OK Humane and the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter (OKC Shelter) continue to work together collaboratively to end unnecessary euthanasia in Oklahoma City. The fact remains that even though things have begun to improve dramatically, the OKC Shelter still euthanized over 12,500 dogs and cats in 2011 that could have been saved with more resources. Innovative and aggressive programs are needed to increase the overall live release rate at the OKC Shelter. OK Humane is targeting vulnerable populations of animals admitted into the OKC Shelter and launching programs to give them life-saving alternatives. The community cats have been identified as a vulnerable population of animals being unnecessarily euthanized. “Community Cats” is used as a newer term that is more encompassing of the cats that are actually free roaming and are acknowledged as the most important source of cat overpopulation by animal welfare professionals. In 2010 1900 community cats were euthanized due to lack of space. The humane alternative to euthanasia is admitting them into the Community Cat program which consists of sterilizing, vaccinating and returning them to the neighborhood in which they were found. This collaborative program between the OKC Shelter and OK Humane will save an estimated 1900 cats each year. This program has been generously funded by the Kirkpatrick Foundation and the ASPCA.

When the OKC Shelter receives cats that qualify for the program, OK Humane will step in and take possession of the cats. The cats will be transported to the OK Humane Spay/Neuter Clinic for sterilization and vaccinations. The OK Humane team will then transport them back to the neighborhood from which they came originally. Literature explaining the program will be left on-site along with the cats to ensure the public is properly educated on the benefits of the program. Much research has been conducted on community cats in the animal welfare arena in the last five years. We have learned that the community cats really do quite well in their neighborhoods. It really doesn’t make sense to remove them from their environment just to shelter and euthanize them. We believe that the majority of the population will agree. Until the OKC Shelter does not have a space issue we will continue the Community Cat Program to save lives.

The Community Cat Program creates a win-win situation for the City of Oklahoma City, the neighborhoods in which the cats reside and most importantly for the 1900 cats that will not need to be euthanized.

Christy Counts