I was on my way home from a meeting this afternoon. I noticed a cat shelter and actually turned the car around. The shelter was the neatest place - a real home dedicated soley to cats! There was one room in the back that was an office - the rest was solely cats!

I got talking to the woman who owned the rescue. She said that the shelter wasn't yet 3 years old, and already they had over 1,300. WOW! I was impressed! Thats not what blew my mind... what blew my mind was this: she does not take cats in. She CHARGES $300 per cat to take the cats. They have to be vetted and up to dates on shots. They have to be fixed. If they are not vetted, fixed or up to date on shots she won't take them in!

Excuse me, but if I found a cat on the side of the road I'd try to find a safe no-kill shelter for it. I wouldn't go so far as to take the cat to the vet's incurr the expense of shots and such, only to then hand over the cat plus an additional $300!! (If I did go to all that expense and hassle, I'd end up keeping the cat myself!)

Now, does that policy seem plausible? How many people are willing to hand over $300 for a rescue to take their cat? Most people just let their cat loose in a field if they no longer care to keep it. Most people who find stray cats aren't ready (or able) to absorb hundreds of dollars for their good deed of finding a no-kill shelter for their little stray. How could they have so many people willing to give $300?? And how much was the cost of adopting one of those cats? Dummy me didn't think to ask until I was already twenty miles away.

But then she added real insult to injury... I told her that I volunteer for a rescue, and that the fee wouldn't float in my area. She asked where I am from. She shrugged and said "Oh well, thats more blue collar than here". I swear her nose wriggled in disgust at my area. So here I am wondering if perhaps my "blue collar" area is just as poor and trashy as she hinted, or if she's just lucky to have landed herself in a ritzy area willing to spend the money.. and that she's sorely out of touch with reality!