By Melissa Lapierre
Anyone who works or volunteers in an animal shelter will tell you that kittens are always first to be adopted. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re practically irresistible and have the ability to melt the toughest heart. In my area of the country there’s even a waiting list at times for kittens!
It’s no wonder once a cat approaches a year old and beyond they start to get overlooked in favor of smaller munchkins. They are then left waiting for someone who prefers their new pet to be a bit more settled and beyond those crazy (yet adorable) kitten antics.
Finding a home to live out the rest of their days is even harder once a cat reaches their senior years. Many of these precious souls were once a cherished pet and have suffered the heartbreaking loss of their human companion due to illness or death.
Most people don’t want to adopt a senior kitty, concerned about costly medical bills and the heartbreak of loss that will come sooner rather than later. These cats still have so much love to give, yet shelters struggle to find forever homes for them.
PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society) in Norwalk, Connecticut, has found a solution thanks to their Paws Pension Plan for senior cats (and dogs).
Through this program the adoption donation is waived for all cats aged 12 and older (dogs to be determined by breed and size). PAWS will also cover one annual exam, annual vaccinations as recommended by their vet, and one senior blood-work panel every year for the life of the animal! The plan covers all the basics, but adopters are responsible for anything else such as special diets, x-rays, or other medical issues.
Ellen, the Cat Adoption Coordinator at PAWS, told me that the Paws Pension Plan is actually a very inexpensive program to run. It saves them money over having the cats residing long term at the shelter.
For example, rabies & distemper vaccines bought by the case cost less than $10 each. Their onsite vet does the exam based on her hourly pay costing approximately $20. Idexx lab provides blood work analysis for free since PAWS sends them paid business for fecal, blood and urine tests. So for $40 they get a cat into a home, not having to buy their food, pay people to clean their cage, or provide any other medical care.
Waiving the adoption fee is a no brainer compared to a year of paying for food and care!
Thanks to this plan PAWS is now finding it easier to adopt out senior kitties over the slightly younger “Baby Boomers” aged 6-11. They are currently applying for several grants that would allow them to offer a similar plan for this age group as they are now the hardest to place.
At PAWS anyone can make a difference in the life of a senior pet. This is a plan any shelter can implement provided they have a vet onsite or can find one willing to donate one or more free exams per year for senior cats.
All the photos you see in this article are just a handful of “happy tails” stories thanks to the Pension Plan. Since becoming official in the fall of 2016 over 35 cats have found new homes!
I’ll tell you why I don’t like this idea. In theory, it is a good way to get those left behind “seniors” adopted…in reality, it is a good way to get those left behind “seniors” in the hands of those who may use them in harmful ways. They aren’t losing money and get a “bait” animal for free. It is a bad practice and guarantee it will happen. The monetary adoption fee is also there to protect the animal being adopted. You may be ending their life in a very awful way.
There is still an adoption application and interview process to ensure the safety of the pets…it’s not just “come get a free senior cat” =) it’s an incentive to help get senior pets adopted out that may have additional costs associated due to their advances ages.
JessiCAT, you are 100% correct. I have been volunteering at PAWS for more than two decades, and the adoption application and interview protocols are extremely detailed and thorough. This is NOT a case of the shelter just trying to dump its senior kitties, but rather, a good way to get those overlooked seniors into the loving forever homes they deserve. Those of us who worked with and loved those cats week after week are over the moon to see them safe, happy and loved. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing our senior pet program!!
JessiCAT, thanks! And thanks for sharing your great posts every week!
I have two Senior Cats Twinkle 14 and Taz 13. I have to relocate to Canada and animals are not allowed. My partner is extremely allergic. Things have worked for us thus far because we live in separate dwellings. We are now going to be under the same roof. I love all parties involved. I am saddened by this situation. Can you please assist in this matter?
So very sorry to hear that. I would recommend trying to find another person who can take them from you and keep them together. Would be great if you had a friend so that you could still visit them <3
What a great idea!! Wish Shelters here would do that. In bigger cities they do, but not wher I live. I did take a 5 year old cat (NYLABLUE) as a rescue & I was blessed to have a lot of financial support from fellow bloggers. If not for them, she would not have had the exrea 1 1/2 yrs with me.
I can say after Siddhartha Henry if I am still mobile enough I will adopt a senior cat….
Great article Melissa!
Sherri-Ellen T-D & Purrince Siddhartha Henry
I am owned by just one furry girl, Tigger, who has owned me since she was 2, and we have shared 15 very happy years together. Having watched a neighbour literally walk away and abandon two cats who were devoted to her, and seeing Socks, who is part Maine Coon and a big furrball of love, find his furrever home with the family who live next door, but completely unable to help his friend Timmy who seemed to lose faith in people and became a loner who wandered off and is rarely seen now, I could never even imagine abandoning a family member like that, and have continued to ignore the woman responsible, who has since returned to the village and has yet more cats from what I have heard. Tigger is both my constant companion, best friend and therapy cat all wrapped up in a furry lover of snuggles in bed, cuddles and adventures in her garden, after years of being a house cat as we lived in Newcastle, a city in the north of England, which was too unsafe to let her roam free, but we now live in rural Northumberland, so she has a large garden to explore and a warm bed every night with all the food and play time she wants. It’s not something I want to think about, but one day, when she passes over the rainbow bridge, there is a local animal shelter in the next town from where we are that is desperately in need of people who can take older cats, when her time comes I want to be able to adopt two siblings or friends who are older, and give them their furrever home in honour of Tigger who has taken care of me while I’ve been too unwell to work, and has been my furry nurse as my physical disabilities have worsened over the years. No matter what she has stayed by my side, watching over me, keeping me warm and only dashing off to grab a bite to eat and use her litter box before coming right back to my side. She doesn’t get on with other animals at all, she knows she is all I need, and doesn’t mind when I am feeding Socks and the two other furry people who have adopted Socks’ family, Rosie and Izzy, when their servants go away for the weekend, and she only objects if the other furry people who co-own me from the rest of the village come into her garden, for a small girl she’s very feisty. We’re lucky in the UK because declawing is illegal and the RSPCA, amongst other charities, do all they can to help and protect our pets and other wildlife. I do what I can to support the charities around here and I have a special place in my heart for all of those people who give their time to help our furry owners.