PAWS Adoption/ Donation Fees

At PAWS, we ask for a donation or adoption fee should you find a cat that is purrfect for you and your family. We invest a lot into each and every one of our animals and ensure that each one receives all of the appropriate vaccinations and that each gets spayed or neutered. We take our responsibility to the animals and the community seriously and try our best to ensure that they are properly vaccinated and not able to reproduce and exacerbate the challenge of homeless, uncared for cats.

In terms of our adoption fees, we are striving to cover the costs for providing the required health services for the welfare of both the animal and the community. This amount does not include any of the food, special feeding, transportation time, follow-up post op care, post op medications or litter required to provide for these cats. We hope that you understand our position and for those who can give more, we promise you that 100% goes right back to feeding and care of the cats.

We have forged long-term relationships with area veterinarians and community clinics who provide various services to our not-for-profit shelter at significantly reduced fees. We have structured our adoption fee to cover these minimal, required healthcare costs. As you can see from our fee structure, a kitten adoption fee is the highest because they are in need of all of the vaccines and must be spayed or neutered. Conversely, older cats are often already 'fixed' and may not require some of the items routinely needed by kittens.We are grateful for all of our cats to find a loving home and appreciate that senior cats or ones with health issues are par­ticularly difficult to place.

Adoption Fees (minimum donations)

Our FeLV+ cat adoption fee is $55 for two cats.

There is a 15% discount for multiple cats.

All adopted kittens and cats come with the following:

• First rabies and distemper vaccines

• Testing for feline leukemia

• Spaying or neutering

• Microchip ID

Adopted kittens and cats should be taken to your vet as soon as possible for a health check up, to receive its second round of vaccines (for kittens), and also to become part of their practice so they will know your cat and be best able to serve your animal.

Putting Adoption Donations Into Perspective

Consistent with the old saying, “There is no such thing as a free lunch,” it is remarkably the same principle when you see that sign on the road that says “FREE KITTENS.” These “FREE” kittens, although deserving of a permanent home, generally have had no vaccines, no testing for feline leukemia (a disease that gets passed from the mother), and certainly has not yet been spayed or neutered. These costs will fall to you as the responsible owner. As indicated above, we have forged relationships as a not-for-profit shelter with area veterinarians and community clinics to receive these services at significantly reduced fees. Individuals who take their kitten or cat to the vet spend far more to have a kitten spayed or neutered.

To try and quantify fees associated with adopting a “FREE” kitten, we surveyed area veterinarians, and in 2019 the spaying/neutering charges ranged between $150 and $350. The vaccines and tests are in addition to this, and local veterinarians often have additional fees for sending out the blood work, for example. We believe that our current adoption fees represent a win-win-win situation! For the shelter acting responsibly, for you taking home a kitten that is “current and ready to go” and for your new kitten/ cat who will now have a loving, permanent home!

Typical Veterinarian Charges for a New Kitten:

Initial Veterinary visit: $45
Feline Leukemia Test: $55
Feline Leukemia Vaccine: $20
Rabies Vaccine: $21
Distemper Vaccine: $20
Spaying/Neutering: $150 to $300

TOTAL: $311 to $461

And, keep in mind that you will have to take your kitten back for a second round of vaccines to ensure they are fully protected.

Once again, in terms of our adoption fees, we are striving to cover the costs for providing the required health services for the welfare of both the animal and the community. This amount does not include any of the food, special feeding, transportation time, follow-up post op care, post op medications, or litter required to provide for these cats. We hope that you understand our position. For those who can give more, we promise you that 100% goes right back to feeding and care of the cats.