By Becky Gillette – People might have gotten the wrong impression about cat adoptions at the Good Shepherd Humane Society, possibly because of questions when someone is considering adopting a cat. Adopters are asked if they intend to keep the cat indoors or outdoors. Jay Fusaro, president of the Good Shepherd Humane Society board of directors, said that is just to make sure there is a good adoption match.
“We do not have an inside-only cat policy,” Fusaro said. “We have certain cats that need to be inside, and the staff knows which cats those are. We don’t declaw cats here, but if cats come in declawed or have a temperament that makes them a better indoor cat, that’s what we recommend. It’s based on how the cats behave when they are with us. If our staff is spending hours a day with these cats, they know what cat that is going to be sitting on a pillow six hours a day as compared to a cat that is going to be more rambunctious. They know temperament and which ones will be suitable for indoors or outdoors.”
Fusaro said when someone who wants an outdoor cat comes in and picks a cat that is more sedentary, the staff will suggest another cat that better suits their needs.
“Part of the process is doing our best to match the animal to the adopter,” Fusaro said. “What is your lifestyle? Do you work? We do our best to match as best we can. We have many cats eligible for indoor/outdoor life. The staff knows which ones have never been outside or may have medical conditions that prevent them from being an outside cat.
“The model we are trying to get away from is an adopter walks in, hands us money and gets to pick their animal. We are not going to do that. We are going to interview and match as best we can. But it’s not a white light in a dark room type of interview.”
Questions can include whether the adopter has other animals at home. Perhaps they already have other cats and dogs. The staff knows which cats up for adoption get along with other animals.
They will also ask if the adopter owns a home and, if they rent, a staffer will call the landlord to make sure they have permission to have an animal.
“We have had a lot of returns because the landlord didn’t give permission,” Fusaro said. “We don’t want an animal to go to a home and then be returned.”
Some people choose to keep cats inside because of the risk of bobcat fever, which is spread by ticks. Fusaro said if you have an owner who isn’t diligent about flea and tick protection, and the cat is allowed to go outdoors, you can have problem. He said outdoor cats should be treated with a flea and tick repellant.
The shelter does adopt out cats for those who want a barn cat to catch mice.
“We believe we have cats that suit that need,” he said. “We know which cats are tomboys and suitable to that lifestyle. We want to put thought behind the adoptions. It is not about pushing as many as we can out the door.”
Some people let cats outdoors so they get more exercise, but for indoor cats, there are toys that keep the cat active. “If people are looking to exercise their cat, I would point them to Blackie’s Backyard downtown which has a lot of really good animal toys,” he said.
Currently there are 38 cats and 35 dogs up for adoption at Good Shepherd.
“That is about the right number for us,” Fusaro said. “What we will not do is overpopulate with either cats or dogs because we have sanitary standards and staff limitations.”
Good Shepherd took in 102 cats in 2016 while the total number of adoptions for was 114.
“This means Good Shepherd saved more than 100 cats in 2016 that most likely would have either been euthanized or left out on the street,” he said. “In 2016, we averaged adopting out a cat every three days. The average time a cat stays at Good Shepherd is only about seven weeks.”