Free barn cat adoption program – Duluth

No adoption fees on barn cats from Animal Allies!

I want to focus on some of the various programs that shelters and rescue groups are offering to make a difference for the animals in their communities.

Animal Allies Humane Society in Duluth, Minn., offers a barn cat adoption program.

Its slogan:

Got mice? Adopt a barn cat!

It’s a pretty straightforward program.

The cats in the program are typically feral and not suitable as indoor companions. They are spayed/neutered and vaccinated before adoption, and there is no adoption fee.

The adopter will offer the cat warm outdoor housing, and the cat will take care of any problems with mice, moles or rats. It’s pesticide-free pest control.

Outdoor, working cats are some of the happiest cats on earth. I’d call this a win-win.

In many communities, feral cats are typically trapped and killed rather than neutered and released. The barn cat adoption program in Duluth is one of the reasons that community has achieved no-kill status. No adoptable, healthy dogs or cats were killed there in 2011. More and more communities are following Duluth’s example.

Go ahead and start a similar adoption program for feral cats at your own shelter!

What do you think about Duluth’s barn cat adoption program?

Support Animal Allies by making an online donation here.

(Animal Allies also has a shelter in Superior, Wis.)