It works for cars, couches and cutlery. So why not a sale on cat adoptions?
San Diego County animal shelters say they are swamped with cats, so they are offering an adoption special to move them out amid a seasonal influx.
All cats — including kittens – are available through the end of the month for a “Your Price is Right” special, the county says. There’s no minimum amount required, just a you-name-it donation and promise of a good home.
Each adoption includes vaccinations, a free vet exam, microchip and spay or neuter. The normal cost is $59.
“We always dread the beginning of summer,” Animal Services Deputy Director Dan DeSousa told Times of San Diego. That’s because cats flood shelters in the annual birth boom — averaging 12 kittens a day now.
In April, 296 cats were brought to county shelters, he said. But that rose to 400 in May and 302 in June.
“People aren’t getting their cats spayed and neutered,” DeSousa said in explanation. “It really falls on the public … to break the cycle.”
The good news is that most cats are adopted or transferred to a rescue group. DeSousa said shelters accepted 7,906 cats in the year ended June 30 and 5,165 were adopted — including 289 reclaimed by their owners.
The reclaim rate of 3 percent for cats mystifies DeSousa, though. He says the dog reclaim rate is 34 percent.
DeSousa also declares: “We will not euthanize a healthy, friendly animal.” Feral cats are a different issue. They are more apt to be euthanized.
“We are inundated with cats and now is a great time to adopt because there are so many to choose from – all sizes, shapes, colors and models,” DeSousa said in a news release. “Our numbers change every day but I would say among the three shelters, we have almost 500 cats.”
Kittens are available to take home, but DeSousa thinks adult cats are just as much fun to adopt.
“Adult cats are great because you can see exactly what they’ll look like and how their personality has developed,” he said. “They’re typically beyond the rambunctious juvenile stage.”
The “Your Price is Right” special on cats at the county’s three shelters — Bonita, Gaines Street and Carlsbad — goes through July 31.
The deal has been done in the past, DeSousa says, as well as the county offering discounts for spaying and neutering felines.
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