"FREE" cats/kittens cost more...

[Catty1]

from our local Humane Society's website.
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Free Cat/Kitten

Initial Fee - FREE
Vet check and 1st set of vaccines - $ 85
Booster vaccinations - $ 70
Spay - $175 & up
Neuter - $104 & up
Identification - $15


Adopted Cat/Kitten

Initial Fee - $50 - $210
Vet check and 1st set of vaccines - Included
Booster vaccinations - Included
Spay - Included
Neuter - Included
Identification - Included
Post adoption vet exam - Included

Total cost of FREE Cat/Kitten $274 - $345
Total cost of Adopted Cat/Kitten $50 - $210

[catmandu]

And Catty 1 the Ctas at the Animal Welfare in Hamilton are 150 dollars a bargain for real Cat Lovers.
But so many people take Kittens in because they are free with no intent of keeping them once they ahve outgrown that Kitte stage which is sadly why rescue associations are needed.
These people want the right to have Pets, but not the resposibilty that goes with it.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

a lot of people in these parts don't bother with shots, spaying and all that "fancy" stuff anyway. Get the cat for free, turn it loose in the yard, feed it when you remember to, and if it runs away just get another one.... for free.

[katladyd]

I've rescued and adopted from the shelter. Adopting from the shelter is much cheaper, but I'm always open to rescuing a poor, hungry, critter.

[moosmom]

I commend any shelter that spays/neuters before adopting out to prospective families. Charging the new families a high adoption fee will weed out any irresponsible pet owners and will also show exactly how much owning a pet will cost them. They are basically only recouping what they've had to shell out for the care of the pet. I wish more shelters would require that. There'd be far less unwanted pets.

[Pinot's Mom]

I agree they need to charge the fees to 1) recoup losses and 2) weed out people who aren't really serious. We got Pinot from the shelter; her fee was, I think, $85 - $100 and she was spayed. I'd gladly pay it again!

[moosmom]

Pinot's Mom,

Same here!!

[Jenn&Dean]

Catty1,

I completely agree. The day I got Dean I was just planning on going to the local Humane Society to take a look around and think about adopting a kitten/cat.

Well, just so happens, it was National Adopt a Kitten day... So, there I see the cutest little fawn tabby, at the time named OJ. So they push me into a "visiting" room and tell me how cute he is, and he's had his shot, neutered, and micro-chipped. I was thinking "this is the right place to get an animal, if it is the right time, is this the right time?"

Well, it must have been the right time, because she told me they were adopting out kittens for $17.00 that day. And I thought... WHAT A DEAL!

So, I filled out my adoption information, they put him in a carrying box for me, and off we went. Never separated since.

I got a vaccinated, neutered, and micro-chipped feline for a small fee of $17.00. It has been 3 years since I've had him and each trip to the vet has cost $30.00 dollars for his rabies shot, booster shot, and annual exam.

I couldn't be happier with my adopted kitty!

[orangemm]

We did the same thing; went to PetSmart to "look" at the adoptees. Of course we had to step in and hold one (Archy). So we decided to adopt him. I had been holding another kitten (Binky), but Jeff said he was too "wild" . So we filled out the application for Archy and a day later a woman from the adoption area called my husband and told him we could have Archy, but could we think about adopting his brother, too? Yes, it was the "wild" one.

And, yes, we took both of them! And, trust me, Binky is the opposite of "wild"! I don't know if they are really brothers or not, but they've been together since kittenhood, so at this point, they are.

I wouldn't trade them for anything.

eta: and, yes, we paid a fee for both of them.

[lvpets2002]

Yup that is the truth = nothing is free.. Thats like the Tractor Supply Commercial where the man says someone gave my son a free puppy.. Then they end up at the vets & tractor supply store buying beds & toys & food..

[3Catcondo]

Cricket was a "free" cat and the startup costs for her were way more expensive than with my adoption fees for the other 3. I wouldn't trade her for the world but she came to me "free" at 3 1/2 mos old, not tested for fel luek and aids, full on upper respiratory, no shots, unaltered of course because she was too young. I think it was about $225 to get all of these things taken care of out of pocket, so I think a $90 adoption fee is well worth it. So I def agree that "free" cats/kittens cost more.

[blue]

Ill stick with my not so free kitteh.

[Scooter's Mom]

I got charlie from a shelter... paid his fee (90, i think) and he had 2 surgeries the first year i had him! Scooter and Jingle were found kitties, and by far much less expensive than charlie ever will be... so I think it depends on the kitty, really.

[GILL]

We have gone both ways and FREE or found is always more expensive.

[orangemm]

We found that out, too. There was a cat living around a rehab center, beautiful boy, but he needed care. I went over with a carrier and some of the volunteers there helped me catch him (it took all afternoon in the middle of summer). I took him to the vet, got him his shots, made sure he was neutered and took him home. He was with us a few weeks and never made the transition to house cat. One day he escaped and I couldn't find him; he had done it before, but I always got him back, tempting him with food.

The next day I found him in our alley. Someone had run over him. I was devastated. maybe I should have left him where he was, he might have stayed alive longer............