Humane Society event to find cats homes, save others’ lives

Editor-in-chief

Published: Friday, October 16, 2009

Updated: Friday, October 16, 2009 18:10

Mandarin, a Siamese short hair, is one of 25 cats the Stillwater Humane Society, 1710 S. Main St., hopes to find a home for during Free Cat Friday.

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OSU fans aren't the only ones eager for a homecoming Friday.

Adult cats at the Stillwater Humane Society are looking for a homecoming of their own.

Due to an influx of stray kittens and cats, the Humane Society, 1710 S. Main St., doesn't have room to house them all.

The Humane Society does not euthanize its animals but the City of Stillwater's Animal Control does when it runs out of room for more.

The Humane Society tries to take as many animals from the shelter as possible but has been too full itself to take any for the past two weeks, said Director Jackie Ross-Guerrero.

"At any given time, we can each have about 50 cats," Ross-Guerrero said. "So, if we're not adopting any out, we can't take anymore in and people have no where to take them.

"So, what they have to do is they have to make room. They either make room by bringing them to us or something bad happening to them."

In response, the Humane Society is holding Free Cat Friday to adopt out adult cats for free that are 1 year or older. The cats have been spayed and neutered and have all their vaccinations. Twenty-five cats need homes.

"It's the older cats — once they're over a year old they're a little bit harder to place," she said.

"They're just as loving, just as lovable but they're not those cute little fluff balls you see running around in the cages."

Ross-Guerrero said she attributes the influx to strays and outside cats that haven't been spayed or neutered.

The Humane Society normally charges $50 for adoptions but Ross-Guerrero said it would rather see the cats go to good homes for free. She also said Free Cat Friday could save potential owners $150 to $300 dollars on health checks, vaccinations, and spaying and neutering for a new cat.

Ross-Guerrero said the Humane Society decided on the spur of the moment to try Free Cat Friday last week when it didn't have room for more cats.

She said the event was successful. Six cats got new homes, which made room for 12 kittens. The event's success allowed the Humane Society to take all the kittens the shelter needed it to.

"My hopes are to double what we did last week," she said. "If we can get 10 to 12 of the adult cats home so I can rescue 10 to 20 of the kittens next door — that'll be a great day."