PSA future cat parents: Cat Haven is waiving adoption fees this weekend!

Once again Cat Haven’s Shenton Park location is bursting at the seams, and this weekend they’re running another adoption drive to find some homes for over 400 cats.

To help speed things along, they’re waiving adoption fees from Anzac Day until Sunday for cats more than six months old.

Other rescue organisations overwhelmed with cats will be doing the same, starting from 10am on Thursday until 4pm on Sunday, with Marketing Coordinator Amber Ashford saying the Haven is in crisis.

“Staff, volunteers and foster carers are almost at breaking point with the responsibility of having more than 400 cats on the grounds and more than 700 cats out in temporary foster care,” she said. “A large number of cats have been surrendered in the last few months due to the continuing kitten season, housing crisis and cost of living.”

Although adoption fees provide vital funds for Cat Haven, Ashford said they had no other alternative with cat adoptions slowing and many being stuck in shelters for a long time.

“We are completely full, with some cats housed in dog crates and carriers, instead of in cat condos,” she said. “With all other WA rescues under pressure, most of them have had to close their intake, meaning the overflow comes to Cat Haven.

“By being the only open admission shelter in WA we are seeing this pressure increase by up to 70 cats coming to us daily. Without high adoption numbers we are constantly going backwards.”

Perth Rescue Angels and Safe Avon Valley will also have cats to adopt at Cat Haven’s fee-free weekend, experiencing their own significant increases in surrenders over the past six months.

“With over 850 cats and kittens currently in foster care, a huge rise in surrender numbers in the last six months and a big decrease in adoptions, the current cat crisis in WA has affected our organisation so much that we have had to suspend our intakes, which puts further pressure on other organisations like Cat Haven WA,” said Laura from PRA.

“The high cost of living, high interest rate and rental crisis is having a huge knock-on effect to shelter and rescues across Australia. Young friendly kittens that would usually be adopted as soon as they are ready, are waiting weeks, even months for their forever homes.”

So if you’ve been thinking about adopting a cat – now is the time!

Head to cathaven.com.au for more information, and head to Cat Haven in Shenton Park from 10am-6:30pm this Thursday and Friday, or 10am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.