Interview! Kay Stout, ED of PAAS Vinita
February 23, 2019
Interview! Elena Battles, Shelterluv
March 2, 2019
Here’s the next installment in our series on Feline Leukemia (FeLV) adoption programs around the country. The series shares different groups’ answers to our questions about their FeLV+ adoption programs. We have heard about so many wonderful groups and programs that we’re declaring February to be Fe-Leuk February and running a profile every week this month!
We hope you enjoy and are inspired by this series, and if you have a suggestion for an organization we should consider profiling, please shoot me an email.
For this profile, we’re talking with Kat Sullivan, Cat Care Supervisor of Humane Society Naples in Naples, Florida.
Why and when did you start a Felv adoption program?
I had been looking for an opportunity to start an FeLV adoption program at Humane Society Naples since July of 2017, when I took home four FeLV+ kittens to foster. At that time, we did not adopt out FeLVs and so I was actively looking for a sanctuary that would be willing to take all four of my fosters. I was put on numerous waiting lists, as all nearby sanctuaries were full to capacity.
Knowing how hard it is to find lifetime sanctuary placement for these cats, it is not hard to understand how many are killed in shelters and clinics nationwide every year.
In July of 2018, we did our first—and accidental—FeLV adoption of a cat that ended up at the shelter and tested positive upon intake. We had kept her in a manager’s office until we could figure out what to do with her. As fate had it, she was accidentally listed as “Available” and appeared on our website. Since Tia was a beautiful Bengal cat, she had several potential adopters show up the next day to meet her. One of the applicants had no other cats and was not deterred by her FeLV status, and so our FeLV adoption program began!
It was a few months before we could dedicate a room, albeit a small one, to two new FeLV cats that arrived. I was then able to bring my four fosters in to go up for adoption. Last week, we moved the group to a larger, sunny room with a screened area for fresh air access. We do staff training to help the animal care team feel comfortable and enthusiastic about showing the cats to potential adopters.
My goal is to dispel myths and fear about FeLV, by educating the public and exposing them to these wonderful cats. With a productive flow of adoptions, we will be able to pull FeLV cats from shelters where they may be in danger of immediate euthanasia.
How many cats do you adopt out annually?
We adopted out 1500 cats last year and one of them was Felv+. Within the past few weeks, we had our first official FeLV adoption from the FeLV room, as Bitzy went to her new home! Now we are able to intake the next cat on our waiting list. We try to keep the maximum number of cats in the FeLV room capped at 7, to keep the stress level down.
Do you provide or cover vet. care for the cats after adoption?
We have a program called “Cozy Care” that provides a certificate with varying financial amounts for cats with medical issues, to prevent those issues from becoming adoption deterrents. They can be used only at our shelter’s clinic, unless it is for a service that we don’t provide, such as cardiac workups. Cozy Care certificates have been issued for epilepsy, diabetes, cardiomyopathy, FIV, and FeLV,
The FeLV cats receive a certificate worth $500 to assist with any FeLV-related medical issues that may come up within three years of adoption.
What are the benefits to running an FeLV adoption program?
The largest benefit is having an outlet to save the lives of cats at risk of euthanasia simply because of exposure to the leukemia virus. Any opportunity to educate and open minds about FeLV cats is a big win. The best part will definitely be seeing them get adopted into loving homes.
What are the challenges?
The challenge at first was to carve out a space in the shelter for these cats. Now that we have that, the challenge will be finding people that will look past the cats’ viral status and take a chance on adoption.
To learn more about Humane Society Naples, visit their website, or email them at meow@hsnaples.org.
