Jackson Madison County Humane Society: Cat Chow Building Better Lives Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We used this grant to lower the adoption fees of the felines from $80 to $60 and, in some rare cases, to $40.
The felines who were adopted were fully vetted before adoption. They were all tested for FELV/FIV, received the required number of vaccines, their rabies vaccine and were all spayed or neutered.
The response we got from the adopters was fantastic. We really didn't have a problem getting a picture taken here at the shelter of the feline with their new family (if they were adopted from here) or even sending us one or two if they were adopted from the cat adoption center out at PetSmart. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of every cat adopted, but we tried.
Without this grant, we would not have been able to adopt out all of our cats (but three) that were ready for adoption. Some of them would still be sitting here at the shelter waiting for their homes. And, as long as we have some waiting for their homes, we are not able to help any more until we have openings, so this grant was a godsend to us at JMCHS.
How many pets did this grant help?
45 felines
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
We had an adopter by the name of Michael, a college student (first photo). He saw a cat, Cleopatra, that was posted on our website and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, he lived in Knoxville, TN, and we are located in Jackson, TN — a four-and-a-half-hour drive, one way. He sent his mom up to check Cleopatra out and see what she thought of her. Needless to say, she fell in love with her too. Mom and Grandma picked Cleopatra up and drove the four and a half hours to deliver Cleopatra to her new dad, spent the night and drove another four and a half hours to get home. Michael has kept us updated on Cleopatra and she is loving her new home and the Cat Condo tower he bought for her before she arrived (second photo).
The other story is about black-and-white Chilly Willy and orange-and-white Fabian (third photo). Their family came in to check out the cats and immediately fell in love with Chilly Willy. He was putting on quite a show that day just for them. Mom saw Fabian and fell head over heels in love with him. They adopted both of them and are quite content together, as you can see in the pictures. The kids love the cats as well, and we have heard that Fabian is a great cuddle buddy and they both sleep with mom and dad in bed.
With Aubree and Ashton, the family came in looking for just one cat, but, as things happen, mom and dad fell in love with one and the kids fell in love with another, so to make a great ending, they adopted both of the cats and they are both loving their new forever home and being spoiled rotten.
