HOWARD COUNTY CAT CLUB FAQS FOR VOLUNTEERS
Where is your shelter located?
We're in Columbia. We don't publicize our location for the safety of our cats.
Are you truly no-kill? Do your cats ever "run out of time?"
Cats never "run out of time" with us. One cat has been in our shelter for four years! Fortunately, he likes it there.
Do your cats live in cages?
Our cats are all out and about together. They're one big, happy family and would be really upset with us if we stuck them in cages.
Do you make people jump through a lot of hoops to adopt a cat?
We try to make adopting a cat from us as simple and pleasant as possible. After all, adding a new cat to the family should be a happy experience for both the humans and the cat. We do ask adopters to complete an application and sign a contract. There's an adoption fee, and we deliver cats to their new homes ourselves so we can see where they'll be living.
Some of our adoption policies are different from other rescues'. Cat who come to us together leave together. We never separate litter mates or lifelong friends. Also, we do adopt to indoor/outdoor homes and prefer them. We strongly discourage strictly indoor homes. Please feel free to ask us why.
Do you rescue feral cats and kittens?
We believe trap/neuter/return is the only real solution to the feral cat "problem" and refer people with ferals to our sister rescue, Metro Ferals of Maryland. We rarely have feral cats in our shelter, and when we do, we place them in barns.
Are your cats neutered/spayed, vaccinated and tested?
Yes, and we do not shelter cats who test positive for leukemia. We sometimes have cats who have tested positive for FIV because they are not a threat to the other cats.
What do you do with sick cats?
We try to put sick cats in foster homes or board them with our vet until they're well. We don't ask our volunteers to medicate sick cats. We're proud that we've never had a cat who was treatable "put to sleep," and we don't give up without a fight. We've had some very expensive vet bills!
What do you do about "unadoptable" cats?
Every cat is adoptable to someone. And if that someone never comes along, the cat can always stay with us.
How many cats can you shelter?
We can have up to 18 cats in our group home. We try to keep the number at 16 though. With 18, things can get a bit tense sometimes.
How long does the Cat Care job take?
Our cat care volunteers spend between two and three hours scooping boxes, doing some light housekeeping like sweeping up scattered litter, feeding the cats and giving everyone some play and snuggle time. Before they leave, they fill out a checklist to make sure they haven't missed anything and either leave a voice mail message at our rescue's main phone number or post in our volunteer group on Facebook. We prefer Facebook so all of our volunteers can read about the cats.
Can children volunteer?
Children and teenagers must be accompanied by a parent. We love parent/child teams!
Can I volunteer just once?
We ask volunteers to commit to at least a year with us. Unfortunately, we don't have any short-term volunteer projects.
FACEBOOK
We want all of our volunteers to join our group on Facebook. It's the best way to keep up to date on the cats. And we do a lot of brainstorming and planning there. It's a cordial, friendly community of people who love and care deeply about our cats.
We're in Columbia. We don't publicize our location for the safety of our cats.
Are you truly no-kill? Do your cats ever "run out of time?"
Cats never "run out of time" with us. One cat has been in our shelter for four years! Fortunately, he likes it there.
Do your cats live in cages?
Our cats are all out and about together. They're one big, happy family and would be really upset with us if we stuck them in cages.
Do you make people jump through a lot of hoops to adopt a cat?
We try to make adopting a cat from us as simple and pleasant as possible. After all, adding a new cat to the family should be a happy experience for both the humans and the cat. We do ask adopters to complete an application and sign a contract. There's an adoption fee, and we deliver cats to their new homes ourselves so we can see where they'll be living.
Some of our adoption policies are different from other rescues'. Cat who come to us together leave together. We never separate litter mates or lifelong friends. Also, we do adopt to indoor/outdoor homes and prefer them. We strongly discourage strictly indoor homes. Please feel free to ask us why.
Do you rescue feral cats and kittens?
We believe trap/neuter/return is the only real solution to the feral cat "problem" and refer people with ferals to our sister rescue, Metro Ferals of Maryland. We rarely have feral cats in our shelter, and when we do, we place them in barns.
Are your cats neutered/spayed, vaccinated and tested?
Yes, and we do not shelter cats who test positive for leukemia. We sometimes have cats who have tested positive for FIV because they are not a threat to the other cats.
What do you do with sick cats?
We try to put sick cats in foster homes or board them with our vet until they're well. We don't ask our volunteers to medicate sick cats. We're proud that we've never had a cat who was treatable "put to sleep," and we don't give up without a fight. We've had some very expensive vet bills!
What do you do about "unadoptable" cats?
Every cat is adoptable to someone. And if that someone never comes along, the cat can always stay with us.
How many cats can you shelter?
We can have up to 18 cats in our group home. We try to keep the number at 16 though. With 18, things can get a bit tense sometimes.
How long does the Cat Care job take?
Our cat care volunteers spend between two and three hours scooping boxes, doing some light housekeeping like sweeping up scattered litter, feeding the cats and giving everyone some play and snuggle time. Before they leave, they fill out a checklist to make sure they haven't missed anything and either leave a voice mail message at our rescue's main phone number or post in our volunteer group on Facebook. We prefer Facebook so all of our volunteers can read about the cats.
Can children volunteer?
Children and teenagers must be accompanied by a parent. We love parent/child teams!
Can I volunteer just once?
We ask volunteers to commit to at least a year with us. Unfortunately, we don't have any short-term volunteer projects.
We want all of our volunteers to join our group on Facebook. It's the best way to keep up to date on the cats. And we do a lot of brainstorming and planning there. It's a cordial, friendly community of people who love and care deeply about our cats.
To contact us, click on our mail cat.
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Please visit our online store. Beautiful handmade jewelry and cat-themed T-shirts are waiting for you there, and all the proceeds go to our cats!
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