City’s Newest Development Will Keep Homeless Cats Purring While Awaiting Adoption
Contact: Lisa Franzetta, Friends of Oakland Animal Services —
OAKLAND–The Bay Area real estate market may be notoriously harsh, but housing prospects are looking up for Oakland’s homeless cats, thanks to a $40,000 grant to Friends of Oakland Animal Services from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America. The grant will provide for the renovation of cat kennels in the shelter’s holding area, creating more modern, less stressful living spaces that will ultimately improve the felines’ chances of finding their forever homes.
Why are the shelter’s new cat condo plans getting major meows of approval? In 2016, Oakland Animal Services took in more than five cats every day — a total of 1,899 for the year — and 10 to 12 at a time are housed in the holding area now awaiting renovation. The improved design of the new condos will help reduce the spread of illness, give cats room to stretch, move around, and enjoy high perches, and reduce the anxiety associated with shelter noise. What’s more, by allowing shy or noise-sensitive cats to be made available for adoption from these more private quarters, more cats will be saved who would otherwise not be adoptable from the shelter.
“This generous grant means that Oakland Animal Services will be able to provide top notch housing for our city’s cats while they are passing through our shelter on their way to their new families,” says Oakland Animal Services Director Rebecca Katz. “We’re thrilled that PetSmart Charities shares our commitment to ‘cat-friendly housing.’”
”Oakland Animal Services has long been committed to helping homeless pets in the Bay Area, and with plans to build new ‘cat condos,’ they are making an effort to provide cats in need with the comfort they deserve as they search for their forever home,” said Jenny Aho, regional relationship manager at PetSmart Charities. “Pets in need deserve a great home, even as they are waiting for the right family.”
Shelter Operations is just one of PetSmart Charities’ ten grant categories designed to support animal welfare organizations and nonprofits as part of their newly expanded mission to find lifelong loving homes for all pets by supporting programs that bring people and pets together. Funding from PetSmart Charities supports best practices that help pets thrive in a shelter environment until they find their forever family and offers funding for shelter-based programs that improve adoptions, reduce pets’ length of stay and strengthen shelter infrastructure.
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Oakland Animal Services is Oakland’s only “open admissions” shelter, accepting all of Oakland’s homeless, injured, orphaned, unwanted, lost, abandoned and mistreated animals. With the assistance of dedicated volunteers and the support of nonprofit Friends of Oakland Animal Services, OAS saves the lives of thousands of animals every year.
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row — placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org
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