The Edmonton Humane Society is overwhelmed by a deluge of cats and they are dealing with the surplus in the broadest way possible — they’re giving the animals away.
Since last week, the animal welfare agency and advocate has been running a special event in conjunction with the Edmonton Indy. Called the Indy Cat 500, it’s an opportunity for the public to adopt one of 500 felines. With just one week left, only about 150 have been placed with new families and the society is desperate to find homes for the rest.
Media spokesperson Shawna Randolph explained that times have been especially tough. The society is currently housing about 200 more cats than usual, which has forced staff to temporarily stop accepting new admissions and even place a few in rooms generally reserved for dogs. Now at the middle of the campaign, the society has assessed how successful it will likely be and it makes them nervous.
“Now we’re at the halfway mark and we’re not halfway through our goal,” she admitted. “We’re at the point where we really hope that this weekend that people will step up to the plate and come down.”
To meet its goal, the society is running a special this weekend called Wave Your Checkered Flag. Every successful placement of a black or white cat today or tomorrow will have its adoption fee waived. Adoptees of any other cats will get the chance to spin a wheel to win different discounts off of the normal adoption cost of $130. These enticements, along with door prizes, make its representatives hopeful that hundreds of cat lovers will come out of the woodwork before the end of July.
This follows closely on the heels of the society’s last promotion in June. The Certified Pre-Owned Cats event waived the adoption fees for 124 cats, a total that broke its one-day adoption record. Randolph called it a huge success, even in the face of overcrowding.
“That’s why — for us to have to do this in such little time after that — it’s disappointing for us to have to be in this situation. It’s a major community problem. Before we started this event, we were full. We were not able to take in cats that were being surrendered by owners. To have that happen so quickly is just so frustrating for us.”
She added the agency does take in strays from surrounding areas like Sturgeon County. “We didn’t anticipate having to do two promotions in one summer. People need to know that there are wonderful animals in animal shelters.”
All cats adopted from the society are spayed or neutered, have received their first set of vaccinations and are getting microchipped. The fee also covers a free vet exam, free collar and six weeks of pet insurance.
As an additional encouragement, the society also has an initiative in collaboration with the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association. Called Prevent Another Litter, the program offers financial assistance for qualifying families that do not have the means to spay or neuter their animals.
