Our Mission, Then
Ten years ago, the number of cats in our adoption centers was staggering. We knew that we could never adopt our way out of an overpopulation issue.
In 2011, when the idea for Catvocates was first conceived:
- The MSPCA took in 7,692 cats in its centers around the state.
- Cats accounted for 61% of our total intake – more than three times the number of dogs coming into our adoption centers.
- Finding homes for adult cats was clearly one of the MSPCA’s greatest ongoing challenges.
And Catvocates was launched.
Our intake of cats compared to our public cat spay/neuter shows the efficacy of these programs over the past 10 years.
The Catvocates were responsible for funding two key strategies to tackle cat over-population: cat adoption promotions AND subsidized spay/neuter for cats. Our efforts worked! Through a reduction in cat spay-neuter fees in undeserved communities and the introduction of fee-waived cat adoptathons, we significantly decreased the intake of homeless cats in our adoption centers as well as the adoption rate of adult cats.
- Thousands of adult cats have found new families during fee-waived adoption events.
- We routinely place senior and “super senior” cats, ranging in age from 12-20 years.
- Over 30,000 cats have been sterilized since the beginning of Catvocates in 2011, contributing to a significant reduction of cats being brought into our adoption centers.
- We expanded our efforts to help feral and free-roaming cats who reside in neighborhoods and need our help:
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- Offering free housing and feeding stations to compassionate caretakers of community cats
- Providing food to caretakers of community cats through each of our adoption centers
- Collaborating on free Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) clinics for community cats
Our cat adoption rooms began to empty…
Our Mission, Now
Kitty and her family wait for vaccines at a Lawrence Community Wellness Clinic
As fewer and fewer homeless cats await new homes in our adoption centers, we have been able to shift our focus to help even more cats!
We are going the extra mile to remove barriers to adoption! The cats who remain on our adoption floor the longest tend to be cats with medical issues. By addressing costly procedures such as dental surgery and hyperthyroidism in house prior to adoption, we have successfully found homes for cats who would have otherwise waited on our adoption floors for a long time.
We are working outside of our four walls to help cats in need before they are relinquished to our adoption centers! Our Community Outreach Program works to keep families and pets together. We strive to achieve this goal by offering affordable and accessible animal care resources to families in underserved communities.
And this year, we are partnering with other animal protection agencies to help cats in areas that are still struggling with an overpopulation issue. Through our affiliation with Northeast Animal Shelter, we have launched a robust relocation program that brings cats in need of homes to the MSPCA adoption centers. We have also launched a mentorship program with shelters in South Carolina to help replicate our feline successes of the past ten years. We truly could not have foreseen ever getting to the point where we have so few cats, we are able to help homeless animals from other parts of the country. It is inspiring!
We Still Have Work To Do…
Please join the Catvocates today. Your contribution will help fund these creative programs that reduce overpopulation, find homes for cats, and keep pets together with the families that love them. That’s the mission of the Catvocates.
Your support of the MSPCA’s Catvocates will make a difference in the lives of cats.
Click here to make a donation to support Catvocate programs.
