Rehoming Policy - Cats and Kittens       The home check for cats and kittens will be carried out by an experienced homechecker from the Yorkshire Animal Shelter and will cover the following points -   All new homes must be a minimum distance of 150 mtrs from any busy roads (bus routes, school runs, main roads and rat runs). This applies to cats under 3 yrs old. Exceptions may be made for older cats and indoor cats. There must be direct access onto a garden (not a yard), as the cat needs a safe place to go out into with plenty of things to hold its interest. A concrete yard will not hold a cats interest, causing them to wander further to find something more exciting. This will put them in danger of coming into contact with traffic. We will not home single kittens under 6 months old to homes where no one is in during the day and there are no other pets. We will consider a pair of kittens, but they will still need a lunchtime feed until they reach 6 months of age. Someone must be willing to return home at lunchtime. It is shelter policy not to re-home kittens to households with children under 5 years old, or adult cats to households with children under 3 years old. It is also shelter policy to only re-home to households with children from 3-5 years old when an animal of suitable temperament is available and at the discretion of the Welfare officer. There are currently several areas that the shelter does not consider to be safe and therefore will not rehome cats or kittens to any homes within these areas. Because it is not possible to keep a cat in a garden, the surrounding area is very important. If a cat is going to come in contact with wandering dogs, other unneutered stray cats or people who wish to cause them harm, the area is considered to be unsuitable, despite how caring the potential adopter may be.