Free Adult Cat Adoptions

For most shelters, overrun for much of the year with adorable kittens, finding homes for adult cats is an ongoing challenge. Nonetheless, the idea of “Free Cats” remains a lightning rod in the animal welfare world. The traditional view has been that “giving away” cats devalues them in the eyes of the adopter, may compromise their care, and reflects badly on the shelter giving them away.

In 2006, ASPCA Senior Director of Shelter Research and Development, Emily Weiss, Ph.D., CAAB, and Shannon Gramann, ASPCA Manager of Shelter Research and Development, intrigued by the success of a free cats program in effect since 1998 at the Wisconsin Humane Society, conducted a study comparing “the attachment levels of adopters of cats — fee based adoptions vs. free adoptions.”

The resulting data, due to be published in Vol. 4 2009 of the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, indicates that:

• Attachment to cats adopted from the study facility was not decreased when adoption fees were eliminated,
• Eliminating adoption fees does not devalue the animals in the eyes of the adopters, and that
• Free adult cat programs could “dramatically impact the lives of thousands of shelter cats who would otherwise reside in a shelter for months or be euthanized.”

In this section, you can read about six very different organizations, scattered across the country, that have successfully implemented free cats programs all with positive results. In addition, you can read our tip sheet that summarizes the common elements from these successful programs.

• ASPCA Adoption Center (.pdf), New York, NY
  Summer and fall “Free Over Three” promotions; check out the ad, too (.pdf)
  
• Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland (.pdf), Westbrook, ME
  Summer and fall promotions in which fees are waived for cats over a year old
  
• Charleston Animal Society, Charleston, SC
  Spring “Feline Frenzy” weekend with waived fees for cats over one year old
  
• Kansas Humane Society (.pdf), Wichita, KS
  Permanent fee waiver for cats over eight months of age
  
• Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (.pdf), Walnut Creek, CA
  Cat Independence Days & Raider Nation Cat Celebration Free Cat promotions
  
• Town Lake Animal Center (.pdf), Austin, TX
  Summer and fall promotions in which fees are waived for cats over five years old; also check out the press release for KittyPalooza (.doc), featuring great feline stars, such as “Tom Petme and the Heartbreakers,” “Mariah Kitty,” and “Tabby Keith.”
  
• Wisconsin Humane Society (.pdf), Milwaukee, WI
  Permanent fee waiver for cats over a year old