News
Partnership Pays Off for Community Cats
April 09, 2009, 4:22PM MT
By Cheri Moon
Collaboration between Utah groups helps find homes for those too friendly to return
Collaboration between Utah groups helps find homes for those too friendly to return
By Reade Adams, Best Friends Network Volunteer
Penelope, a purebred Persian house cat, suddenly found herself homeless when her breeder/owner closed up shop, moved away, and abandoned her and 11 other cats to a life in the wild. Luckily for her, the Best Friends Feral Cat program found out about her predicament and rescued her from a dog run near Hurricane, Utah.
(Dumped outside is no place for a housecat like Penelope. Fortunately the little beauty was rescued.)
Penelope is one of over 3,000 community cats in southern Utah who have been adopted or relocated through a partnership between the Best Friends’ Four Directions Community Cat program and No More Homeless Pets in Utah (NMHPU).
NMHPU was formed in July of 2000 through a grant from Maddie’s Fund, with Best Friends Animal Society as the parent organization from 2000-2005, providing the group with financial and organizational support. Now an independent nonprofit organization, the organization continues to partner with Best Friends through the Four Directions program to provide spay/neuter, medical care, and placement services.
Ending the euthanasia of homeless dogs and cats statewide and promoting humane alternatives for feral cats is the expressed goal of NMHPU, with a focus on collaboration with other Utah shelters, rescue groups, veterinarians, and local governments to save animal lives.
Shannon Riddle, Best Friends Community Cat Program Coordinator, adds, “The goal of the partnership is to help these cats that have nowhere to go, find a suitable and safe place to live their lives as feral cats and to help the adoptable friendly ones find a happy new family.”
(Penelope wasn’t the only friendly kitty needing a new home. Bucky was also one of the lucky felines given the opportunity for a new home through the partnership. He is currently available for adoption)
Finding homes for cats has freed up valuable foster space, says Jamie Carter, NMHPU Cat Foster Coordinator. “We show every weekend and all of our animals are listed on Petfinder and Pets 911. We are in the process of redoing our website and will then have the capability to have all our adoptable animals directly on our website instead of the link. And, of course, we are gearing up for the Spring Super Adoption.”
NMHPU offers free spay/neuter for low-income residents through its Free Fix program and has placed nearly 1,300 animals into adoptive homes through NMHP in Utah Adoption Program and Super Adoptions.
There are 250 volunteers in 38 small town and rural communities in southern Utah and northern Arizona who feed approximately 3,500 feral and stray cats. However, as Shelly Kotter, Best Friends’ Focus on Felines Campaign Specialist, points out, “What do you do when you have a cat that you should not put back out where you trapped it?”
Rural areas have fewer options for adoptable cats, so by partnering with organizations in larger cities to find forever homes, the number of adoptions has been dramatically increased. In fact, Utah boasts a 60% save rate of shelter animals, compared with an average of 20 percent, nationally.
(Playful Bucky would like nothing more than to be adopted into a loving home, full of feather toys and soft cushy beds.)
In exchange for adoptable cats from NMHPU, Four Directions relocates ferals who can not be returned to their original colonies. Kotter notes that the exchange is about three to one – three adoptables for every feral cat needing relocation.
Carter explains that the partnership “has allowed us to focus our attention on the cats that can be easily transitioned into homes, while still ensuring that the feral cats can lead a quality life.”
Finding foster homes for adoptables and relocation sites for ferals is a continuing challenge for the program. The faltering economy has resulted in people moving and leaving behind pets they can no longer afford, which puts a greater stress on shelters to find homes for this increasing number of homeless animals.
“Ironically,” says Carter, “our biggest challenge is keeping adult cat foster homes. Since our adult cats are typically in our program longer, it is more likely that the foster home falls in love and keeps them. You can only do that so much before you can’t foster anymore.”
Fortunately for Penelope, a foster home was available. She was badly in need of a clean up after her stint as an outdoor cat, so her foster parent took her to a local groomer, who fell in love with the delightful kitty and adopted her.
How you can help southern Utah cats
? Support the wonderful work being done by No More Homeless Pets in Utah through:
• Fostering
• Adopting
• Donating
• Becoming a feral colony caregiver
? Attend the No More Homeless Pets in Utah Spring Super Adoption
Date: Friday, May 1- Sunday, May 3
Time: 2:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Saturday, and 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sunday
Location: PetSmart
389 West 1830 South
Salt Lake City, UT
(map to location)
? Make sure to spay/neuter your companion animals
For more information
• A Fresh Start On A New Life
• Adopt Your Next Best Friend (featuring the newly adopted Penelope – formerly known as Peach)
Photographs courtesy of Franci DeLong, No More Homeless Pets in Utah
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff