For current availability, please check our Instagram highlights at @lifelinecats. Our highlights are updated in real time. One labeled “kittens” shows everyone under a year, while the one labeled “cats” features everyone 6 months or older. Cats and kittens who are in our possession but not yet available will appear in the “coming soon” highlight. Please do not apply for cats and kittens who are not yet available for adoption. You can also check the “Available Cats” tab on the website, which is updated weekly.

Pre-adoption is a term we use to manage applicants’ expectations with respect to when a kitten will be available to go home. Kittens listed for pre-adoption are typically underage and awaiting surgical dates, which could be 2-3 weeks out. Cats and kittens we post for adoption have already been fixed or will be in the immediate future.

Click on the “Adopt” tab on the website or go to http://www.felinelifeline.org/adopt to review our policies and procedures and complete the application.

Yes! Be honest, and take your time. While the application isn’t intended to be onerous, it should take more than 3 minutes to complete. If all you are offering us is one word responses, it will not be very compelling. By that same token, we are not looking for essays - just a sense of the type of pet owner you’ll be.

The adoption fee is $250/kitten under 6 months old, and $200/kitten or cat 6 months and older. All of our cats come vaccinated, microchipped, flea treated, dewormed, FIV/FeLV tested, and spayed/neutered. Please note that while this fee helps offset their medical expenses, it never fully covers all of the cost of the care they receive before going home. Therefore, we do not offer discounts for pairs.

As a matter of policy, we send kittens under the age of six months home in pairs unless there is already another young cat in the house. That's because young kittens still have a lot to learn from their interactions with other cats and kittens, particularly when it comes to appropriate use of their jaws and claws. When they are denied that opportunity, they can develop a whole host of negative behaviors collectively known as single kitten syndrome. You can read more about that here:

https://meowcatrescue.org/resources/adoption-considerations/single-kitten-syndrome/

Unfortunately, neither you nor your cat-friendly dog are a substitute for another young cat when it comes to socializing a kitten. If you are committed to just one feline friend, we encourage you to consider cats and kittens six months old and older.

If your application is approved you will be invited to come meet the cats/kittens in person. Expect to:

1. Arrive on time. We generally run meet and greets every thirty minutes. Therefore, we are not able to accommodate early arrivals. Late arrivals will cut into their allotted time.

2. Keep your appointment. Your time slot is reserved for you. When you hold a place in our calendar only to cancel the same day, you are occupying a slot during which another cat/kitten could potentially be finding a home. If you need to reschedule, please do so at least 24 hours in advance. Same day cancellations will not be rescheduled.

3. Bring all household decision makers. If you and your partner or roommate both have a say in whom you adopt, please make sure that you are both in attendance as we are unable to accommodate requests for repeat visits. 

4. Interact with cats and kittens. The best way to do this is to get down on their level, which means sitting on a floor. Please wear comfortable clothing.

5. Commit to adopt. We are a foster-based rescue, not a cat café. As such, we are not set up for casual browsing. If you are not prepared to commit to adopt on the spot, it’s best to wait to schedule until you are. While it’s fine to sleep on the decision or discuss with a partner after the visit, please understand that we continue to hold meet and greets until every cat has a formal commitment. That means if you do wait, there is a chance the cat(s) of interest may no longer be available.

6. Not leave with a cat. If at or immediately following the meet and greet you decide to move forward with adoption, we will send you an email with a supply list (including what the cat(s) are currently eating), a blank copy of the adoption contract to review, and a link to pay the deposit on the website. Once we receive the deposit, we mark the cat(s) as adopted, cancel future meet and greets, and reserve them for you. We will then give you a couple of days to a week to gather supplies before you return to pick up your cat(s). Please note that except in cases of underage kittens still needing to be fixed, we cannot hold adopted cats for more than a week after they have received a commitment.

No. While the meet and greet is a necessary part of the process, it takes place by invitation only after receipt of an approved application. That’s a requirement of our insurance company as we are an entirely foster-based rescue.

No. If you are craving more than what you see in the grid post, keep an eye on our IG stories, as we regularly post additional pictures and videos there.

For questions about the personalities of adult cats, please refer to their grid posts on IG or webpages at www.felinelifeline.org. For questions about the personalities of kittens, please note that kittens are by and large empty vessels. You get out of them what you put in. We handle our kittens constantly in order to create docile, affectionate kittens and we encourage our adopters to do the same after adoption. If your application is approved, you’ll be invited to meet the cats in person before making a decision about adoption..

The vast majority of our cats and kittens come directly from the streets of Los Angeles. On occasion we pull from area high kill shelters.

We are a foster based rescue located in Southern California. While the vast majority of our cats and kittens are in Pasadena, some are in foster homes in various LA neighborhoods. On occasion, we have fosters in San Diego.

Yes and yes! However, please note that alll cats and kittens must be picked up in person in SoCal by the adopter. 

No. Cats are not cargo. 

Is that a Maine coon?

Nope. Nor is it a Persian, a Ragdoll, a Himalayan, a Siberian, a Norwegian Forest Cat, or a Russian Blue, or a Siamese. As noted above, all of our cats and kittens come from the streets of LA and as such, do not come with pedigrees. While they may resemble in appearance a particular breed, we can assure you that they are not. If breed matters, we are not for you.

Yes, we are positive. After all, there aren’t purebred Siamese roaming the streets of LA copulating with other purebred Siamese. What there are, however, are a lot of stray cats who possess the Himalayan gene, which gives them blue eyes and a color pointed coat. That does not make them Siamese.

No.

Unfortunately not. We are a small, 100% volunteer run, foster-based rescue, not a municipal shelter. As such, we do not intake animals from the general public. We recommend contacting your local city/county shelter or joining various Facebook groups dedicated to rehoming pets in SoCal.