Cats in the Community: A Pilot Program at Seattle Animal Shelter

Cats in the Community: a Pilot Program at Seattle Animal Shelter

We are excited to launch our Cats in the Community program, a project aimed at balancing intake, humane capacity in our shelter, and the best outcomes for the cats in our community. It is our hope that through this program we are able to better support our community’s feline friends!

A flyer about the Seattle Animal Shelter's Cats in the Community program that includes facts such as: Nationwide, only 2% of cats are reclaimed by owners after they enter a shelter. Cats are 13x more likely to return home by non-shelter than by shelter means. and 66% of lost cats found because they return home on their own. If you find an adult cat outside that is uninjured and healthy, leave it where it is so these pets can stay with their families.

Modeled after the Million Cat Challenge, we are currently focusing on four key initiatives:

  1. Alternatives to intake: provide positive alternatives to keep cats in their home or community when admission to the shelter is not the best choice.
  2. Managed admission: Scheduling intake of cats ensures that we are able to humanely care for each cat in our system and provide an appropriate outcome for every cat.
  3. Capacity for care: In order to support the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare within our shelter, we must align the number of cats in our care to our ability to meet their needs.
  4. Removing barriers to adoption: Expanding the pool of adopters by removing barriers to adoption such as invasive adoption questionnaires, cost, process, or location.

If you find an adult cat outside that is uninjured and healthy, leave it where it is! It is our ultimate goal to keep pets with their families, and that includes outdoor pets as well. Leaving healthy, adult outdoor cats where you found them gives them the best chance to stay with their family and/or in their community.

We will still be accepting kittens, injured or sick adult lost cats, clearly abandoned cats, and owner surrenders.

Stay tuned for more information on our Cats in the Community program in the coming weeks!

Resources:

https://millioncatchallenge.org/millioncatchallenge