About Us

We are a small group of people who have made it our goal to help more fancy rats from animal shelters find forever homes.

There are simply fewer rats than dogs or cats, and as someone who is not actively involved in animal welfare, it is often unclear where rats can be adopted. We want to make that easier.

No adoptions take place on the platform itself; instead, it exclusively links to rat rescue organizations and animal shelters. The content is created by us as a team or can also be posted by animal shelters, foster homes, and third parties—but there is an approval process to ensure that no dubious adoptions end up on the platform. All breeders/multipliers are clearly excluded.

We are aware of the problem that similar sites are often out of date and have a concept to prevent this. If a placement has not been checked for accuracy within the last three weeks, it is automatically deactivated. We also deactivate immediately if a placement ad is taken offline.

We are actively working to further develop the site with the aim of helping rat shelters, animal shelters, and foster homes as much as possible.You can find more information about using notfellchen.org in our documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

Why do you focus on rats?

We are currently focusing on rats because this is what we know best and we see a need for our services. Unlike dogs, cats, or even rabbits, rats are not found in every animal shelter, but they often stay there for a very long time. However, we are open to other animal species in the long term. For the sake of completeness, other animal species are also listed for selected animal welfare organizations.

How do you ensure that the information is up to date?

First, placements are automatically deactivated if the shelter's placement page is no longer active. This happens within 24 hours. Furthermore, people without an account can report placements as out of date, and people with an account can also leave a comment with current information. Placements must be checked regularly (every three weeks) by a human and marked as current, otherwise they are automatically deactivated by the system.

Do you have specific requirements for species-appropriate care?

Basically, no placements take place on our platform, so we have no way of enforcing specific housing conditions; that remains the responsibility of the animal shelters and rat rescue organizations. However, we do inform users about housing standards and the need for fecal samples. Wherever possible, we refer to VdRD guidelines.

Can private individuals place animals with you?

Our work focuses primarily on placements from animal welfare organizations. In exceptional cases, we allow private placements, but these are subject to strict requirements. When a private placement is created on the site, it is reviewed by our team before being activated, and any missing information is requested.

Get involved

We are always looking for people who would like to support us in running Notfellchen.org. Here is a list of things you could get involved in:

  • Checking animal welfare organizations: We aim to check all animal welfare organizations in Germany once every two weeks. This means we look at their websites to see if there are any new animals available for adoption.
  • Moderating placements: You check new placements to see if they comply with the rules and whether they are still current.
  • Design: You help us improve the design of Notfellchen—whether on the website or social media.
  • Social media: You help us become more active on social media.
  • Programming: You help us further develop the platform. The code is available on Codeberg.

  • Documentation Notfellchen has many features, but unfortunately not all of them are documented. You will help improve our existing documentation.

  • Contribute your own ideas Do you have an idea about how you can contribute? We'd love to hear it!

Just send us an email: info@notfellchen.org

How can I post adoption notices as an animal shelter/rat rescue organization?

First, create an account. In this account, specify the organization you are active in. You can post adoptions immediately, but they must first be activated. Once we have verified that you really belong to the organization, we will give you permission to post adoptions without having to check them first.

We are happy to post adoption notices for you! If we don't do this automatically anyway, please send us a short email to info@notfellchen.org.

How can I post adoption notices as a private individual?

Our platform is primarily aimed at animals from animal welfare organizations. Of course, it may still be the case that people have to give up their pets, and there is room for that here too! However, stricter rules apply than for organizations. You must provide at least the following information:

  • Number
  • Gender
  • (Approximate) age
  • Origin (e.g., Rat Rescue XY, Breeder Z)
  • Location (at least state)
  • Behavior
  • Health status
  • Current fecal sample (<6 months) available?

We will review the adoption notices and either contact you with questions by email or approve it directly.