Purrfect pals
Purrfect Pals is the world's largest cat-only adoption organization and sanctuary. Founded in 1988 by Kathy Centala, the shelter finds loving responsible homes for more than 2,000 cats every year, performs more than 2,000 spay and neuter surgeries at the Purrfect Pals cat hospital, and provides lifetime sanctuary to more than 250 permanent resident cats. They are the lead agency in the Puget Sound Cats Indoors Coalition. The no-kill shelter is governed by a Board of Directors and is run by an Executive Director. They rely entirely on public donations and support; Purrfect Pals receives no governmental assistance.
History
Purrfect Pals was born from the tireless dedication of a woman who has committed her life to cats; Kathy Centala. Kathy founded Purrfect Pals in 1988, originally as a boarding facility for cats which also helped the occasional homeless cat. Quickly Kathy found herself taking in more and more orphaned cats, overwhelming her small Brier, Washington home. In the early 1990s Kathy moved Purrfect Pals to a spacious 5 acre spread in rural Arlington, Washington. By converting her new home into a shelter, Kathy was able to provide a comfortable sanctuary to hundreds of cats. Because of the rural location, Purrfect Pals has pioneered off-site adoption events and placement of cats in partner pet stores. In the early years, just a few dozen cats were placed every year, but now Purrfect Pals has grown to the point where more than 2,500 cats are placed every year through the shelter and more than 20 off-site locations across Puget Sound. The Purrfect Pals sanctuaries have become one of the most important cat resources in all of North America. The sanctuary has places for feral cats, cats with Leukemia, cats with FIV, and cats with behavioral issues set a standard for cat comfort and care. In the late 1990s Purrfect Pals opened the Purrfect Pals Cat Hospital on campus to provide top-quality care for the shelter cats and also to provide free and low-cost spay and neuter surgeries to low-income families, as well as free surgeries for feral cats. Annually, the Purrfect Pals veterinarians perform more than 2,000 surgeries. Purrfect Pals has become well-known for two signature events: the Black Cat Ball and the Average Joe Cat Show. The Black Cat Ball is held the final Sunday in October. A gala auction and gourmet dinner, the Black Cat Ball raises money for the shelter. The Average Joe Cat Show is a fun cat show for family cats. The Average Joe Cat Show is held every year in Spring. In early 2006 Purrfect Pals opened FIV-Land, an innovative cat adoption facility for cats with FIV. Purrfect Pals is currently adopting about 60 FIV cats a year, twice as many as any other shelter in the world. Purrfect Pals is currently the world's largest cat-only adoption organization and sanctuary
Adoptions
Purrfect Pals adopts most of its cats at pet stores that have partnered with Purrfect Pals. Purrfect Pals cats are in most PetsMart, Petco, All the Best Pet Care, and Walker's Healthy Pet locations across Puget Sound; 24 locations in total. No other animal adoption organization in the United States approaches the number of off-site pet store partners which have joined forces with Purrfect Pals. Since 1988, Purrfect Pals has adopted approximately 18,000 cats. In November 2006 Purrfect Pals placed its 5,000 through a Petco store and in early 2007 Purrfect Pals will place its 5,000th cat through a Petsmart store. In 2006, Purrfect Pals built FIV-Land, the world's first adoption room dedicated solely to cats with FIV (cats which are typically euthanized in most shelters). In the first 10 months of FIV-Land, Purrfect Pals adopted more than 50 FIV+ cats, more than any other shelter by a factor of 10.
Prision Kitty Program
Purrfect Pals No-Kill Shelter and Sanctuary, located in Arlington, Washington, was founded on the belief that every cat matters. Purrfect Pals provides foster and hospice care, in addition to adoption services, for homeless cats. Purrfect Pals' mission is to end over population through humane education, spay/neuter programs and permanent placement in quality homes. Old, fragile, injured, newborns, stray and unwanted cats are accepted at Purrfect Pals. Finding acceptable foster care for the feral or semi-feral kittens needing socialization and human contact has been an ongoing challenge for Purrfect Pals. In the spring of 2006, that challenge was met by an unlikely group of individuals in the offenders at the Monroe Correctional Complex-Special Offender Unit (MCC-SOU). SOU is a psychiatric prison unit contained within MCC. The SOU E living unit houses 96 mentally ill offenders who enthusiastically welcome the opportunity to provide foster care for the young and/or feral kittens. Monroe Corrections Kitten Connections (MCKC) was developed as a way to provide quality kitten foster care while simultaneously motivating offenders to make positive life changes. To qualify for the program, E Unit offenders must meet very stringent criteria which include exemplary behavior, good hygiene, psychiatric stability, a pro-social attitude and a high level of participation in correctional programs. Once screened for eligibility, all prospective candidates are interviewed by the unit staff. If approved, the new foster parent receives training from Purrfect Pals Volunteers on how to care for their kittens. This undeniably unique partnership has been a success with enormous benefits for both Purrfect Pals and the offenders of E Unit. The MCKC Program has reduced offender idleness, taught offenders about responsibility and increased their self esteem. Since the program's inception, offenders have been motivated to enroll in school, obtain jobs, obey unit rules and improve their hygiene so that they may become MCKC participants. The presence of animals on E Unit has added a new calmness to E Unit's therapeutic milieu and strengthened its community spirit. Countless kittens, that might otherwise have been euthanized, have all been altered and adopted. Purrfect Pals pays for all the costs related to the program such as food, litter, crates and veterinarian care. The amazing partnership between Purrfect Pals and MCC has made this wonderful program possible.
Sanctuary
The Purrfect Pals sanctuary facilities are home to more than 250 permanent and semi-permanent resident cat. Feral and semi-feral cats, geriatric cats, cats with FIV and Feline Leukemia, and cats with behavioural issues all have lifetime homes at Purrfect Pals with no risk of euthanasia. The Purrfect Pals sanctuary is one of North America's largest cat-only sancturies. The sanctuary has proven to be a resource for desperate people all across the United States. In 2006 alone Purrfect Pals accepted cats from Florida, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, and California.
Spay/Neuter Program
The Purrfect Pals Cat Hospital provides more than 1,500 spay and neuter surgeries annually to Purrfect Pals cats, as well as another 400 to 500 free surgeries to feral cat caretakers who are supervising feral colonies.
Events
Purrfect Pals holds two prominent events annually. In October Purrfect Pals hosts the Black Cat Ball, and gala auction and costume contest. In Spring Purrfect Pals hosts the Average Joe Cat Show, North America's largest non-breed cat show and cat-adoption event.
Satistics
Annual Adoptions: Approximately 2,500 (projection for 2007)/ Total Adoptions: 1988-2006 Approximately 18,000 / Annual Spay and Neuter Surgeries: Approximately 2,000 / Permanent Resident Cats: 250+ / Full and Part-time Employees: 24.
See also
- No-kill Shelter
- Animal Shelter
External links
pl:Purfect Pals