The Jackson Animal Care Center says they will be rescuing up to 150 cats a month this summer, and they need people to adopt them.
“So we are kitties up to our eyeballs right now and really trying to find homes for everybody,” Whitney Owen, Director of the Jackson Animal Care Center said.
Currently, the Jackson Animal Care Center does not have any open crates for cats or kittens. As soon as some are adopted, more take their space. In fact, at one point, they had over 50 kittens in foster care, almost 40 in the shelter, and another 20 at the veterinarian.
“We really, really, really need adopters,” Owen said, “We need permanent homes for these guys. We run adoption special this time of year. For the next few months. All of our adults are discounted to $40. And kittens will have age-appropriate vaccines. They’ve been tested for FFP leukemia. They’ve been spayed or neutered. They’ve had all of the things done that would if you just pick a cat up off the street or off of Facebook or whatever would cost you three or $400. To do all of that is done and the adoption fee here is $80.”
“The cool thing is most of our kittens have been hand raised, and some of them bottle fed since they were just days old. So they’re super social. They’re very friendly. They’ve been in a foster home as opposed to a shelter scenario. So they’ve been socialized with dogs, young kids, older kids, loud noises, you know, whatever.”
Owen says the cats are wonderful pets for people who want a companion, but do not want the amount of work that goes into owning a dog.
“If you’re at work, or if you’ve got kids, and you’re running all over during the summer thing,” Owen said, “If you need to go out of town overnight, you just make sure the litter box is clean before you leave and make sure they have food and they’re good to go. They require a lot less ‘in and out energy’ than dogs. You don’t have to take it to the bathroom. You don’t have to, you know, make sure that you refill the water bowl they flipped over three times.”
Owen also says the Jackson Animal Care Center provides assistance to spay or neuter your animal, as unaltered animals are the main reason the shelter is overcrowded. The only requirement is that you are a Madison County resident.
The Jackson Animal Care Center is open 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Julia Ewoldt, julia@jacksonpost.news
