HOW IT WORKS Kitten Rescue of Mason County is dedicated to placing abandoned and unwanted kittens with safe, loving homes. We have hundreds of kittens veterinarian-tested, immunized, and altered each year. We are registered as a non-profit charity and your donations are considered tax-deductible under IRS regulations.
Kitten Rescue is a philosophy. It is a belief that cats are granted life from a source above human beings. People have a right to manage cats and decide how they live in our world, but that does not include the privilege to neglect and abuse. When a person accepts ownership of a cat, the price is the healthy and happy care of that animal and full responsibility for its actions.
Kitten Rescue is a network. Animal protection and control in Mason County is not what it could be. Many folks feel so strongly about this that they have banded together in citizen groups to make it right. Adopt-a-Pet is well-known for their fine efforts saving and finding homes for dogs. We coordinate with foster homes across the county to test, innoculate, alter, and save feline lives. Without the cooperation and assistance from the good people at Shelton Veterinary Hospital, we could not exist.
Kitten Rescue is a team. From those who pet the kitties, to those who nurse the sick, to those who work the garage sales, to those who give up their homes for fostering, to those who make the donations to those who give their skills to those who pay the bills--our volunteers share a goal. Pooling our efforts has brought successes that could not have happened if we had each worked on our own. Our common purpose has created a bond between us.
Kitten Rescue is a service. We are frequently contacted within the community to give advice on rescue, adoption, health, nutrition, and veterinary services. We direct people the best we can to aid them in bettering the lives of the cats in question. This website is one of our tools, and you might find some helpful information in our "care" section.
Kitten Rescue is a place of adoption. We have a small cottage, with living room, kitchen and three bedrooms. We also have a travel trailer with a fenced yard for our longer term kitties, since we are a no kill shelter. Only a fraction of our kittens for adoption stay with us, they are raised and loved in over 25 foster homes. When they are big enough to alter, they come to the shelter for the spay/neuter operation. We have a pre-adoption interview before prospective families are shown our kitties, so that those families are not disappointed because they do not qualify to adopt our feline companion cats and kittens.
Adopting from Kitten Rescue means that you are the final step in saving an animal that was likely fated for serious misery or death. Whether from abandonment, abuse or disease, our kitties are lucky survivors who have had much love and resources invested in them before they even meet you. Naturally, we know these little critters pretty well, and we go to great lengths to see that each one goes to a home that is well-suited for its health and happiness.
If you were to "adopt" a kitten from a private party, let's say in a Walmart parking lot or a newspaper ad, you would probably be taking the kitten "as is." You might have some idea of how it got there or what condition it is in, but then again maybe not. In all likelihood, your new kitten has not been tested for disease--something that might be especially important to you if you have children or other animals. It may not have had shots or treatment for fleas, worms, and ear mites. Most importantly, that kitten has not been spayed or neutered--something that a veterinarian might charge $45 to $65 for if it turns out to be a simple procedure.
At Kitten Rescue, kittens under 6 months are $85 or two for $150, 6 months to a year are $75/$130, and for adults $60/$110, regardless of how much treatment your kitty has received. It has been given its rounds of shots, and has already been altered. And if you find the adoption isn't working out for any reason, you can bring the animal back in for a refund (within 21 days). We are not a company; while each of the many hundreds of kitties we assist each year are a success of the heart, every one of them is a financial "loss." We don't destroy animals unless they are suffering from a fatal affliction, and we pay many thousands of dollars in veterinary bills each year. We can do this because of donations, fundraising, and the dedication of volunteers.
Some folks think that they can get "free" kittens anywhere. But are they really free? If your cat goes without shots and catches a disease--and there are a lot of them out there--are you going to watch him suffer or die for "free?" If your cat isn't neutered, who really pays when he bleeds all over your rug after a cat fight, rips up your sofa, or sprays the grill of your stereo speakers? If your cat isn't spayed, what are you going to do with the babies that result?
Spaying and neutering is the most important thing that you can do to ensure that your cat and as few animals as possible suffer and die. If you adopt at the grocery store, you might be lucky and get a perfect kitty, but please remember that you're taking custody from people who have brought lives into this world and want to pass off their responsibility to someone else.
That wouldn't be bad, except that there are more kittens than places for cats. Those folks passing on their bundles of fluff may feel good when their cardboard box is empty, but the homes they just found won't be taking in cats from somewhere else now. When they made the decision to let their cat breed, one way or the other, they sentenced kittens somewhere to pain, abandonment, disease, and death.
We save as many kittens as we can, arrange happy adoptions below cost, address the primary problem of overpopulation, and try to help folks realize the full consequences of how they handle their animals. We believe that everyone is the better for it.
