Stray cats overcrowd Everett’s animal shelter

EVERETT — In October, you can adopt your new furry friend from the Everett Animal Shelter at a discount.

The discount comes after a spike in stray animals were brought into the shelter. On Sept. 21, the shelter announced they were at cat-pacity — er, capacity — with cats.

One pet parent, Elli Case, adopted her cat Junebug from the shelter last week. She started as a nervous cat who would hiss at people nearby, Case said.

Since then, Case has enjoyed seeing Junebug “come out of her shell,” and get more and more used to other people.

In an attempt to “empty the shelters,” Bissell Pet Foundation, an animal welfare organization, is sponsoring adoption fees for shelters across the country, including Everett’s. The promotion is active from Oct. 1 to 15.

Fees for adopting a cat or dog over 6 months old will be $25 to $50. The fee includes vaccinations and spaying or neutering the animal.

Lindsay Roe, the shelter’s development manager, said it now has between 100 and 130 cats in its care on any given day. The spike in stray cats comes toward the end of “kitten season,” which lasts from spring into the fall.

“We always have a lot of stray cats that are really hard to get reunited with their families due to a lack of microchips, IDs and collars,” she said.

Over the past few years, Roe said more people are looking to rehome their pets. Currently, the shelter has a two- to three-month waitlist for rehoming pets and encourages pet owners to take other routes, like Facebook groups.

Roe and the shelter have to prioritize sick kittens people find outside. She said if they accepted all the animals, the shelter would be “bursting at the seams.”

For people looking to adopt, Roe said there aren’t a lot of barriers to pet ownership. All the shelter looks for is that the animals will be adequately cared for.

Roe also said hopeful pet owners should be aware of all the expectations and problems that come with caring for animals, like training pets to use a litter box and introducing them to other animals.

If it isn’t the right time to adopt a pet, people can help the shelter in other ways.

The shelter accepts donations of supplies, pet food and money.

Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.

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