The Cat Corner was founded by a very passionate and devoted animal lover, Martha Nicholson. After seeing an overwhelming number of cats homeless and being euthanized, Martha was determined to open a no-kill shelter to make a difference in these cats' lives. In 1981, Martha purchased an old barber shop at her own expense and opened The Cat Corner in Hampton, Virginia. The Cat Corner is a completely volunteer operated organization and is solely funded by donations from the community. Because of the help of our caring and hardworking volunteers and the support and donations from our community, we have been able to uphold Martha's dream and make a difference in countless lives...and doing so for over three decades! The Cat Corner, Inc. is a nonprofit, all-volunteer-run organization that does not receive any federal, state or local government funding. We depend solely from the generosity of caring individuals from our community to continue to do our work.
The Cat Corner has policies for approving adoptions. They are designed to ensure that each cat is placed with a responsible person prepared to make a lifelong commitment, and to avoid the kinds of problems that may have caused the animal to be brought to the shelter in the first place. An important part of the process is to match the life-style and needs of the adopter with the individual cat or cats being adopted. In addition to filling out an adoption application, our volunteers may ask you a few additional questions about the following areas: Your housing situation (renting vs. owning); The number and ages of any children in your household; The number and type of other pets you may own; Your previous experience with pets; Your activity level, lifestyle, and expectations for a new companion. The needed information gathered when adopting: The adoption application must be filled out by the potential adopter– it cannot be completed for another person or as a gift. This is a living animal and most people appreciate the "surprise" to be the fact they are finding their new companion. Adopter must be at least 25 years of age or older to adopt from The Cat Corner. All adoptions require a picture ID (driver’s license or official state ID). Provide lease with pet addendum or proof of home ownership. An important part of the process is to match the life-style and needs of the adopter with the individual animal being adopted. In order to insure that your selected animal is the right match, we request everyone who lives in the household to come and interact with your choice(s) before you will be approved to adopt. When coming to adopt, please be sure to give you and your family enough time to get to know the pet you are interested in adopting. Some animals may react differently to different people, this is why it is so important to bring the whole family. Once you have fallen in love with your purrfect match, you will need to complete an adoption application. We have the online adoption application or you may fill out a paper application in person at The Cat Corner location. The approval process can take a week or two depending on your availability and our fosters’ schedules, as well as how long it takes for you to complete all the needed steps. The Cat Corner is run by a team of volunteers from our community who love cats & dogs. We are just regular people with jobs, kids, and lives whose time is as limited as yours. That means that during periods of high activity or seasonal vacations the process may take a little longer.If the screening process occasionally seems overly strict, try to remember that the shelter's first priority is to protect the animal's best interests. Some of the animals that are in our care have already such a rough start at life, our hopes is to find them that perfect forever home where they will never end up on the streets or in a shelter again. An important part of the process is to match the life-style and needs of the adopter with the individual cat or cats being adopted. Please also keep in mind that there may already be other adoption applications placed on the particular cat or dog you are interested in. We do not move our animals into a "pending" status until 1) we have already received an adoption application, 2) they have completed a successful meet & greet, and 3) we have received all necessary documents for the adoption. Adoptions fall through often and for varies reasons, because of this we want to be sure that a "pending" status does not deter another potential home, in the event the other one falls through. Your application is reviewed with an eye towards these elements: strength of references and how does the selected pet match your goals and environment. To finalize the adoption, you will need to review and sign the adoption agreement and pay the adoption fee. We may ask to visit your home; sometimes we deliver and finish the application/adoption process at delivery! Once the adoption is finalized, you will receive the original vet records, micro-chip information, and a copy of the adoption agreement.