Adopt A Cat Month - Part 1 | Lola The Rescued Cat
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Adopt A Cat Month - Part 1

June is Adopt A Cat Month, and this will be the first post about that subject we will share.  Adoption is a subject near and dear to our hearts, so we couldn't let June go by without sharing our thoughts and important information.  Adopt a Cat Month is brought to you in June by the American Humane Association. On their website they say "each spring during “kitten season,” thousands of newborn kittens join the millions of cats already in shelters across the country. That means your local shelter has tons of cute, cuddly newborns, in addition to all the mellow, older cats and everything in between". We join the AHA in bringing this to the public's attention.  Let's get cats out of shelters and into forever homes!

As you all know Lexy and I were adopted from a shelter.  Lexy came from the Hudson Valley Human Society and I came from Animal Care and Control of New York City. This is my shelter photo, which many of you have seen before.

Lola The Rescued Cat
Me in the shelter. 
I wrote in my book "Well, here I am in the shelter, where they gave me an animal ID number and named me Lola. My name isn’t Lola, but they don’t understand what I’m meowing when I’m trying to tell them my real name. The lady who named me is nice to me, so I’ll let her call me Lola. I’m warm and I have a bowl of food, but I don’t like this cage. I don’t like this place. I want my home". It was a scary time and I'd like to save every cat in the world from this.


There is a big difference between the shelters that Lexy and I came from, so I'd like to talk about the different types of shelters out there.

Municipal/Tax Payer Funded Shelters:
These  are part of a city or county's animal control division.  This is where I came from.  Animal Control Officers or the police may be responsible for bringing in abandoned or stray animals found on the street. People also surrender their pets here for various reasons (which we'll discuss in another post.) These shelters are funded through the budgets of their localities with taxpayer dollars, and due to the low funds available and the high volume of animals that come through, many animals are euthanized.  This is what the pet community refers to as a "kill shelter".  Cat (and other animals) too often find themselves on the euthanization list, or "Death Row".  There is a Facebook Page, Pets on Death Row - Urgent , that is dedicated to getting cats on "the list" pulled by rescues in order to save their lives. (Note: although NY AC&C is designated as the only 501(c)(3) non profit in NYC with the unique responsibility never turning away any homeless, abandoned, injured or sick animal in need, including cats, dogs, rabbits, small mammals reptiles, birds, farm animals and wildlife, they receive funding from a contract with NYC.)

Human Societies/Rescue Organizations/Animal Sanctuaries:
I put all of these in one category because they are usually independently run and  rely on charitable contributions and fund raising. Lexy came from one of these. The Hudson Valley Humane Society (HVHS) is a not for profit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization.  These types of shelters are "no kill" shelters. That means the animals they save are never euthanized just because there is no room for them. HVHS  "believes that no healthy, adoptable animal should be put to sleep".   Many small rescues are one person operations and rely on the kindness of fosters because they don't have enough space to house the animals they rescue. If a cat is not lucky enough to get a foster home placement, they most likely will have to live in a cage until they are adopted (like Lexy did). There are cage-free sanctuaries, like Tabby's Place, but in our area there are very few.

On our Facebook Page  people have told us that we inspired them to adopt a cat from a shelter.  One woman even named her cat Lola, after me! What an honor! We're hoping our posts will be share and other people will be inspired to save a cat from a shelter.

Lola
Tomorrow... things to consider before adopting a cat.

Sources: American Humane Association, Doctors Foster and Smith Peteducation.com, Dogshealth.com, Hudson Valley Humane Society.
   




Would you like to comment?

  1. What an awesome post! I knew you would do a lot for Adopt a Cat Month.

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  2. Dawn: Lola looks so lost and needy in that picture. No wonder you couldn't leave with out her. I'm glad that they designated a whole month to Adopt a Cat.

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  3. lola & lexy; thoze oh uz in trout towne who came frum shelterz came frum two compleet diffrunt onez az well....thanx full lee both are now werking two gether & both are werking toward ther goal on makin de city ...."community cat" friendly !! YAY !!!...♥♥♥

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  4. Oh Sweet bootyful Lola, weez so glad yous mommy adopted you and sweet Lexy. Weez so sowry yous had to be in a cage at a shelter. Altho' Lexi and me was wescued, neever of us had to live in a cage. Weez shared yous wunnewful psoty and weez purrayin' lots and lots of kitties find furever homes. Have a pawsum day.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Lexi

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  5. Great post, very informative. Three of us were adopted from a rescue organization, and two of us were rescued off the street by the Mom and Dad. No matter how one is rescued, we support it!! So glad you two girls found your purrfect home.

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  6. Municipal shelters have had the term kill shelters thrust upon them by people who created 'no kill' shelters. it is sad because that term alone has forced them to kill so many more because people refuse to help support 'kill' shelters.

    Municipal shelters are open admission shelters. they take any and all animals - no matter the age, the health condition or the temperament - because no one wants them. they are there so there is a place for the animal to go.

    "No-Kill" shelters are more often than not "Closed admission" shelters. They limit who they take on because of their decision not to kill any animal in their care. They often can not take on the sick or the animals with temperament issues, and often are 'full' and refuse admission to their shelter for animals during this time. they have to because they have no where to put them and limited resources to care for them.

    so many times I have seen people lament there is no place for their unwanted pets to go, they found a cat or a kitten or a dog and can not keep it and they have called all of the 'no-kill' places because that is what they were told to do, only to be told they aren't accepting animals at this time. the people who find animals are often bombarded with "OH DON'T CALL THE SHELTER" dire warnings that they are a kill shelter and so the people are left thinking there is no where to turn.

    If we as a society stopped berating open admission shelters and started supporting them with our time, or our financial donations, imagine the difference we could make. There are actually open admission shelters with adoption rates that rival that of 'no kill' because they have amazing community involvement.

    Please, consider your position on 'no-kill' and consider advocating for the support of open admission shelters.. because it is there that we are really going to make a difference in the lives of the animals.

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    1. This post was in no way meant to berate anyone, and I apologize if it was taken that way. I do support all types of shelters since, at the end of the day, it is about the animals that need help. This was not meant to be a political post in any way or one to begin debate. We are just trying to shed light on what happens in certain areas. Our local shelter system is in need of great reform.

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  7. Thank you for the wonderful, wonderful post and I look forward to what else you have planned for this very important month. Lola, that picture of you just breaks my heart and I am so happy that you found such a wonderful forever home.

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  8. I am so glad you were rescued. Several of mine are shelter cats and the rest showed up at my door.

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  9. We had no idea that the NY AC&C is a 501c3. That seems to be a growing trend, contracting animal control/open admission to nonprofits and then letting them sink under the weight of the volume. We hope that there is reform and that people start to support their local open-admission shelters so that there is somewhere for the animals there to go.

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  10. Thanks for sharing this info about shelters, Lola. I came from one of those "municipal" shelters...so I guess I was a lucky one to be adopted. ~Ernie

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  11. We are a family of shelter grads too Lola and you and your sis are sure special.

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