Rehoming an Animal

SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center wants to help owners keep their pets whenever possible and appropriate; however we recognize sometimes finding a new home for a pet is the best path forward. We understand the decision is difficult, and we are here to offer guidance and support. If you have reviewed our Help Center services and still need to surrender your pet, please read the information below.

SICSA is a managed intake facility, and we accept new pets into the adoption program by appointment. Availability of appointments is based on our current capacity to provide humane care and ensure ideal and appropriate outcomes for each pet. Please start by filling out the appropriate surrender request form below.

To fill out our form to surrender a cat, please click here.
To fill out our form to surrender a dog, please click here.

Our intake team will contact you as soon as possible, but please be aware that SICSA receives hundreds of intake requests each month and it may take several weeks for your application to be reviewed.

If you're seeking help for community cats, kittens, puppies, or a found animal, please review the information in the menus below.

Lost or Found Pets

If you’ve lost your pet, getting the word out early is the key to getting them back safely. Here are some tips that will hopefully help you find your pet:  

  • Search your neighborhood and post/distribute flyers with your contact information. Lost pets are often found within 1 mile of their home – ask neighbors, mail carriers, and delivery people if there have been any sightings. 
  • Put something outside your home that has a familiar scent to your pet. 
  • Contact local animal shelters, animal control organizations, and police departments. 
  • Use the internet! There are several Lost/Found Pet Facebook groups and applications like NextDoor that are helpful in reuniting pets and owners.  

 If you’ve lost or found a pet, you can also notify SICSA here or by calling us at 937-294-6505.  

Kittens

During kitten season, it is common for rescues and shelters to become overwhelmed with requests for kitten intake. It is our goal to make sure that kittens who come into the shelter truly need our help and have not been kit-napped by well-intentioned animal lovers. If you have just found kittens, please read about our Wait and Watch Approach. If, after following the Wait and Watch Approach, you determine that you have found a litter of abandoned kittens, here is some helpful information on caring for kittens. To prevent future litters of kittens, SICSA recommends TNRM (Trap, Neuter, Return, Monitor) for community cats. Read more on our TNRM program here.

Puppies

Depending on space and resources, when accidental litters occur, we can sometimes take them into our adoption program for no cost if the pet owner agrees to spay the mother through our low cost spay clinic. Read bout our“Oops Program”here.

Read more about the Oops Program.

Stray, Feral or Community Cats

Generally, SICSA does not bring community cats into our adoption program. Community cats may be friendly or feral, but generally prefer the ability to roam freely and are not adoption candidates for indoor homes. We encourage trap-neuter-return-monitor (TNRM) programs, to keep the stray cat population from growing in a humane manner. To read more about Community Cats, TNRM, and our Spay and Neuter programs, please click here.

Caring for Kittens

Kittens get their best start in life when their mom provides care, but sometimes another caregiver has to substitute for mom. During kitten season, shelters may not have enough fosters to care for all of the kittens who need help. When that happens, finders of kittens can help by becoming foster caregivers.

How do you care for kittens? The first step is to determine the current health and approximate age of the kittens. This will help you know what they need to be fed, how frequently they need to be fed, and what other supportive care might be required. There are some quick online guides to help you figure out the age of your kittens and their needs:

· How to Assess Orphaned Kittens

· Ages & Needs of Kittens:

o Alley Cat Allies – How Old Is That Kitten Guide

o Maddie’s Fund – Physical and Behavioral Development of Kittens

o Best Friends – Bottle Feeding Kittens

· How to stimulate a kitten to urinate and defecate

· Bathing Kittens

· Socializing Kittens

o Maddie’s Fund – Helpful Tips to Socialize Kittens

o Maddie’s Fund – Socializing Unsocial Kittens

SICSA also offers support with kitten caregiving through phone coaching, in-person coaching, kitten supply kits, and education. If you need additional support, contact us at 937-294-6505, option 5.

Additional Resources Outside of SICSA

There are a number of options for rehoming your pet without surrendering to an animal shelter, including the Adopt-a-Pet Rehome service: rehome.adoptapet.com/r/74172. Rehome is owned by the PetCo Foundation and is 100% free to use. They will walk you through how to create the best profile for your pet and be there to support you through the adoption process.

Home to Home is another private rehoming option. Home to Home is an interactive platform created to help families, people, and pets with the difficult task of transitioning pet ownership from one home to another. Visit their website to get started: https://home-home.org/rehome.

There are also several local, rehoming groups on Facebook and other social media platforms. Before rehoming your pet, try and think about what the ideal family or home for your pet would be. Make a list of questions to fit those desires or requirements. When talking with potential owners, take the time to have open conversations and get to know them a bit. You know your pet best and are the most qualified to find a loving home that will be a great fit!