Newsletter What s Inside? Spring / Summer 2012 2011 Annual Report... page 2 Spaying Ourselves Out of Kittens... page 3 Onychectomy... page 4 Happy Adoptions... page 5 CAT Sponsorship Form... page 7 Cover Photo Courtesy of
CAT s 2011 Numbers Behind the Lives Saved 2011 Expenses $1,372,139 Administrative 7% Fundraising (Includes Thrift Store Opened Oct. 2011) 13% Adoptions 2,482 cats / kittens 1,368 female 1,114 male 44.6% black or mostly black cats 27,131 total adoptions since founding in 1998 (through December 31, 2011) Intake 2,361 cats/kittens came to CAT from other shelters and the public 73% of these cats came from other shelters and 27% came from the public Program Services 79% 2011 Sources of Revenue and Support $1,259,525 Bequests 10% Other Income Thrift Store 4% 2% Shelter Services 36% Spay / Neuter 3,362 total surgeries 1,887 were low cost / subsidized surgeries for owned cats 57% increase in number of surgeries done for owned cats over 2010 Cat Food Bank Donations 26% 37,837.55 pounds of cat food distributed 100,948.1 total pounds distributed since opening in June 2008 - Dec. 31, 2011 Record distribution day: July 3-4,264.5 pounds Grants 13% Fundraising Events 9% Volunteering Thrift Store Benefiting CAT 463 active volunteers Opened October 2011 in Raleigh Hills 64,049 hours donated = 30 full time employees Top selling items: housewares, clothing, clothing accessories Top Volunteer Jobs: 2 2011 CAT Annual Report Average sale was $13.83 (compared to Value Villages s average of $9) 5,500 items sold in the 70 days the store was open in 2011 fostering, caring for cats in shelter, caring for cats in offsite adoption center adoption counseling, and adoption list photos and biographies
Spaying ourselves out of kittens? Roughly one third of our adoptions last year were kittens. With folks calling and emailing as early as February to ask when we will have more kittens, it may seem preposterous to actively engage in a program that drastically reduces our most popular commodity adorable, fluffy kittens. But we are, enthusiastically! Foster Kitten - Lynn Mccaffrey We love kittens; who doesn t! However, there are real and awful consequences when there are too many of them. By increasing the volume of spay/ neuter surgeries offered to owned pets, we are decreasing the number of unwanted cats being euthanized in area shelters. In fact, in 2011 the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland, of which CAT is a founding member, reports that feline euthanasia was reduced 55 percent since 2006. Combined, area shelters are saving 7 out of 10 cats. And the number of cats brought into shelters is also trending downwards; 2,600 less cats came to shelters last year than in 2010. Normally we see an influx of kittens in late April and are at capacity by early June (this is what we call kitten season ). Yet for the past two years, the kittens have been slow to arrive and not just at CAT. Our partner organizations report that they, too, scramble to find kittens to place up for adoption in early summer. Is it coincidence that for the last two years, shelters in Portland came together to increase spay/ neuter efforts to decrease free roaming and unwanted cats, as well as the feline euthanasia rate in the metro area? Most of the participating shelters conclude that the jury is still out on this; however, we all have high hopes that the correlation is spot on. Since the Spay & Save program started in 2009, CAT has fixed 3,917 owned cats, preventing the birth of thousands of unwanted kittens and reducing the number of free-roaming cats significantly. Last year we did almost twice as many low-cost or free surgeries for owned cats as we did in 2009. (For more information about Spay & Save, see catadoptionteam.org/ spay.) CAT is committed to offering low-cost options for budget conscious and struggling cat owners. We are willing to spay and neuter ourselves out of kittens. With your help, we can do just that. The $0 - $49 paid by the cat owner nowhere near covers CAT s costs to perform the surgery and care of the cat while in our hospital. If we didn t have any kittens (a very unlikely scenario for many, many years), CAT would still have plenty of adopters. We asked our online fans what they would choose if they were going to adopt a new feline friend. The overwhelming response was an adult cat, which we find interesting when compared to our actual adoption numbers. Help CAT continue to offer our low-cost and inexpensive spay/neuter options with your donation to our Spay Fund. Scan here to Donate to the Spay Fund using your Smartphone or visit http:// tinyurl.com/spayfund 3
Onychectomy Say the word declaw around a group of pet lovers and you ll find yourself in the middle of an emotionally charged conversation. For many cat-lovers, this is a four letter word. It can stir up a hornet s nest because there are those who adamantly believe it is cruel (period!) and others who believe it needs to be done so they can keep their pet. A national poll of pet owners showed that well over half thought it was okay to get cats declawed. Contrast that with our recent survey of online CAT fans which indicated an overwhelming majority do not think cats should be declawed, with a very small contingent saying it is okay. What is declawing or onychectomy? Basically it is removing the claw and little piece of bone the claw grows from. The less removed, the better, and that s where the differences techniques come in. A traditional declaw is to cut at or near the first joint, also cutting the pad. Cutting the pad can cause discomfort when walking or standing due to soft tissue trauma. With cosmetic declawing, the claw and tiny piece of bone is dissected out. The pad is intact; all the soft tissue is there. So the cat can walk comfortably. However, cosmetic declawing is a difficult and time consuming procedure. (Summarized from WebMD.com) We contacted 31 local veterinary clinics: 6 do not declaw; 4 offer cosmetic declawing; with the remaining offering the traditional declaw procedure. You may pay upwards of $900 for the cosmetic procedure or as little as $300 for the traditional surgery. Clinics will only declaw young, healthy cats, and most will only remove the front claws. One clinic said they will declaw the back feet. Most clinics receive a few inquiries a year. So this doesn t seem to be a popular procedure. Animal shelters across the country have varying declaw policies. Some, like CAT, will not adopt to anyone who even whispers the word declaw, while others provide information and let the adopter decide. It s interesting to note that declawing is not common outside North America (U.S. and Canada), where about 25 percent of pet cats are declawed. The practice is banned in much of Europe, Australia, Turkey, Brazil, and Israel, to name a few. Vets in Portland will give you a good talking to before putting the surgery on their books. They provide clients with a lot of information about the procedure and potential behavior changes. 4 Continued on page 6
a Rubin om My h e help ework ki! - Vic nks r. Tha Oliver is little do thriving and h g a believe. He has tons s even made f he riends of wit share th has found his personality a nd chara h our e next 2 f 0+ yea orever home w ith me cter. I rs with an this aw esome g d I can t belie v uy. - B rittany e I get to Oliver Match Making Adoptions Philo He is quit under rugs me on my e the blessi and j ump o toes. He ng... alway li ut fro s m un kes to play keeping der ch, dive airs. - Chri ssy lous! I don t doing fabu ed a more is e er m sh a C uld ve pick think we co It s a great place!! with CAT. - Janice y impressed Cashmemrveer perfect cat. Ia 5
The American Veterinary Medical Association, however, states: There is no scientific evidence that declawing leads to behavioral abnormalities when the behavior of declawed cats is compared with that of cats in control groups. Scientific or not, shelter workers don t agree with the AVMA s findings. Over the past three years, the top reasons declawed kitties came to CAT (Oregon s largest cat-only animal shelter) included: aggression, biting, litter box issues, not happy in the home, owner moving, or owner lost job. The biggest behavior change is bad litter box habits. Declawed cats (traditional declaw) can experience pain or discomfort in their feet. Most abhor having their feet touched. It is highly recommended to keep declawed cats indoors only and offer a soft litter to decrease the pain experienced when stepping on litter. Liken it to stepping on the pointy end of a small piece of gravel with your bare feet, over and over again. Many owners of declawed cats devote a lot of time and effort to figuring out what litter will keep their cat going in rather than outside the box. Another change may include increased biting or aggression. Some theorize that because the cat no longer has claws, it resorts to using teeth. Think of the times your cat swatted you and convert that from a swat to a bite. Ouch. Over the past three years, 88 declawed cats found homes through CAT (1 percent of the cats adopted in the same time frame). Two of these lucky cats are Shelby and Sheena. Shelby was severely declawed; in fact, her front toes were amputated, making her feet look like paddles. Read their story at: http://tinyurl.com/catnotoes When cats arrive at our shelter due to inappropriate litter box habits, as most declawed cats do, it is an uphill struggle to find them homes. Who wants to adopt a cat with a history of peeing outside the box, regardless of the reason? It takes well-educated adopters, a laundry list of tips and resources, and behavior modification while in the shelter to make an adoption successful. There are many alternatives and positive training methods to discourage a cat from scratching the wrong things. Coupled with the undesirable behavior changes resulting from declawing, which cause many owners to fall out of love with their cat, and there are good reasons to discourage declawing. In fact, CAT will not adopt a clawed cat to someone wishing to declaw. For those looking for alternatives, in particular for resources on training a cat to scratch appropriately, CAT offers useful tips at: http://tinyurl.com/catscratchtips 6 One of Shelby s Front Feet
Cat Adoption Team Sponsorship Program Your Sponsorship Saves Lives! Every dollar you contribute through CAT s Sponsorship Program directly benefits the cats and kittens in our care while they await their new homes. Your donation will make a difference today for these deserving felines. Thank you for supporting CAT! Sponsorship Levels: Kitty Sponsor ($25 or more) Help vaccinate and spay a female cat so she stops producing unwanted litters. Calico Sponsor ($50 or more) Give a litter of kittens a healthy start in life with vaccinations and treatment for parasites. Tabby Sponsor* ($100 or more) Sponsor a cat cage for six months and pay for the care of a healthy cat until it is adopted. Tiger Cat Sponsor* ($250 or more) Sponsor a cat cage for one year and help stock CAT s onsite feline hospital with medical supplies. Cool Cat Sponsor* ($500 or more) Sponsor a free-roam room for one year and provide medical care and supplies for our special needs cats. Top Cat Sponsor* ($1,000 or more) Sponsor our main upstairs lobby or hospital for one year and cover the cost of 50 spay/neuter surgeries. For Office Use Only Received: Ordered: Called: * These levels qualify for a commemorative plaque please complete the following if you wish to have a plaque Sponsored by: In Loving Memory of: You may choose more than one option, e.g., Dedicated to: Sponsored by [your name] In Memory of [cat s name] Tabby & Tiger Cat sponsors receive the same style plaque with black italic engraving that is placed on a cat cage. Cool Cat sponsors receive an engraved nameplate that is on a wooden room plaque. Each room may have up to 3 sponsors at one time. Top Cat sponsors receive their own plaque of the same style that is hung in the lobby or hospital. Pictures of cage and room plaques can be found at: www.catadoptionteam.org/donate/shelter-sponsorship-program Hung: Renew my sponsorship at my current level: My donation amount: $ Upgrade my sponsorship to the following level: Today s Date: Name: Phone: Pull: Access: Emailed: Location: Address: City/State/Zip: Email: Sign me up to receive e-newsletters Check Cash Credit Card - Please Check One >> Visa MasterCard Debit CC#: Authorization Signature: x Expiration Date: Please send your sponsorship form to: CAT - Attn: Development 14175 SW Galbreath Drive Sherwood, Oregon 97140 Fax: (503) 853-7989 7
non profit us postage paid morel ink 14175 SW Galbreath Drive Sherwood, Oregon 97140 CAT s Mission: To work with our community to save the lives of unwanted, sick, and injured cats and kittens by offering shelter, adoption, foster, spay/neuter, and veterinary services to end needless feline euthanasia. Please Join Us Saturday evening, July 28 4 pm - 8:30 pm 5k Steps off at 6 pm $20 per person / $15 for youth under 18 Tualatin Community Park catnip5k.org catadoptionteam.org Newsletter Edited By Kathy Covey / Designed By Melanie Belshee