Cat Shelters & Humane Societies
Help lighten the load.
Animal shelters often work with limited funds, and rely heavily on volunteers. They manage feral cat colonies, taking on the costs of food, housing structures. Trap-Neuter-Return (TPR) programs are expensive to administer. Shelters spend money to treat injured and sick cats found roaming in the community or surrendered. They do it because they love cats and want what's best for them. Please read their pleas to cat owners below:
"The decisions people make for their cats are important for their cats' health and welfare; they also play a role in cat overpopulation as a whole. We urge all cat owners to take the following steps:
Have your cats spayed or neutered. Cats can begin reproducing as early as five months of age, so they should be sterilized by that age or younger whenever possible. Cats can have more than one litter each year, and each litter adds to the millions of cats across the country competing for homes. Close to two million cats are euthanized each year in shelters and animal control facilities nationwide. In addition to population control, sterilization can also eliminate unpleasant behaviors of intact cats, such as male cats fighting and female cats going into their reproductive season.
Keep your cats safe indoors. Indoor cats live longer, tend to be healthier, and can avoid some of the predators, injuries, parasites, and communicable diseases to which outdoor cats may be exposed. Indoor cats do not kill birds and other wildlife. An outdoor enclosure or walk on a harness and leash can provide a cat with safe outdoor access, if desired, although cats do not require outdoor access to live full and happy lives.
Put visible identification on your cats at all times. Accidental escape is a common risk for indoor cats. Only about 2 percent of lost cats who enter animal shelters are claimed by their families. A collar with visible identification attached is the best life insurance you can buy. Cats can easily and safely wear collars with identification, and a microchip is a good backup means of identification. Microchips alone are not enough, since it’s the visible ID that will immediately alert people that the cat is owned.
Provide regular veterinary care. All cats, even cats who never interact with other animals or venture outdoors, should be examined at least once a year and receive vaccinations against rabies and other diseases, as recommended by their veterinarian. Regular veterinary visits, as well as preventative care, such as keeping cats indoors and providing good nutrition, are key to ensuring the highest quality of life for cats."
Directly quoted from: Our position on cats. (2020). The Humane Society of the United States. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/our-position-cats