This month might be the perfect time to welcome a furry friend into your family, or to embrace your inner cat lady.
June is National Adopt a Cat Month. According to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, this is because it is the month when the most cats are born and when shelters prepare for an influx of kittens.
Angela Shankar is the primary operator at All Sentient Beings, a cat rescue in Lynn at 268 Walnut St. The rescue currently has five cats available for adoption.
Shankar said that ever since the pandemic, the numbers of cats in every shelter has “doubled.” For National Adopt a Cat Month, she encouraged people to responsibly adopt and consider cats of all ages. Shankar added that older cats can sometimes stay at the rescue for more than a year.
“Be prepared for 20 years,” she said. “These are animals. They don’t get to choose where they go when somebody moves or suddenly develops an allergy.”
Jennifer Burridge, an animal welfare specialist at the MSPCA Northeast Animal Shelter at 347 Highland Ave. in Salem, said the process for adopting a cat at the shelter is “quick” and takes less than a day.
“Our adoption process is pretty easy. Our cat kennels are open to the public, unlike our dog kennels, so they can walk around and see a cat that they’re interested in,” Burridge said.
She said community members from around the region adopt cats every day, and the shelters’ cats are sometimes adopted on the same day they arrive.
Potential adopters, after seeing cats in the shelter, are asked to fill out an inquiry form asking questions about their home life and the type of cat they are interested in, she said.
She said a counselor will go over the cat’s medical history and any shots it is due for with the adopter. Adopters can also buy retail supplies from the shelter.
“It’s always so fun seeing the families go home so excited,” she said.
Burridge said that it can take a lot of patience to adopt a cat from the shelter. She said cats that have been in shelters can often feel overwhelmed when they first arrive at a new home.
She added that the majority of the shelter’s cats come from local surrenders or Southern litters after non-spayed cats give birth.
Burridge said most cats at the shelter in Salem have rough histories, including diseases and abuse. She said that adopting cats from the shelter, as a result, should feel “rewarding” for the adopter.
She added that it is also rewarding to work at the shelter and be the cats’ “family” while they await adoption.
“To see them come from backgrounds as strays on the street and then they come here and it’s a whole new life for them, and to be their family for a short amount of time and then watch them go on to to their new family — it’s pretty awesome,” Burridge said.
Shankar said that people can be responsible owners by microchipping their cats so if they leave their home, they won’t get lost.
She also emphasized the importance of providing help for stray cats on the street. She said in her experience fostering cats, stray cats that do not have a collar most likely need help and should be brought to a shelter.
Shankar added that people who see cats that do have a collar and “look chubby” should attach a note to the collar with a phone number in case the cat belongs to an owner.
Burridge said cats are great additions to families.
“They are pretty special little animals,” she said.
To begin the adoption process at All Sentient Beings, people can visit the facility or fill out an interest form online at https://asbrescue.org/adoption. To learn more about the Northeast Animal Shelter and its adoption process, visit the MSPCA’s website at https://www.mspca.org/adoption-centers/northeast-animal-shelter/
