There is already enough of another kind of flood all around the province .... the annual river of cats. Every rescue group and shelter is bursting at the seams with kittens and cats. Even rescue groups that normally only work with dogs have a few little vagabonds tucked in their care.
In light of that, a lot of the groups are going the extra mile to try to get their kitties into good homes by adjusting their fees:
- S.H.A.I.D has reduced its fee for adult cats to $100.00 until Labour Day
- CAPS is continuing its innovative step of having a more modest $80.00 fee for adult cats than its $100.00 one for kittens
- the LA Animal Shelter is also continuing its own long running approach of asking for a minimum donation of $50.00 for cat and kitten adoptions
- the TLC Animal Shelter has an unspecified Special Summer Adoption fee for its kitties
- P.E.T. PROJECTS still asks for a modest minimum donation of $30.00 for its kitties .... they're doing some very clever things as well, such as off site adoptions
- the Hants County SPCA has a $30.00 fee for kittens and $60.00 for cats with a further discount for anyone adopting more than one cat
- the Queens SPCA has a $70.00 fee for cats and also offer a discount for folks who are adopting more than one
- The Lunenburg SPCA continues with its modest cat adoption fee of $75.00
- the well publicized special $75.00 adoption fee for the Port Felix cats at the Kings SPCA is still in effect
- the Metro Shelter is also still running its special $100.00 adoption fee for adult cats who have been at the shelter for more than three weeks.
- Sadly the Pictou SPCA http://www.pictoucountyspca.piczo.com/is closed to any cat admissions because they are full, in spite of their modest adoption fee of $30.00 for a kitten or unspayed cat or $50.00 for a spayed one
- PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MAY BE OTHER INCENTIVES IN PLACE RIGHT NOW THAT ARE NOT BEING PUBLICIZED AND THEREFORE ARE UNKNOWN TO THIS AUTHOR. If that is the case, please do not hesitate to contact the webmaster for the homeless pet site, or leave a comment here
As a friend of mine is just now discovering, cats really do love the company of their own kind. ( That's why there is a special little corner of the homeless pet site, The More the Merrier - click here to learn how to manage a multi cat household )
Will it take more than reduced fees to dam up the flood? Of course it will. As P.E.T. PROJECTS and the volunteers who started spca...adopt a dog ! have discovered, its just as important to take the animals to the people.
At the end of the day, every pet that is adopted from a responsible rescue is one less pet that will reproduce. That's why adoption incentives are such a critical part of the solution. Using the fee to recover rescue costs is only going to guarantee that more people will continue to recycle cats and their offspring through the free online ad site.
What time is it? Its time to do the math.
- More adoptions = more cats that can be rescued.
- More cats rescued = less cats abandoned
- Less cats abandoned = less 'mothers of all ferals' ... and last but not least
- More cats adopted = more cats altered and less "free kittens to a good home"
Its also time to remember that most people become better pet owners as they go through life. Scolding the people who believe they are being kind by bringing home the free cat or kitten is only going to alienate them.
Adoption fees have also been traditionally used to determine whether or not someone can afford to be a responsible pet owner. Hows that working so far? Has that stopped people from having pets?
More importantly, how has that affected the annual river of cats? Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is "doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results"
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