A day in the life of a shelter cat
Carolyn L. Cheney
Board of Directors
There are 100-plus cats and kittens at the Central Aroostook Humane Society patiently waiting for that loving home. Unfortunately this situation is too common at many animal shelters throughout the country. This situation could be avoided if all cats were neutered/spayed. Cats multiply at an unbelievable rate, and the resulting situation is many unwanted animals.
Some folks are concerned as to how cats are treated at a shelter. I can only speak for our shelter so I am going to tell you about a Day in the Life of a Cat at the Central Aroostook Humane Society. Cats and kittens are our guests until we can find a permanent home for them. When cats arrive at the shelter either by owner surrender or a stray brought in by an animal control officer or by someone who has found a stray, they are checked over thoroughly for medical problems.
Our Head Cat Lady, Sharon, has years of experience and a wealth of knowledge and treats each cat like her own. If cats are ill, they are medicated and kept in a sick room. When they are well they are moved to the general population.
The cats are provided with individual cages, which are cleaned daily. They have fresh water, a blanket and some toys. Dry cat food is always available to them, but some of our guests are a little fussy so they are provided with canned food. Many folks donate the canned food to us, but there is one lady from Madawaska who provides canned food on a monthly basis. This special lady checks with Sharon to see what kinds of canned food she needs and then she goes shopping. We owe a debt of gratitude to this wonderful lady.
The cats are played with and socialized by the staff and the many volunteers who visit.
As I wrote earlier, we have way too many cats at the shelter, and the answer to avoiding this in the future is to spay/neuter your cat. Because of our over-population we are still offering this special on cats: adoption rate for one cat is $20 or if you have it in your heart we will give you two for $30. A number of our cats have been altered, but if you adopt one who hasn’t been, it will be necessary to leave a check for $100. We hold the check until we have proof that the animal has been altered, and then it is returned to you. This is state of Maine law and of course the purpose of it is to avoid unwanted litters of kittens.
Please visit us soon to see our beautiful cats and kittens and hopefully give one or two a permanent, loving home. We are located at 26 Cross St. in Presque Isle.
