Shelter adoption fees

[pomtzu]

Sas's thread about the shelter visit, prompted me to wonder about this, and I was curious what adoption fees are in different areas.

I checked my county SPCA fees, and was rather shocked to see what they charge - anywhere between $65 and $110, depending on the age of the animal and if they have already been neutered. They do have occasional special pricing days, but these are the regular fees. If they are this high in a rural area, I hate to imagine what a shelter in a metropolitan area would charge. No wonder the shelters are full - people in general and in this economy really don't want to put out that kind of money when they can get that free puppy or kitten from an ad in the paper, or the neighbor down the street, who wasn't responsible enough to have their pet fixed.

What do fees run in your area, and do you think they are reasonable?

[Taz_Zoee]

The shelter I work with has these prices:
Kitten = $125 (under 6 months old)
Cat = $50
Puppy = $250 (under 20 weeks old)
Dog = $225

All animals are spayed/neutered before being adopted. They do have specials on adult cats sometimes. And the local football team, Oakland Raiders, sometimes sponsors adult cat adoptions as well. Then once a year there is a two day event called Maddie's Day where ALL adoptions are free. This event is not only at our shelter but also many other surrounding shelters.

We also have a senior discount of $50 for 60 years and up. And you get a 60% discount on dogs and puppies first seven week training class held at the shelter. Also every animal gets a free visit to a VCA vet. Although, my vet gives the first visit free anyway for puppies and kittens.

We paid full price for Taggart (he was 6 months old so $225) and we got Jax at Maddie's Day last year, so he was free. I'm not sure how I feel about the pricing. I have to think it's pretty reasonable just knowing the care that is given to the animals, plus this is the Bay Area in California so everything is more expensive.

[Pinot's Mom]

Pinot's basic fee was $85. This is the fee for a neutered kitty; this SPCA is completely funded by donations and they must pay their bills. I have no problem with that fee.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I've seen it range from $25 (with no vetting of any kind)- $125 to adopt a cat around here. The place I got my boys at charged $65 for one, and 2nd was no additional fee. I knew I wanted poor little Havoc with the gimpy leg, but Toby was soooooo gosh-darned handsome, I got him too.

[mrspunkysmom]

At the Greenville ACS the fees are as follows:

The adoption fee for Puppies and Kittens is $90.00.
The adoption fee for Dogs and Cats is $70.00.

Anderson Animal Shelter

Puppies under 4 months...$65
Dogs over 4 months...$65
Kittens under 4 months...$55
Cats over 4 months...$55

The Humane Society for Either County does not list their adoption fees.

The local cat rescue is $50 and other rescues have different prices.

Considering it cost me around $350 to fully vet Jane 2 years ago, any of these are a steal. I was $125 each for Bob and Emily since both had been previously "fixed". My vet cuts no slack (and for good reason) but any strays that happen upon their doorstep are cared for and adopted out for a reasonable fee.

The Greenville ACS recently had an adoption weekend and adopted long term cats for $25. Both PetSmart and PetCo have had several adoption weekends recently. With 5 at home I didn't ask the price; just admired the kitties from a distance.

[luvofallhorses]

At the shelter I work at dogs are $60 and cats are $30 (we do a cat buddy system you adopt one and get the other free).

It's VERY reasonable!! It includes them being vaccinated, spayed or neutered, microchipped, a new bag of food that the dogs/cats are on to make the transition easier on their bellies if you are going to feed a new food, etc. We also include a packet with a bunch of information that is free really. Of course to be approved you have to fill out an application and we check references (vets, and if you rent landlord approval for a pet and we also check other shelters if they live out of town to see if they are on the DNA or good people.) and go from there.

We are very thorough with our adoption prices and some of the cats and dogs are sponsored meaning they had someone pay their adoption fee but they still have to fill out an application and be approved.

[chocolatepuppy]

At my local shelter...

Dog/Puppies $65-$130 plus dog license

Cat/Kitten $65-$100

Caring Companion Dogs $130 plus dog license

The pounds are a bit less. The rescue I got my last two cats from is a bit cheaper. I paid $65. to adopt Angel. Tessa, they gave me for nothing as they desperately wanted her to have a home(she'd been there forever) and I had the perfect home for her. They were at Petsmart and I got coupons for items I normally use that covered 1/2 of Angels fee.Therefore, I feel I got a great deal. Both kittys were spayed.

I believe I got Jake for $85. from my shelter. He was not neutered(he was 8 weeks old) but I got a voucher to get it done cheaper. I also got free health insurance for one month on him. (they no longer do that) He did end up sick that first month and the insurnace paid off. He was microchipped.
Both this shelter and rescue have specials like if you adopt older animals they'll be cheaper for a certain month.

All in all, I'd have no complaints for what I got in the deal, not to mention a few wonderful furkids!

[tokolosh]

Sas's thread about the shelter visit, prompted me to wonder about this, and I was curious what adoption fees are in different areas. . . . What do fees run in your area, and do you think they are reasonable?

I'm in a big Canadian city. At the SPCA here it's $120 for an adult cat, $200 (I think) for a bonded pair, and I don't remember the kittens. I think somewhere in between, and I assume they're trying to get people to at least consider the grownup cats and give them a chance with that one. With this you get a free-spay-or-neuter certificate to take to a vet if you're adopting someone who isn't fixed yet. To put it in real-life terms since actual buying power is so variable from place to place, I believe the single-cat price equates to any of:

- 15 hours at the minimum wage, pre-deductions.
- about 6 days of the very cheapest rent on a not-very-nice one-bedroom apartment in a not-very-nice neighbourhood.
- 4 to 6 months of the cheapest (advertised rate) cell phone service
- about 10 movies? I dunno, I don't do movies.
- a month and a half of my full ADSL/voip/long distance bundle
- a one-month adult bus pass, for two transit zones.
- one pair of semi-high-end runners. Not the fad brand, but something that won't fall apart for a few years.
- two and a half tanks of gas for a Toyota Yaris, or one month's car insurance.
- 60 to 80 cans of cat food.

My math's pretty fuzzy and probably my numbers too, but you get the idea. In my terms it's cheap, and I think I sit somewhere in the median income group, on paper. In many other people's terms it would be very difficult. There are some really wide income-disparity gaps in this city.

[IRescue452]

There are no public shelters around here, only rescues and private human associations. Dogs and puppies rarely go for under $100, sometimes rescues charge over $300. Cats and kittens usually around $75. There is more demand than supply here for dogs so they can charge what they want, but in the past few years the population of dogs has been increasing in the area and rescues are charging less. Cats are another story. There's so many of them. You can always find an adoption sale going on in the area for cats.

I find with the economy going bad there are more people not altering their pets and also more people trying to make a buck by breeding them.

I do not like to think about paying for a cat since there are free cats all over, but if I fell in love with a specific one I don't think even $100 is a bad price for a long-lived companion animal. I paid that for my ferret after all. Dogs it depends. For an elderly dog I don't want to have to pay $300, but I would. I know what shots and food and altering an animal costs.

[luvofallhorses]

I forgot to mention that the adoption fee also includes a free Health and Welnness exam from the vet they use and all vets usually honor it. Also if there is something wrong with the dog or cat like leg amputation or hit by a car, needs a dental, etc. we take care of that before they even get to leave the shelter.

[mrspunkysmom]

I find with the economy going bad there are more people not altering their pets and also more people trying to make a buck by breeding them.

I do not like to think about paying for a cat since there are free cats all over, but if I fell in love with a specific one I don't think even $100 is a bad price for a long-lived companion animal. I paid that for my ferret after all. Dogs it depends. For an elderly dog I don't want to have to pay $300, but I would. I know what shots and food and altering an animal costs.

I'm fairly sure that those people that tried to claim the chocolate lab last year wanted to use her for breeding. They did not get her back.

I used to think that about cats until I personally vetted my cats. And it has become very expensive. The only reason I haven't adopted from a shelter is because I knew that a cat or two would cross my path that I would want to save and I might be at my limit. That has come true twice in the last two years.

[krazyaboutkatz]

When I adopted Storm from the Humane Society he was $60 and I thought that was very high. This was back in Jan. of 1997. He was vaccinated for FVRCP and neutered but he still needed his rabies shot and I also had to test him for FELV/FIV. He was sick when I adopted him and I didn't realize this until almost a week later. He had fleas, ear mites, internal parasites and an URI. I had to spend a little over $250 to get him well again. After this bad experience with the Humane Society, I didn't adopt from them again for many years until I eventually adopted Sky.

Sky's adoption fee was $125 back in June of 2003 and he was microchipped, neutered, FELV/FIV tested, and he had his shots. He had also been treated for an URI while he was at the Humane Society and he was also treated for fleas. He wasn't,however, treated for any internal parasites and I later found out that he had tapeworm.

I just looked up the Humane Society online and this is a list of their adoption fees:
$175 for cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies
$70 for rabbits
$30 for a guinea pig
$20 for hamsters or rats
$10 for mice

Twice the love (adopted at the same time)
$275 pair of cats, kittens, dogs, or puppies
$110 pair of rabbits
$40 pair of guinea pigs

Included in our Adoption Fee:
Spay/Neuter surgery
Vaccinations and Intestinal De-worming
Feline Leukemia testing for all felines
Identification tag
Home Again Microchip with life-time registration
Two weeks of sponsored veterinary care
Reference material on pet care and training
Post Adoption Support
All of our animals have been examined by a veterinarian and assessed for temperament.

Both Pearl and Ziggy Stardust didn't have adoption fees because I got them from another Pet Talker who rescued them. I did have to fly to Arizona and I did have to purchase a spot on the plane for them. Pearl was spayed, FELV/FIV tested, microchipped,dewormed, had some of her kitten shots, and her rabies shot. Ziggy Stardust was too small to spay so I had it done later. She was also FELV/FIV tested,microchipped, dewormed, and had some of her kitten shots. She was too young for a rabies shot. Neither one of them had any fleas.

I saw Alani & Blaze on petfinder and they were from a rescue group,Humanimal Connection, and they had to be adopted together. I paid $225 total for both of them so I did get a slight discount but not much. Now I think they're charging a bit less than they did before. Here's their information about cats:
Why would you pay for a kitten?

Humanimal Connection charges an adoption fee to cover the costs incurred for the kitten/cat you will be adopting. This adoption fee covers more than most rescue groups and at a greater discount than you could receive as an individual pet owner. We receive discounts because we are a non-profit organization that has teamed up with local vets to keep costs down for our adopting families.

What are the rates?

Humanimal Connection Kitten OR Cat:

Cost of Kitten: $115 (Discount for adopting 2 together: $20 total) OR Cost of Cat: $100
Spay/Neuter: Included
Wellness Examination: Included
FIV Test: Included
FeLV Test: Included
FVRCP Vaccinations (to-date): Included
De-worming (to-date): Included
Microchip Implantation: Included
Microchip Registration: $9.99 (paid to HomeAgain Recovery Services; also includes 30-days pet health insurance up to $500 and lost pet insurance up to $1000)

Total Cost for Humanimal Connection Kitten: $124.99 OR Total Cost for Humanimal Connection Cat: $109.99

"Free" Kitten:

Cost of Kitten: "Free"
Spay/Neuter (at a local clinic): $35/$50 (at vet): $300/$500
Wellness Examination: $50
FIV Test: $15
FeLV Test: $15
FVRCP Vaccinations (at vaccination clinic): $15/vaccination x3 (at vet): $50/vaccination x3
De-Worming (at vaccination clinic): $10/vaccination x2 (at vet): $50/de-worming x2
Microchip Implant: $15
Microchip Registration $9.99


Total Cost for "Free Kitten": $204.99 to $854.99

Additionally...

Adopting a cat or kitten for "free" from a neighbor or friend means bringing a kitten into your home when you are not sure the kitten is entirely healthy. This entails allowing your family and children to become emotionally attached to a kitten that may be severely ill. Humanimal Connection tests for FIV and Feline Leukemia to ensure the kitten you are bringing into your home is both healthy and happy. Please, think twice before bringing a "free" kitten into your home!

[Asiel]

Our fees are anwhere from $70 to $375 and is sometimes increased to off set the money the shelter has had to spend on the dog or cat while it was at the shelter. This includes spay/neuter, shots, tags , microchip and other minor vet cost if needed.
I've heard countless times why people refuse to adopt because of the cost, they can always get a free dog if they just want a mutt, as for cats they're a dime a dozen in the newspaper ads so no one will pay to adopt for that price. If the shelters asked for a donation or charged a nominal fee they would find homes much easier.

[pomtzu]

Wow - these rates are really all over the board.
Further breaking down what I had quoted:

Kent County SPCA - all fees include sterilization
This is a kill shelter
They are checked for disease, tho not treated. That is up to the person adopting.

dog, cat, puppy, kitten under 5 yrs of age
$110 for 1
$175 for 2

dog, cat over 5 yrs of age
$90 if intact
$65 if already sterilized

I personally would adopt elsewhere, as I had a bad experience with them many years ago. I adopted a tiny gray kitten, and 2 days later found it dead on the sofa. I called SPCA about it, and they informed me that they found distemper and had to euthanize all of their cat population. I asked why they didn't notify me, and they flippantly said they couldn't possibly locate all the people that they had adopted to. They had all my info and it had only been 2 days - just a big excuse and they just couldn't be bothered. Problem is, I had another adult cat in the house who had never been vaccinated since he was strictly a house cat (I know better now tho), and of course you know what happened to him. I know too that this facility has greatly improved over the years, but it still left a very bad impression with me that I will never forget.

On a much better note:

Delaware Humane Association - a no kill shelter

Dogs
$225 - puppies 6 months and younger
$150 - adult 7 months+
$75 - Senior 7 yrs+

Fees include spay/neuter, age appropriate vaccines, heartworm test, microchip, pre-adoption vet exam, collar & leash, certificate for free vet exam.

Cats
Kittens 6 months or younger
$80 for 1
$130 for 2
Adult 7 months+
$80 for 1
$120 for 2
Senior 7 yrs+
$40 each

Includes much the same as above for dogs. All listed rates recently reduced by $30 for 1 and $35 for 2, due to the increased cat population, so they had been higher.

Special needs dogs and cats - any age
$25 for cats
$50 for dogs

Senior discount: $50 for dogs 3 years+, and all cats


If I was looking to take in another pet - this is definitely where I would adopt. When I was still working and had United Way donation taken out of my check each week, I had 100% of my donation allocated to this organization. I started out at only $1 per week, but increased it substantially each year during the fund drive. Can't think of a better way for my money to be used, than to help organizations such as this.
ETA - too many people that pledge to United Way, never read the back of the pledge form to know just how many organizations are available to donate to, and just automatically check, Cancer Society, Heart Association, etc. While all this is well and good, the animals need our help too, tho most people would never think to have their money go there.


Of course there are many rescue groups around here too, but I have no idea what any of their rates are.

[Moesha]

"Free" Kitten:

Cost of Kitten: "Free"
Spay/Neuter (at a local clinic): $35/$50 (at vet): $300/$500
Wellness Examination: $50
FIV Test: $15
FeLV Test: $15
FVRCP Vaccinations (at vaccination clinic): $15/vaccination x3 (at vet): $50/vaccination x3
De-Worming (at vaccination clinic): $10/vaccination x2 (at vet): $50/de-worming x2
Microchip Implant: $15
Microchip Registration $9.99

I am sure glad that I do live in an area where vets charge $300 to spay or neuter. A spay is $75 and neuter $65. An office visit exam would be included in that cost. Vaccinations and worming are $35. I understand that the total cost would be more than the total adoption fee, but those prices for vets are unbelievable to me.