Cats all sold at Guild, more on the way

WEST CORNWALL — Where have all the cats gone?To good homes. A sale on cats at the Little Guild animal shelter worked out better than anyone had hoped. At this time of year, shelters see an influx of strays rescued from the cold. Already at capacity, the Little Guild staff aimed to make room by participating for the first time in “$5 Felines,” a nationwide promotion by the Best Friends Animal Society. From Nov. 26 through Dec. 3, the usual $150 adoption donation was drastically reduced. Families and individuals still had to go through the same rigorous application process, though, aimed at assuring a good match for humans and felines.“I came in that first Saturday and there were about 20 people waiting in the lobby,” Little Guild Executive Director Denise Cohn said. The week that followed was a swirl of activity, as visitors continued to come in to meet the 25 cats waiting for homes. Staff and volunteers worked long hours to welcome visitors and wade through stacks of applications. The end result was, as Cohn described it, “spectacular!”As of early this week, 19 cats were adopted and many applications were under review. Many cats had numerous families wanting to adopt them, and there was a lot of back and forth as people considered other choices. The sale ended with a waiting list of qualified families interested in adopting. It looks like the shelter will place all 25 cats it had on the premises; and more cats may be brought in from another shelter.For Little Guild workers, it was not just about the numbers. While they love their felines and offer them a comfortable home at the shelter, they know the cats would be much happier with a family. But there are always those that are difficult to adopt out. Zora, for instance, was there for more than five years, after coming in feral and very shy. A woman who has lots of experience with such cats took her home. Wasabi, at the Little Guild for more than three years, found shelter life stressful and would lick off patches of fur. The condition was expected to go away once she was in a loving home. But it was a turn-off for would-be adopters.“Unfortunately, many people missed her sweet personality while looking at the cats, but not this week,” Cohn said. “She went to a perfect home.”Then there was Holly, a very shy, young cat waiting a year for a home. She was not going to find one easily by hiding every time visitors came into the cat room. But with demand high, one couple coaxed her out and fell in love.“Overall it was a huge success, far beyond what we were expecting and we couldn’t be happier,” Cohn said. “We are now able to take in at least as many as we adopted out and get them in from the cold, fed and treated for any medical conditions they may have.”So what brought so many people out?Lots of publicity (newspapers, radio and Facebook), Cohn said, and a moving YouTube video Guild members made with photos of people, mostly children, cuddling with the shelter cats. $5 Felines put the shelter on the radar for many. Zora went home with an Oxford, Conn., family. Many others traveled considerable distances not only to take advantage of the sale, but to see the shelter.“Many people were adopting because of the price, but almost all gave more than the $5 requested. Some paid the full $150. Everyone understood the amount of money we put in to each cat to meet their medical needs and insure each is altered and up to date on all vaccines.“Some were waiting for a ‘better time’ to bring home a cat but once they saw the publicity, and met the wonderful cats, decided this was the ‘best time.’ We made a video that was adorable and we had some people who watched it email us and say, “OK, I really want that cat — the one with the little boy in the video.” Definitely the awareness of the need to get these cats in to homes and bring others in from the cold, and the knowledge of who The Little Guild is and what we do, played a large role in the success.”Word is spreading. Calls are already coming in from friends of families who adopted a cat, wanting to know about remaining cats, as well as available dogs. Cohn said that one dad left his children with the cats while he went to check out the kennels. The family went home with a cat and a dog.For more information about the Little Guild, and a link to the video (click on the “cats” tab) go to www.littleguild.org.