Spaniel from a licenced breeder and the whole process was excellent
Second was a "my pet had a litter with a stud" situation, turned out my cocker was actually 50% springer.

Look into the buyer, do your research and you will be fine, but the experience will depend on the seller rather than the website

phil-sti

2,814 posts

186 months

Wednesday 18th September
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Got my lab from there years ago., fully KC registered and saw all the pups and the mum no issues.

MOBB

3,812 posts

134 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
We got our Schnoodle from someone on there

https://www-cdn.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?...

No problems at all :-)

8bit

Original Poster:

5,001 posts

162 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.

Yes, clearly it's just a market/platform and it's down to the individual seller, guess I was looking for how to spot good ones vs. potential sketchy ones, or is it fairly safe to assume that any dodgy types get weeded out fairly effectively?

Regards rescue/rehoming, yes that's an option as well, we did that last time and it couldn't have worked out any better. Obviously that's not without it's risks though and this time round we have two children, we got the previous cats before they were born. Many of the ones we see on the likes of SSPCA etc. either can't live with kids or require to be let out - we live on a fairly busy street so want indoor cats and unfortunately (I'm told) we can't rehome the children if it turns out they and the cats don't get along.

Have reached out to a few breeders around Scotland as well via their websites, only one has responded and most of the websites appear not to have been updated in years, wonder if they are all now mostly working via Facebook, Pets4Homes etc. rather than bothering maintaining bespoke websites etc.

geeks

9,732 posts

146 months

Wednesday 18th September
quotequote all
MOBB said:
We got our Schnoodle from someone on there

https://www-cdn.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?...

No problems at all :-)
Same here. Our Jug as well.

8bit

Original Poster:

5,001 posts

162 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all
Just to close out the thread, we went ahead with a kitten purchase and it all went absolutely fine. The breeder was listed as fully licenced etc. and had a few, all positive reviews. Plenty of reassurance from Pets4Homes at each stage so we knew what was going on and knew that we were covered in the unlikely event of any trouble etc.

When we made the payment we got the impression that it was just a deposit up front and then the remainder on collection - and it is from the seller/breeder perspective but the seller has to make the full payment up front. The depost goes to the seller immediately and P4H hold the balance until you say you've collected your pet. The other thing is that you don't find out that there's an additional cost for the "Pets4Homes Guarantee" until you actually go to make the payment for the pet. This may well be buried in small print or on a FAQ somewhere but I didn't feel it was made clear before the fact. Not sure how that fee is structured but in our case it was £50 and some change, so that bumped the final cost up a bit.

Anyway, our lives now largely revolve around this furry little sociopath...


MonkeyBusiness

4,029 posts

194 months

Thursday 31st October
quotequote all
Got our Old English Sheepdog from P4H.
A good experience all round.

However the same seller had another litter for sale not long after which I didn't like to see.

Its Just Adz

15,002 posts

216 months

Saturday 2nd November
quotequote all
Sorry just seen this thread OP, glad it worked out well for you.

We rehomed Bella through this website.
Almost 9 years ago now!!