Kingston Humane Society helping cats find ‘Homes for the Holidays’
The Kingston Humane Society (KHS) has over 90 cats available for adoption — a number higher than any the organization has seen in recent memory. In an effort to find forever homes for them, the KHS is launching a Homes for the Holidays campaign.
Throughout the month of December, all adult cats will be $50, and senior (eight years old or older), VIP, or special needs cats will be $25. According to a release from the organization, the regular adoption application process still applies and applications can be found on the KHS website
“Our goal is to get at least half of these cats into loving homes before January,” said Executive Director Gord Hunter. “We’ve had another year of operating well over capacity and one of the consequences of being over capacity is that many of our cats have longer stays. We’re appealing to the public to help us find them a home.”
Animal shelters can find themselves bursting at the seams during the holiday season, KHS said, noting that foster volunteers are frequently unable to care for animals over the holidays and the public is understandably more concerned about strays since the weather can be so unforgiving.
According to the release, this combination can create a perfect storm that leads to even more animals in an already overcrowded shelter. That’s why it is so important to find the cats that are available for adoption a forever home; in order to make room for those that are returned to the shelter at this time of year, KHS stated.
In addition, while the KHS has more than 90 cats available for adoption, the total number of cats in care is far higher. According to the organization, this discrepancy is due to the intake process which includes addressing medical issues, surgery wait lists and stray holds (the time that the KHS must keep an animal in care before placing it up for adoption). Animals awaiting the outcome of any of these situations cannot yet be made available for adoption, KHS said.
“Kingston and the surrounding communities have been so responsive to the overpopulation here and we can’t thank them enough,” said Hunter. “Unfortunately, in a few instances, we’ve had people just show up and offer to take a bunch of animals off our hands. We still need to follow our adoption application process as well as proper intake procedures to ensure that animals have the best chance for success. We owe these creatures that much. Many of them have been through hell before they end up at our door and we want the remainder of their lives to be the absolute best.”
Homes for the Holidays begins Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, and runs through January 1, 2023, or longer, depending on the success of the campaign. Online adoption applications and more information can be found on the KHS website.