FAQs
Thank You for your interest
We know that you may have questions or doubts about the shelter, adoptions and sponsorship. Please read the answers to the most common questions below.
About Zee Animal Shelter
We are a private non profit charity animal rescue organization, created with the purpose of helping cats and dogs in desperate situation in the streets of Giza, Egypt. All our support comes from donations of incredible people like you, thanks to that the shelter has being able to successfully place more than 100 cats and dogs in the past 3 years in different countries.
Yes, we live here and it is where we started this project. The situation of homeless cats is all over Egypt and currently we are only focused in the area of Giza. We don’t dismiss the idea of expanding to other areas in the future but that depends on our donations and volunteers involved. Help us do it!
We mainly rescue cats but also rescue dogs. We usually have in the region of 200 cats and 10 dogs in our shelter at any one time.
About Adoptions
Yes, we totally know that every country has strays, but let me tell you about the reality in Egypt: It is very hard to accept that in Egypt there is a generalized disinterest in animals well being. There is no culture of respect or care towards them and the result is a massive growth of cats population and with this cats also begin to be a problem. There does not exist a law to protect animal rights and exist sadly a huge disinterest by authorities. They are so many, they die in the street, killed, poisoned, run over or from a disease.
In Egypt a cat does not hide in plain view during they day, because if they do hide, they starve to death. They have to expose themselves… you can see them with lost eyes laying over a wall, and people just pass by them 🙁 This just to get some scrap, also this exposes them to a more secure damage or even death. We strive to rescue as many cats as we can, nursing them to back to health and looking for a better home full of love in another country.
Help us to change their lives, deleting from their hearts the mistreatment and abandonment with your love. Please adopt an Egyptian angel.
If there is a particular cat that steals your heart and you wish to adopt it, please contact us via direct message on Instagram or Facebook or email us at enquiries@zee.prototypodesign.com We will ask you some questions and give you more information about the cat you are interested in. If you wish to go ahead with the adoption we will ask you to pay a £50 reservation fee. We will then start the process to arrange for the necessary paperwork to be completed and book a flight.
Yes you can. However, if you wish to adopt one of our cats with special needs you will need to fully understand the commitment you will need to make to care for that cat for the rest of its life. We will talk to you about this and help to answer any concerns or queries you may have. We have many cats that are blind or partially sighted, these cats cope incredibly well and you will find there is no real difference to owning a blind cat than a fully sighted one. Please don’t let any disability put you off adoption.
The adoption fees are:
£395 – UK
€300 – EU
$250 – USA & Canada
Your adoption fee includes:
- Neutering
- Microchip
- Rabies vaccination
- Associated rabies vaccination blood tests
- Full blood tests before travel
- Treatment to de-flea and de-worm your cat
- Agent in your country to finalise flight details
- Crate / carrier for travel
- Taxes (UK flights)
- Cost of flight
Note: If you are in another country out of the list above, you CAN adopt too! Please contact us to know the fees.
When adopting a rescue cat from any foreign country you need to be prepared that it may possibly develop some health issues, some of which will be obvious upon adoption e.g. loss of one or both eyes or limbs. Other issues can develop after their arrival such as respiratory infections, infected eye sockets, tummy upsets or problems with teeth. We do our best to ensure that our cats are well and fit for travel, however, change of diet and environment upon arrival can sometimes bring issues to the fore. All of our cats have full blood tests a couple of weeks before their flight to eliminate any serious issues. If your cat does develop health issues you will be responsible for paying the vet bills or setting up your own fundraiser to help with costs. Unfortunately we will not be able to run a fundraiser on your behalf.
No, you do not have to have them microchipped again but you will need to register them with a pet microchip registration database in your country. There will be a charge for this service.
We would recommend keeping your Zee cat in a separate room to start with and to book an appointment for a general check up with your vet within the first week. Therefore, if your Zee cat does have an infection it will not be passed on to your resident cat(s).
Yes you can. You will need to arrange this in your own country either online or via your veterinary practice. We would recommend that you take your Zee cat for a general check up before purchasing your pet insurance.
Yes you can. However, as with adopting any new pet we would recommend a gradual introduction to your current pets as the process can be a little overwhelming for them at first.
Please see our FAQs on donations and sponsorship below for different ways you can help us.
About Donations and Sponsorship
Without your support many of our cats would not have survived if we left them on the streets starving and injured. By supporting us you can be part of their ultimate dream to be adopted into their forever home where they will be loved and cared for forever.
Social Media – If you are unable to support us financially you can give a great deal of support by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, share our posts and stories to raise awareness of our shelter and the work we do. Sharing our posts for adoption could result in one of our cats finding its forever home.
The Donor: There is not a specific amount determined, you can donate as your heart dictates, the money gathered for donations is used to keep the shelter running, to pay the rent, services, cleaning supplies etc.
The Sponsor: the sponsor usually covers the expenses of an specific cat or cats for one month and also there are sponsors who cover the expenses permanently until the cat or cats are adopted. You can see the cats in need of a sponsor in our adoptable page, all of then need a sponsor until they find a forever home.
To become Friend of Zee (FoZEE): Is an scheme created for people who are striving to help permanently, the charge is via paypal, to the bank account of your preference. This scheme helps the shelter to rely on a fixed monthly support which is a huge relief for the monthly expenses of the shelter.
You can sponsor one of our cats for one month only or permanently until they leave the shelter when they are adopted. Automatic recurring payments can be set up for permanent sponsors. £10 will pay for their food, litter and general care for a month. If the cat you wish to sponsor does not have a name we would invite you to choose a name for him/her.
You can make a one off donation for any amount which will go towards our day to day costs to run the shelter. We rely purely on donations to cover costs such as rent, salaries, medical bills, food, litter etc. We have approximately 200 cats in our care at any one time and more than half of them do not have a sponsor.
If you would like to become a FoZee please get in touch. There are different levels of membership which are:
Bronze – £15 per month – Permanent sponsor of one cat, free quarterly online newsletter and two free entries into each of our Instagram giveaways (3 per year)
Silver – £20 per month – Permanent sponsor of two cats, free quarterly online newsletter and three free entries into each of our Instagram giveaways (3 per year)
Gold – £30 per month – Permanent sponsor of three cats, free quarterly online newsletter and five free entries into each of our Instagram giveaways (3 per year)
We would ask for payments for FoZee membership to be made either as a recurring payment via PayPal or as a direct debit payment to our bank account. These payments will give us a more secure monthly income and will help us to be able to pay our rent and salaries on time to keep the shelter running.
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Newsletter – The newsletter will be released every 3 months and it will give you updates on new arrivals, adoptions and travel and life in the shelter.
Giveaways – We will be running three Instagram giveaways each year which have some amazing prizes. You will have free entries as part of your membership but you can also buy additional raffle tickets if you wish.
