Why CRI Doesn't Take Owner-Surrenders
Cat Rescue doesn't take owner-surrender cats because as a home based rescue organization we don't operate a shelter and are limited by city and state laws. Since we never euthanize animals, the number of cats we can care for depends directly upon how many adoptions we have.
In the spring and fall "kitten seasons", we are full of kittens as well as their mothers. During these times, we as well as virtually every other animal shelter or rescue group in Hampton Roads is bombarded with calls and e-mails from people who have a litter of kittens that they "need to find homes for" while the rest of the year is spent trying to find homes for the cats that didn't get adopted during the last kitten season.
Finding a New Home for Your Pet
Many people call, e-mail or visit us at PETsMART and ask us if we would take their cat and find a new home for it. Many times pet owners tell us that they do not wish to take their animal to a shelter because they, "Don't want it to be killed". That's especially true since 20,000 companion animals in Hampton Roads shelters are put down annually.
Finding a new home is like selling your car, etc. Make veterinary requirements are complete. At a minimum, that means making sure the rabies vaccination is current. This is a state and city law. Veterinary protocol also says having a current distemper vaccination (FVRCP) protects your cat and other cats from four viruses. Of course, having your cat spayed or neutered is very important. Our area probably has the highest concentration of low cost clinics in Virginia. Go to www.awchr.org to see a list of all the low cost clinics in Hampton Roads.
Advertise your pet on www.norfolk.craigslist.org, veterinary offices, pet stores, the Virginian Pilot, etc. Ask questions of the prospective adopters; have they ever taken a pet to a kill shelter, what happened to their last pet, have them show their lease if they rent that they can have a pet, give a reference, exchange names/phone numbers. Most importantly deliver your pet to its new home to ensure it's going to a good environment. You can always say, "No".
"But You're Supposed to Take Animals!"
Under Virginia law, there is no legal requirement for any private animal shelter/SPCA or rescue group to take an animal that an owner wishes to surrender or a litter of kittens that someone does not want to help - only municipal animal control agencies are required to do this.
Sadly, despite their best efforts many municipal shelters have high euthanasia rates because of the sheer volume of animals that arrive, especially in the spring and fall.
In some instances, the only hands that will handle young kittens are the same hands that will end their lives. No animal shelter, caregiver or staff member at any shelter enjoys performing this task - they are simply dealing with the problem that pet overpopulation creates.
Cat Rescue, Inc. believes that the animal overpopulation crisis can be solved, but not by simply providing an easy means by which pet owners can divorce themselves of their animals so that others can deal with it.
What We Offer
The assistance that Cat Rescue, Inc. offers requires owner-participation.
We will be happy to direct you to resources for low-cost spay/neuter services, shots such as distemper and rabies and provide you with a means in which to stand up at PETsMART with us every weekend and advocate on behalf of your pet to find it the kind of home you would want it to have.
We will be more than happy to list your pet as a courtesy listing on our website free of charge, which will post your pets photo and description on all of the major pet adoption websites and give your pet exposure to thousands of prospective new owners.
We can also provide for no cost adoption flyers complete with your pets photograph, a description of you pet and even tear-off phone number tags so that people can easily contact you to discuss adopting your cat.
All you have to do is open the file and print them up-it's that easy.
Helpful Tips & Information
If you want your cat to have a new home, here are some helpful hints that can help assure you of success:
www.norfolk.craigslist.org is a great site to find a home for your pet/s. It's a daily listing that covers from the Peninsula to North Carolina.
Place an advertisement with a good, clear photograph in the local newspaper. The Sunday edition is usually best for this. Do not advertise your pet as "free to a good home" becasue some of these animals may end up in a medical research laboratory. You can ask that the prospective adopter have a drivers license with a local address and ask them to sign an adoption contract.
Offer some incentive to a prospective adopter such as a six-month supply of your cats favorite food, two or three free visits to the groomers or perhaps even offer to pay for a pet health insurance plan or a pet hospital wellness plan. Perhaps it could be something as simple as offering to pay for the registration or implant of a microchip-less than $50.00.
Pet owners who have done these things report an extraordinary amount of success placing thier animals into new homes.
Place adoption flyers everywhere you can such as grocery stores, community centers, pet stores and your workplace-these are the places people gather and will see your pet.
If You Do Nothing
The numbers speak for themselves:
According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Statewide Summary Report for 2003,
| ° 130,739 cats arrived in animal shelters in Virginia. ° 57,808 of these cats were "owner surrenders". ° 29,758 of these cats were adopted into a new home. ° 73,175 of the cats that arrived in these shelters never left. |
In fact according to statistics, cats account for two-thirds of all companion animals euthanized in animal shelters nationwide and each year, the United States spends about two billion dollars dealing with the pet overpopulation problem. Shelters, people to provide care as well as euthanizing and disposing of so many animals comes at a staggering cost.
The odds are about one chance in three that your cat will make it out of an animal shelter alive.
Proper planning and a little effort on your part can prevent that from happening.
If you put it off until the last minute, you might be faced with little choice other than a municipal shelter or some other shelter that euthanizes pets. It is a fact that in Hampton Roads each year, over 20,000 companion animals are admitted to animal shelters and never leave with a new owner.
While it is true that many of these animals are sick, injured or otherwise unsuitable for adoption, many thousands more were once someone's beloved pet whose time ran out.
If you choose to simply abandon your pet, not only are you breaking the law as well as the bond of trust you once had, it isentirely possible that your cat could be hit by a car, attacked by another animal or contract a disease that would cause unimaginable suffering.
If you take your pet to a municipal shelter, it is a sad fact that once you sign the surrender form, they are under no obligation to put your pet on the adoption list and can euthanize it after you walk out the door.
No animal shelter employee or staff member looks forward to euthanizing a healthy, friendly and highly adoptable pet, but it is a sad reality that there are too many pets and never enough adoptive homes.
This reality forces some very difficult choices to be made and your pet might pay with its life.
If you procrastinate, put it off or "just don't want to deal with it", your pet could be euthanized as a result-it's just that simple. A responsible pet owner must ask themselves what they are willing to do to prevent their animal from losing its life in an animal shelter that needs to make room for more animals that are going to arrive each day.