Friends of Companion Animals: Capital Improvement Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Our award grant was used to pay for half of our floor renovation. Since we had half of the floor cost covered thanks to the Petfinder Foundation, that, in turn, allowed us to free up capital for new cat enclosures (in addition to the floor renovation we desperately needed). They make our rescue look more welcoming and the cats are actually able to see visitors without being hindered by the chicken wire we'd had up prior to the revamp.
Since the renovation completion this month, we've adopted out 67 cats, which is double our normal January amount. While we do love having our cats at the shelter, the end goal is to find them loving homes, and this renovation has improved our numbers substantially.
One of the key reasons is because the new floors and areas are so appealing to visitors and the cats really seem to love them. The Petfinder Foundation made that possible and we couldn't be more honored and pleased by being selected for this Capital Improvement Grant to make up for our shortfall.
How many pets did this grant help?
400
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Among the 67 cats who found homes in January was Kirby, who got a home thanks in part to the recent renovations. We had a veterinarian stop in to look for a cat for the family and she was blown away by what she saw at our shelter, since there really is nothing quite like it in our area.
She lives on a farm and wanted an indoor pet and fell for lovable Kirby. He was twice adopted and both times he was returned for spraying when he got comfortable in the home. We told her the situation and she was happy to keep him indoors and said that if it didn’t work out, she would acclimate him to her barn if he liked the outdoors more than being inside.
It’s hard to place a cat who has urination issues. However, having a shelter that now looks more professional has helped us attract adopters like this vet who put the cat’s needs first. As for cats like Kirby, the new image of the shelter is increasing their chances of getting quality homes, which is wonderful.
