Adoption Fees Waived to Save Lives of Local Felines

For Immediate Release

Contact: Erin Long, Marketing Coordinator
Humane Society of Harford County
410-836-1090, x106
erin@harfordshelter.org

Fallston, MD (October 18, 2016) – The Cat Free Roam Rooms are full. The Kitten Room is full. All the cages in the stray cat room are full. Rooms intended to be used as private Meet and Greet rooms have been set up as temporary cat living spaces. Literally, everywhere you look inside The Humane Society of Harford County (HSHC), you see cuddly, cozy cats who are unaware that the shelter staff is literally racing to save their lives.

For the last several weekends, HSHC has waived the adoption fee on all its cats and kittens. Now, this free offer has been extended indefinitely in order to place cats into loving, forever homes.

Since October 1, HSHC has taken in 102 cats, with October 10th standing out as the day 24 new cats arrived at the shelter in need of food, love and care. While cat adoptions this month stand at 146, HSHC still has over 300 cats in its care: 98 cats and kittens are in foster care; 21 are up for adoption in HSHC’s satellite adoption centers, and 202 are in residence at the shelter.

“We literally have nowhere left to put incoming cats,” said Cat Kelly, HSHC’s director of shelter operations. “Without adoptive families or rescue partners coming to adopt or take cats, some very difficult decisions will have to be made, and we do not want to do that.”

The community is urged to take action by adopting, spaying and neutering their pets, and microchipping pets – even if they never go outside. Of the 102 cats and kittens that have arrived at HSHC since October 1st, 81 were strays, and it is exceedingly rare that owners reclaim their cats.

“We have a 2 percent return to owner rate for cats in Harford County,” explained executive director Jen Swanson. “The national average is just 3-5 percent. Cats are highly territorial, and most domestic cats will seldom venture far from home. Usually – over 70 percent of the time – cats find their own way home and can avoid a trip to the local shelter.”

“A cat can make a wonderful addition to a family,” Kelly said. “Now is a great time to adopt a feline or two. We urge people to take advantage of the waived adoption fees and help save a life.”

About the Humane Society of Harford County
The Humane Society of Harford County, Inc., is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to the welfare and well-being of the approximately 4,500 animals that come to us each year. We promote the kind treatment of homeless, stray and abandoned animals by providing shelter, care, adoptions, and community education. We are not a county agency nor are we affiliated with any national or regional organization. Your tax-deductible donations, bequests, and proceeds from events are crucial to our life-saving efforts on behalf of the animals of our community.

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