In 2010 and 2011, Victorians opened their hearts and wallets to support the Lost Dogs Home capital campaign to expand their operations and improve their capability to save the lives of cats.
Since the Domestic Animals Act was introduced in 1996, there has been a huge increase in the number of cats and kittens being admitted to the Home. Councils began to implement a range of cat collection programs, and this has meant that in recent times we have had years where the number of cats admitted has exceeded the number of dogs. This dramatic rise (40% since 2007) simply had to be met, and we are thrilled that the support of so many donors and benefactors has enabled us to do this.
When our donors and benefactors learnt of the need to upgrade and improve our cat facilities, the Home was overwhelmed by their giving and their generosity.
Lost Cats Home website
The $2.35 million The Lost Cats’ Home was built on acquired factory space next door to The Lost Dogs’ Home. The 200 new air conditioned ‘cat condominiums’ (each able to hold up to four kittens or one adult cat) has allowed the North Melbourne site to now provide cat management & pound services for 10 local councils, including a ‘cat trapping and collection service for feral cats‘. The Home now employs 190 people with the majority working at North Melbourne.
Any cat rescue group would desperately love these kind of resources. Staff up the wazoo, state of the art cat rooms and space for a couple of hundred animals. The community paid millions of dollars for these facilities (and continue to pay millions annually), specifically to save the lives of cats. We care and we want them cared for.
So in the school holidays when we know that people are most likely to bring a pet into their families, heading into the weekend, how many cats are up for adoption?
On Friday night, Gracie, Fabio, Mitchim, Merlin, Unnamed Puss #1, Unnamed Puss #2, Badger, Zara, Molly, Unnamed Puss #3, Nuggett, Cougar, Unnamed Puss #4 & Unnamed Puss #5 (14 cats) were available for adoption.
After a day of adoptions on Saturday, Gracie and Unnamed Puss #2 found homes
(2 adoptions)
Hundreds of cats are trapped by Lost Dogs Home rangers and are impounded at the North Melbourne shelter each week. With only a handful of reclaims each year, no prizes for guessing where they’re going, if not into these fantastic new cat condos and into new homes.
For a little perspective, the community based Victorian cat organisation The Cat Corner currently has 24 cats available for adoption. Melbourne Animal Rescue have 28. While Pets Haven have 37. These guys have little of the resourcing, connections or budget of the LDH, but are devoted to finding the cats they care for homes.
We at Little Paws Kitten Rescue on the same day adopted Gingernut, Dusty, Bilbo Baggins, Tahlia, Alice, Thistle. We also had enquiries about a number of others.
We do not have millions of dollars, masses of paid staff and state of the art facilities. We are a bunch of passionate people who care for cats in our own homes, raise money from wherever we can and do not kill the cats in our care.
Lost Dogs Home refuse to work with no kill organisations who could save many of the animals they kill and pretend to be animal welfare, but are in fact animal control. They have a minimal rehoming program so the public have the perception that they care about animals.
If the people who are being duped into giving their hard earned money to the Lost Dogs Home, gave it to smaller rescue organisations, many more animals would be saved.