[lucklein]

Our humane society was forced to offer free cats to the public this Friday. Apparently, between May and July, they took in over 1500 cats and kittens, they say and average of 220 per week. It got to the point that they offered a giveaway to the public, free adults and $25.00 for kittens under four months of age.
There is some debate over whether this is a good idea, because of the idea that people who want free pets probably won't provide vet care, etc. The alternative is putting a lot of those cats down, because there just isn't room to house them all. And this is only one of the organizations that takes in cats. There are many other shelters and rescues who take cats. Is this problem the same in other areas? What a shame.

 

[TricolorTerrier]

What I don't understand is that if they want to sell them quickly, why not just put a small fee? We have a lot of kittens here, all 6 weeks. Sometimes I wish the kittens weren't advertised as much because the older cats are stuck in the shelter for months.

 

[lucklein]

They said that with the influx of cats coming to the shelter, there simply wasn't enough room to house them all, and they would rather see them go into peoples homes than face the alternative.
btw: no dog or cat leaves the shelter unless they are fixed. They did reduce the fee for kittens, but over 4 months the fee was waived.
It is quite a debate that could be argued on both sides.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Actually shelters who've done similer report that reduced fees or even fee free adoptions do NOT result in "lower quality" homes. They just result in a larger volume of adoptions. I'll see if I can find the link to the guy who was talking about it.

I can't speak for everwhere, but cats do seem to be harder to adopt out, our local shelter has several cats who've been there for MONTHS, and in a couple cases over a year :/

 

[ruthcatrin]

Ok, I can't get the link to the actual study to work, not sure if thats my computer (I've been having issues again) or what, but here's what I've got:

Article: The Truth About Free Cat Adoptions

Study Summery: Free Pet Adoptions

Blog post on the subject.

The thing you have to remember is that when they're offering reduced fees, they're NOT waiving the rest of their requirements (at least not usually). The adopters STILL have to meet the rest of the adoption requirements, including application, potential home check, vet references, etc. All they're doing is catching the public's eye with "SALE!!" which is a highly effective tactic.

And frankly even a home with low income, but loving and responsible owners, is better than being killed for space.....

 

[lucklein]

Oh, yes, they did state that their usual adoption process took place. Thanks for your comments ruthcatrin, because I agree with you. All the cats had their checkups, shots, spay/neuter and the adopters still went through the normal adoption process. There were more than a hundred people waiting in line outside just prior to the start of the event. And, Yeah, it seems everyone wants a kitten.

 

[KayWilson]

our local humane society does something similar every year from spring to fall (bumper kitten season). Last month the HS took in around 600 cats and 200 kittens. I think it's a great idea. It get's people thinking about getting their pets from a shelter/rescue instead of off kijiji. The cats get fixed, instead of getting a cat and 'forgetting' to have it fixed, and realistically even in my city; cats are viewed as a dime a dozen. Even good, caring homes don't want to pay the $300 fee to adopt a cat; though the same goes for some dog homes too..

 

[harleyboysmom]

My son just adopted a 3 mos old in Cali. He paid 150$ and didn't mind.
they did vetting, just to make sure it was a proper home.
Guess the problem isn't everywhere, or maybe it is, they just don't let people know and do the obvious.

 

[ruthcatrin]

To be fair I don't have a problempaying a signifigant adoption fee. I know what just the spay/neuter cost them, never mind housing and feeding costs. But if "SALE!!" is what it takes to get the community to pay attention then I'd say its totally worth it.

 

[lucklein]

I have just emailed the adoption manager and suggested that they should consider an "any donation" or cat food donation drive instead of waiving the fee entirely. That way they'll get some donations as well as find homes for their cats when they are inundated with them. I'm sure some people would be happy to donate something in order to get a "free cat".

 

[efinley]

I just started working at my local SPCA and I don't think there are more than 10 empty cat cages in the entire place.

 

[FailedSlacker]

My local humane society does this occasionally for both cats and dogs. For dogs and cats that are there for a long time or for special needs animals, they will let businesses or people sponsor that animal's adoption fee.

The local newspaper (which has a great relationship with our humane society) will often put these adoption events in the first section (I've also seen it on the front page for slow news days). From what I've heard, it usually gets the people who were humming and hawing about getting a dog or cat to get out there and actually do it.

 

[kmes]

Our shelter doesn't get nearly that number (we're in a more rural area), but they are packed with cats and kittens all of the time. They did free adoptions to approved homes a month or two ago for National Adopt a Cat month. And right now they are offering cats and kittens to approved homes for a donation of the adopter's choice be it $5 or $500. And all are still going to be altered, chipped, UTD on vaccinations, etc. Pretty awesome deal IMO.

They really are just trying whatever they can to get animals in homes so they do not need to PTS any animals due to lack of space. Only medical and behavior issues.

 

[lucklein]

I got reply to my email this morning. They have offered a "name your price" and "tin for the bin" promo on cats in the past, but didn't have great success with that. This time, they advertised free cats, and then asked those people who adopted for a donation at the desk. She said is was very successful. So great, whatever works.

 

[Gingersnaps]

I know it's bad enough here that entire litters will be taken in and euthanized within the week. Our town is so overrun with cats that it's horrifying. A coworker told me the other day that she saw upwards of 40 stray cats hanging out at an abandoned hotel downtown. Someone's been feeding them, and the population has soared over the summer.

This is the primary reason we kept Korra. The shelter operates with a tiny staff that doesn't have the time to bottle feed young kittens every couple hours. Usually, any kitten younger than eight weeks doesn't last very long at the shelter. Since no one could foster Korra for us, it was either keep her or risk her being euthanized for no reason other than her age.

That said, the shelter is at full capacity right now and is asking for both cat and dog food donations. I'm guessing the reason they don't offer free adoptions is because of the number of dog fighting rings in the surrounding areas that use cats as bait.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I'm guessing the reason they don't offer free adoptions is because of the number of dog fighting rings in the surrounding areas that use cats as bait.

I can believe thats their reason, but as long as they're doing their jobs checking out new homes its a null reason IMO....

 

[Gingersnaps]

I can believe thats their reason, but as long as they're doing their jobs checking out new homes its a null reason IMO....

To my knowledge, they don't do home visits. The only follow-up is to ascertain that the animal has been fixed. If you adopt an animal that is already fixed, you can pay the adoption fee and it's a done deal. You sign a contract stating that you agree to a home visit should it be needed, but they've never asked us more than "Are you the owners of your house, and do you have a fenced-in backyard?" We've never had any follow-up, and we've adopted all three dogs from the shelter.

When I adopted Cleo and Eliza from a different shelter in another state, I had to go through a week-long vetting process that involved the shelter contacting each of my references, speaking with my landlord, and verifying that I had already spoken with a vet of my choosing. After that round, I had to pass an interview and prove that the cats and I were a good match.

 

[KodaKeet]

My goodness...
I understand the fear that free cats wont find as high a quality home as others. But we got our cat for free and just spent around $200 on vet fees. Sometime speople have money for extras and would like to spend as little as possible for the actual adoption...

We have ashelter nearby that is a donated house. The cats run free inside and are all spayed and neautered. The adoption fee os $35 for any age cat. Currently they have about 80 cats up for adoption.

I think the reason people dont like adopting cars from the humane society where I live is because kittens are $100.

 

[lucklein]

Kittens here are $129 (over 4 months) and $179 under four months. I think people might feel that these prices are unreasonable because you can often find free cats in the paper. But they don't factor in the shots and spay/neuter fees that they will pay (if they are responsible) after they pick up their free kitten.

 

[KodaKeet]

Yeah, people usually dont think about that. I think many are starting to go to this other shelter. Kittens are spayed and neautered with all their shots and the adoption fee is $35. We got one of our adult cats there