All Local Animal Shelters Stretched to the Limit
Shelters of the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP), strained to capacity by a wave of relinquished cats and kittens, are urging the public to adopt a new feline companion this week. This might be one of the largest selection of felines Portland has
ever seen. Currently, five local shelters are caring for over 1,200 cats and kittens and continue to receive daily requests from the public to take in more. Close to 600 kittens and 620 adult cats are looking for loving families at the shelters. This surely is the greatest variety of cats ever seen and the public is guaranteed to find their furry soulmate now.
"If you are thinking of adopting, now is the time," said Sharon Harmon, executive director of the Oregon Humane Society. "We have cats in all colors, sizes and personalities."
Summer is the busy season for animal shelters, particularly when it comes to cats. Cats are seasonal breeders, so in the late spring, "kitten season" hits, and people start bringing kittens (often with their mothers) to animal shelters. This drives up the population at the shelters and enables adopters to find their "purrfect" cat companion.
A recent influx of cats and kittens has left the Oregon Humane Society, the Bonnie L. Hays Small Animal Shelter, Multnomah County Animal Services, Cat Adoption Team and Humane Society for SW Washington stretched to the limit - some with crates stacked to the ceiling. All five shelters are part of the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP) - a coalition of the largest
animal welfare organizations in the region dedicated to ending needless euthanasia of cats in the Portland Metro area.
ASAP partners are pulling out all the stops to help cats and kittens in need right now-training foster families, holding special adoption events, and keeping in touch with each other daily to transfer animals from shelters that have run out of space to others that can help. "We're taking as many cats and kittens as we can from our county shelter partners," said Karen Green, executive director of Cat Adoption Team, "But we can only bring them in as quickly as we're able to find good new homes for the cats and kittens in our care." This also means that CAT is currently not accepting cats directly from the public so that they can focus on helping ASAP partners through their shelter transfer program. Additionally, at the Oregon Humane Society, there are currently over 250 cats on a waiting list to come to the shelter for adoption.
"We're in a win-win situation at this time - the public finds the perfect cat and helps us open up a space for another cat in need of a loving home," adds Lisa Feder, Operations Director at the Humane Society for SW Washington. "Saving lives is a community effort and we need the public to help us achieve a community where cats can receive the help they need and the home they deserve."
The public is urged to visit their local animal shelter this week to adopt a cat or kitten. New volunteers and foster families are welcomed, along with financial donations. If you are considering rehoming your cat, there may be resources that can help you keep your cat rather than add it to the crowded shelter population. Most shelters have information on their websites that
can help resolve behavior problems, find pet-friendly housing, or find a new home for a pet without going to a shelter.
The ASAP shelters with cats and kittens waiting for their new homes are:
Bonnie L. Hays Small Animal Shelter, 1901 SE 24th Ave. Hillsboro, OR 97123;
(503) 846-7041; www.WashingtonCountyPets.com
Cat Adoption Team, Sherwood, 4175 SW Galbreath Drive, Sherwood, OR 97140;
(503) 925-8903; www.catadoptionteam.org<http://www.catadoptionteam.org>
Humane Society for SW Washington, 1100 NE 192nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98684
(360) 693-4746, www.southwesthumane<http://www.southwesthumane>.org
Multnomah County Animal Control, 1700 W Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale, OR
97060; (503) 988-7387; www.multcopets.org<http://www.multcopets.org>
Oregon Humane Society, 1067 NE Columbia Blvd. Portland, OR 97211; (503)
285-7722; www.oregonhumane.org<http://www.oregonhumane.org>
# # #
The five shelters listed above are all members of the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP), a group of ten organizations dedicated to ending the euthanasia of social, healthy, and treatable cats and dogs in our local shelters by collaborating on spay/neuter programs, educational and outreach efforts, and the promotion of humane alternatives for feral cats.
By working together, ASAP partners have ensured that no healthy, adoptable cat or dog has been euthanized in our local shelters since 2010. And most cats and dogs with treatable health or behavioral problems are also being saved (so far, none have been euthanized in 2013). www.asapmetro.org<http://www.asapmetro.org>