How much is too much (for cat adoption fees)?

Tucson's HS charges $85. This includes shots, spay/neuter, microchipping and three months' pet health insurance. I don't believe that this is out of line.

katl8e

I think that is a really good price. That is what I was expecting to see since "paid" just about that much for Leo.

I agree that is too high. The organization that I volunteer for at PetSmart only charges $35.00. That covers spay/neuter and it's 1st set of shots.

I got Roxy for free when he showed up at my door, but ended up paying about $200 for all the proceding vet charges for shots, neuter, etc, so I would consider $125 reasonable with everything included. But I do agree it's a lot for a shelter.. At my local petsmart kittens are like 2 for $80 or $60 a piece, and at my shelter I think they are around $60. But of course it would go to the shelter, and I end up donating to shelters anyhow, so the extra money isn't a big deal, after all, it's helping other kitties to find forever homes But if that's out of your range, which I understand, just go shop around at shelters, I'm sure you'll be able to find cheaper.

hockeygrrl75-was the cat you were looking at a purebred? Also, it might depend on the area you live in. I live in Los Angeles, and everything is more expensive here.

I didnt think that they were. I did notice that the kittens were $125 and that the adults were $100.

Having dealt with the budget and set adoption fees with the local animal shelter I know what goes into this. At our shelter we received a bit over $500,000 a year from the county. This ALMOST paid the salaries for the staff. We raised an additional $150,000 to pay the rest of the salaries, buy food, pay for vet care, pay for licenses, phone charges, computers, software, cleaning, equipment maintenance, office supplies, animal control and care equipment, etc., etc., etc. We also raised $250,000 to set up a clinic to spay/neuter our own animals. That money paid for the equipment and renovations for a surgical suite and recovery area - but no operating costs. This reduced our per animal spay/neuter cost from $65 to roughly $48. (This is an average.) We also vaccinated all adopted animals for rabies (just under $5 per animal), other vaccines (~$5-10 per animal), tests (HW for dogs/Leukemia for cats - ~$12+ per animal depending on the test). The adoption fee for cats was set at $75 - which just covered these costs and did not include any of the care for that animal up to the point of adoption or for any of the animals that never did get adopted. We did provide a microchip for an additional $25 (included both microchip insertion and registration - and I got pretty quick with the insertion after so much practice.) A number of local vets provided reduced fees for services, but they still have a business to run and they were not free by any means.

The normal for spay/neuter at a vet for a cat around here is roughly $100, and that doesn't include any shots. The local low cost program will provide the surgery plus shots for $60, but does not include any lab tests.

Rescue groups generally tend to have higher charges. They have less overhead since they're usually in people's homes, but also have higher vet expenses and less fund raising capacity.

George

When I adopted my dog from the shelter last winter I paid $60 for her, and she'd already been spayed and vaccinated - a spay for a large dog is $$$, so I think I got a pretty good deal. She didn't come microchipped - I did that after I took her home. I think adoption fees for most pets here run b/w $50-$90.

I spent about $85 on little Ivan's FELV/FIV test, exam, vaccinations and deworming, though I gave him to his new family for free. A cat neuter here runs about $30-$50. However, the shelters do get their vaccines & medications at a bulk rate - it doesn't cost them as much as it does an individual rescuer. But they do need to feed and care for all their animals, and if they're no-kill, they will have some animals who've been there long-term that need to be supported.

Personally, I think the adoption fees from shelters and rescue groups are quite a good deal. All of our dogs and most of our cats are from the local shelter. We took in one local stray (a "free" cat) many years ago and ended up spending nearly $10,000 on her over nine years. We lost her this past March when she reacted to the anesthesia for her last round of medical issues. I have absolute confidence in our vet so I know it was an unavoidable loss (it was still very sad to lose our little wild child.)

I guess what I'm saying is: if you can't afford the minimal adoption fees at shelters/rescue groups can you really afford to feed and provide vet care for that animal? If not, are you really in a position to take an animal into your home?

OK, sorry to get on my soap box. When I was on the board for the local shelter I dealt with many people wanting a "free" animal. I even had a complaint that the people that worked there shouldn't be paid (they're not paid much!) and the food we got was free (it's not!) so the animals should be "free".

George

The rescue group I am with charges 100$ for each cat. This includes s/n, FeLV FIV tests, deworming, deflea-ing and any other care the cats needs prior to adoption. The only time we come out ahead is on a male kitten who needs neutering only, but other cats need major work, so there is no profit. I think this is very reasonable and since we are non-profit, all monies go to help the animals.

Anyone who argues over the price or does not want to pay does not get a cat. If they cannot afford (or don't want to pay) the adoption fee, what will happen if the cat needs vet care, or surgery?

Is it a black cat? On another board I read that a humane society charges $125 for a black cat in Oct. or Nov.

On another board I read that a humane society charges $125 for a black cat in Oct. or Nov.

Click to expand...

I know most local shelters will nto place a black cat in October. We did happen to adopt our black cat (Angel) in October, but I was a board member at the time, and our adoption had nothing to do with her being a black cat or the month.

George

That depends on where you get the cat/dog from and if it's a purebred or a mix.

I adopted both Sphinx and Kuce from Animal Services for $40.00 total, including Rabies vaccine. The chips weren't offered (an extra $10.00 each). the local No-Kill shelters range from $45.00-$150.00 where I live.

I am really offended at this statement:
"I guess what I'm saying is: if you can't afford the minimal adoption fees at shelters/rescue groups can you really afford to feed and provide vet care for that animal? If not, are you really in a position to take an animal into your home?"

Certainly you dont know what my finances are but I can assure you that I make plenty money. My point with this whole discussion is that I think that certain shelters in a way price themselves out of adoptions by setting their fees so high. I am not familiar with the no-kill shelter that replaced that one that I adopted from at the PetSmart near me. I understand that they have to stay in business and I certainly want them to because I dont want to see any cat out on the street and in danger.

Now that I think back I thought that I did see some black cats and kittens. Why would they be priced so highly this time of year? I assume that is has something to do with Halloween?

\\end of rant I feel better now

I agree the price is too high.

Nana paid $60 for a cat she rescued and that included first innoc. and a $50 off the spaying.

You can also pick up free cats from the vet sometimes

I wouldn't want to pay this much, because what if the cat they got had already been desexed? and it was healthy and has only been there a day, they wouldn't have forked out over $100 for it then.

I got Tibby from a small no-kill shelter in Tucson, the lady runs it out of her house and works mostly on donations but ends up spending a lot of her own money to maintain the shelter. I paid $75 for Tibby and that included shots and her getting spayed, then she dropped Tibby off at my house so she could look at my place and make sure I was ready for a kitty and that the house looked safe for a kitty. But for Christmas I donated a little bit of money because to me $75 was a bargain because Tibby to me she's priceless. But pricewise I thought $75 was very reasonable.