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Finding feline friends gets cheaper

Spring breeding and summer moving seasons have left the shelters full of abandoned pets. June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month.

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published June 7, 2005

[Times photos: Jim Damaske]

Catrina, a 3-year-old cat, gazes out from her cage at the Cat Adoption House at the Humane Society of Pinellas.

	Humane Society of Pinellas volunteer Mary Niemann works on the paperwork for Katrina, a 4-year-old female cat, at top, after taking her picture for the Society's Web site (www.humanesocietyofpinellas.org) Monday, while Keiko, a 3-year-old female, seeks affection. Both are available for adoption.
	B.B., a 1-year-old male, seeks attention while Anastacia, a 2-year-old female, snoozes above. The SPCA of Pinellas County is offering an incentive for cat adopters this month: Adult cat adoption fees are reduced from $35 to $25, which includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, a microchip and license tags.

LARGO - Tedd Webb used to consider himself a dog man - until he got in touch with his feline side.

The 56-year-old radio host said he has evolved into a cat fancier since adopting Sami, 3, and Harley, 1, from the SPCA.

"I love dogs but my lifestyle wouldn't be fair to a dog," he said. "They need constant companionship and attention. But cats, I love their spirit of independence. They are neat and clean. If I need to be gone for a couple of days, I can leave food and water and don't need to worry about boarding them or leaving them with a friend.

"They talk to me and we have some great conversations. I don't teach them tricks, but they do teach me."

Webb, co-host of AM Tampa Bay on WFLA-AM 970, is now looking for a third cat and his interest couldn't be timelier.

June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, according to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is also a time when shelters have a plethora of purring pets, a result of the spring breeding season.

The SPCA of Pinellas County is offering an incentive for would-be cat adopters this month. Adult cat adoption fees are now reduced from $35 to $25, which includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, microchip and license tags.

Kitten adoption fees will remain at $35 because they are usually adopted more quickly. Adults often wait for months for a second chance at life.

"We have a huge cat problem right now with 80 to 100 cats and kittens up for adoption," said Beth Lockwood, executive director of the SPCA. "The adults stress more easily because their world has been turned upside down. And the longer they are here, the more prone to upper respiratory infection" they are.

Pinellas County Animal Services in Largo also has reduced adoption fees for cats and dogs from $30 to $15 for the month of June, said Dr. Kenny Mitchell, director of veterinarian services for the county.

Last year, the shelter had a record-breaking number of adoptions and he hopes the trend will continue.

"We had about 4,300 adoptions and had never been able to break the threshold of 4,000," Mitchell said. "That resulted in a drop of euthanasias by 16 percent.

"We want people to come in and adopt but also help prevent the problem by utilizing our low cost spays or our Animobile," he said. The Animobile, a mobile surgical unit, provides free surgical sterilization for pets of citizens on public assistance. Low-cost sterilization fees, available to everyone, are $25 for cats and $30 for dogs.

The Humane Society of Pinellas is also offering special rates for SPIN pets, Special Pets in Need, those who have been at the shelter more than three months or are over 6 years old.

Adding to the summer crunch is the fact that many people move in the summer months and decide not to take their cats with them.

"Some people say the new landlord won't take them, others say they have allergies and some just make up reasons," Lockwood said.

Taz, a Lynx Point-Himalayan mix, has enormous blue eyes and a fluffy gray fur coat. She is captivating to look at, but at 12, may have a hard time finding a permanent home. According to her chart, someone at her previous home had life-threatening allergies, so she was handed over to the shelter.

She is miserable in a cage, so the folks at the SPCA have moved her to her own personal kitty condo, a small room in the shelter.

"She's a lovely cat and may have 4 or 5 good years left," said Lockwood.

Kaylo is 6, declawed, and loves to play with Q-tips and twist ties. Because he's male, he tends to have a laid-back personality, Lockwood said. "And people think all males spray, that's just not true," she said.

Oreo, 4, a sleek black and white tuxedo cat has a black smudge on his nose, as though he's been into the cookie jar. He loves to explore and peek through the windows in the shelter's playhouse.

Shelter officials say older cats make perfect companions for condominium and apartment dwellers, older people and those who work long hours.

"They are independent, don't bark and don't need to be walked like dogs," Lockwood said. "And most adults come litter-trained. You know what they will look like and their personalities are already formed."

Some, Lockwood said, can even be trained to do tricks like sit, fetch and walk on a leash.

She demonstrated by putting a small halter on a buff and white colored cat. At first, the cat seemed anxious, but after a few minutes, it calmed down and appeared comfortable with the apparatus.

"Walking a cat on a leash is a safe way to let it explore outside or take it to the veterinarian if it doesn't like carriers," she said.

SPCA operations director Connie Brooks suggests that when picking a cat, prospective owners should emphasize personality over color.

"You can look at a cat's head and body type and that can give you clues to their personality," she said.

Overall, she said, Oriental types with triangular faces and sleek bodies tend to be independent, athletic, intelligent and vocal. Persian body types with round faces and bodies are more mellow, submissive and low-energy. Cats with square heads and bodies, often tabbies, tend to be the most affectionate and social.

"Orange tabbies are so sweet," she said. "They are friendly, friendly, friendly."

[Last modified June 7, 2005, 02:15:48]