Fort Collins Cat Rescue takes in 114 kittens and cats in less than three weeks

Since Aug. 1, Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic has been challenged with providing care and foster homes for a combined 114 homeless cats and kittens transferred in from five rescue organizations across four states, including Colorado.

The largest influx of cats arrived by plane on Aug. 13 at Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport. As a network partner with Best Friends Animal Society, Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic was contacted to help after a raid on a California shelter resulted in the euthanasia of 200 sick animals and the seizure of 91 cats. Dog Is My CoPilot Inc., a nonprofit animal welfare transport organization, flew 24 kittens and 17 adult cats to northern Colorado from Merced County, Calif.

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic was also contacted by the Nebraska rescue group Fur the Love of PAWS, which was working to save 15 kittens and one adult cat slated for euthanasia at North Platte Animal Shelter. Fur the Love of PAWS transported the cats to Sterling, where FCCRSNC picked them up.

This was followed by a plea from Pampa Animal Welfare Society in Pampa, Texas, which drove the more than 500 miles to Fort Collins to deliver 23 kittens and eight cats rescued from a “high-kill” Texas shelter. FCCRSNC had been prepared for a transfer of 16 felines when the Pampa group arrived with an unexpected 15 additional kittens.

The remaining felines that came to FCCRSNC this month included eight kittens from Humane Society of Weld County, five kittens trapped by Northern Colorado Friends of Ferals, seven kittens trapped at a rural game processing facility north of Fort Collins, and six returned adoptions.

“Nearly 90 percent of the cats we take in each year are from within Colorado, but when urgent situations like these arise out of state, we’re glad to assist if space allows,” said Sarah Swanty, executive director of Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic. “However, more than half of these kitties have had little to no veterinary care before now. Many arrived with fleas, ear mites and upper respiratory infections, and 10 are being treated off-site for ringworm.”

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic is seeking donations to help pay for the care of the cats and is asking anyone in the community who has ever considered adopting a cat to please do so now, as these cats desperately need new homes and more space is needed for those remaining. The average cost to care for a cat that comes into FCCRSNC until it is adopted is $264, though adoption fees are never more than $50 for adults and $150 for kittens.

A “Back-to-School Buddies” adoption special through Aug. 30 allows adopters to “name their price” for adults 6 months and older. Kittens 8 weeks to 5 months old are only $75, and all adopters go home with a free bag of goodies including litter, cat food and a toy. There are more than two dozen adoptable adults on-site at the shelter and 50 adoptable kittens in foster homes.

Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic is an adoption-guarantee, nonprofit cat shelter that has only a limited amount of space for new cats while others are awaiting homes. Since the organization does not euthanize cats to make room for more when the shelter is full, it relies heavily on fosters, which provide homes for over 60 percent of the cats that FCCRSNC rescues.

Right now FCCRSNC has more than 150 felines in temporary foster homes, and more homes are needed. The rescue is hosting a Foster Home Orientation at 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the shelter for anyone interested in learning what is required of a kitty foster parent. Pre-registration is required by e-mailing [email protected]

“We desperately need kind-hearted volunteers willing to open a small space in their homes for temporary shelter for these kitties,” said Shelter Manager Mary Wolf. “We have a long list of people waiting to surrender unwanted and abandoned cats, and other rescue groups contact us daily for help.”

To learn more about adopting, donating or fostering, contact Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic by calling 970-484-8516 or by visiting the shelter at 2321 E. Mulberry St. #1, Fort Collins, CO 80524. More information is also available online at www.FCCRSNC.org.