Humane Society: On a mission to save cats' lives

Ten thousand cats put down each year.

That's a big problem to the Animal Humane Society, and one that is motivating a larger overhaul.

The Humane Society, which serves the seven-county metro area, estimates that about half the cats that come in each year are placed for adoption. Among those that are left, some are ill. Some have behavioral problems that make them difficult to place. Some just lose out to the more sociable kittens that nearly always find homes. To avoid overcrowding in the shelters, those "surplus" cats are killed.

This seems to be a problem that's unique to cats, and not to dogs, which usually find homes. People seem to see cats as disposable; that attitude is visible in the number of strays wandering metro neighborhoods, said society CEO/President Janelle Dixon. Left on their own, cats can produce litter after litter, and wind up sick, wild and unadoptable.

A new program, Bound for Home, takes aim at the underlying problem, seeking to reduce the number of cats left homeless because of abandonment and unchecked reproduction. The methods: improving access to sterilization to reduce litters and working with pet owners to adopt wisely and keep their animals longer. One big change: Pet owners soon will need to make appointments before giving up animals.

The program is geared toward saving cats, but it will affect all animals.

When three animal welfare groups merged in 2007 to create the Animal Humane Society, officials examined their practices.

Over two years, the society studied all aspects of its operation that affect animals, and the people who adopt them and sometimes give them up.

The result is a restructuring that includes more marketing of adoption; improved access to spaying and neutering; and education for pet owners before they adopt and before they can surrender pets.

"We wanted to provide services that help people make more informed and better decisions that have positive impacts for animals," Dixon said. "There is an assumption that people who surrender don't care about their animals. They do care about the outcome. But they're making a choice, and we're there to help them and to help that animal when the choice is made."

The society took in 5 percent fewer animals of all breeds last year than in 2008, adoptions were up 5 percent, and euthanasia was down 7 percent. But Dixon pointed to bigger strides in other states that already have made similar changes.

Some of the society's initiatives already have begun:

• Starting earlier this year, prospective pet owners have training to better prepare them for owning a pet and to help them decide which animals are the best choices for their lifestyles.

• Last Monday, the society stopped accepting after-hours dropoffs of unwanted pets at its five metro locations.

More changes ahead

Some of the biggest changes are yet to come.

Starting Jan. 2, owners will be required to call for an appointment to give up their pets. They will receive telephone counseling and participate in an in-person assessment, in the hope that they may find solutions to their pet problems, short of giving them up.

"Intake by appointment allows us to know who's coming and when and provide services in real time," she said.

Part of the idea is to give pet owners a realistic sense of whether animals are candidates for adoption, or not.

"People come in because for whatever reason they can no longer make the commitment to that animal," Dixon said. "Placement for every animal is not realistic. ... Then they're not walking away purely thinking, my animal is going to get placed and not understanding the consequence of surrender. ...

"A small group of people may change their mind. Probably a more predominant group will move forward with surrender."

The society is seeking a veterinary partner to help provide subsidized spay and neuter services, from a mobile surgery van and eventually at the Golden Valley shelter. They hope to have that program running by spring.

Dixon hopes for nothing short of a shift in how people see pets.

"We can provide leadership but we can't be the solution on our own," she said. "The community has to be an active, engaged partner in understanding the problems that face animals, and be interested in the solution to those problems."