Groups Seek Donations To Cover Cost Of Caring For 70 Cats
by Judy Frank
posted June 11, 2007
) Photo by Wesley Schultz Money for the East Ridge cats can be taken to HES on N. Highland Park. The cats will be available for adoption at the Highway 153 PetsMart on Saturdays. From left are Vicky, Jeanine and Ginger at HES. Click to enlarge. |
The East Ridge house she moved into seven years ago – back when she had a good job as a sales rep – is being foreclosed on. Ms. Compton has no idea where she will go.
But that’s not what’s worrying her. Instead, she’s worried sick about what will happen to the estimated 70 cats she has rescued and cared for over the years.
“I’m human,” she said. “Eventually, somebody will step in and help me. But what’s going to happen to these poor helpless animals?”
Enter Sara Caperton, founder of Cats Are Totally Special (CATS), and the Humane Educational Society.
Together, the two groups have pledged to care for Ms. Compton’s cats until new homes can be found.
“Faith did a wonderful job with these cats,” Ms. Caperton said. “They’re really sweet. They just need homes.”
The task is formidable.
“This is far and away the biggest cat rescue we’ve ever done,” said Guy Bilyeu, HES executive director. “HES will test the cats, de-flea and worm them, and give them their vaccinations. All together, it will cost over $6,000. That’s why we’re asking the community for help.”
HES has no funds on hand to cover the cost, he said, because East Ridge ended its contract with the humane society two years ago and opened its own shelter to handle animal problems within its borders.
Somehow though, Ms. Compton and her cats slipped through the cracks.
“These animals were going to die if we didn’t step in, and we’re not going to let that happen,” Bilyeu said.
Ms. Compton, who spent more than $13,000 last year just feeding the cats in her home-based rescue operation, said she first went to East Ridge Animal Shelter for help when she learned she was losing her house and realized she would no longer be able to care for the 70 animals.
But workers there refused to take the cats unless she could pay a surrender fee for each animal, she said, and she simply didn’t have the money.
She approached several local rescue groups, and they likewise turned her away.
“I begged a lot of people to help me, but nobody would,” she recalled.
Three weeks ago, she said, she sent out an email to everybody she could think of explaining the situation and asking for help in placing the cats.
“Sara Caperton got my email and all of a sudden she was there to help,” Ms. Compton said. “It was like a miracle.”
Ms. Caperton, working with HES, has agreed to find homes for the cats once they have been tested and vaccinated. Toward that end, she has contacted rescue groups throughout the Southeast, seeking assistance.
Some local help materialized. For example, Kim Miller of CATS has agreed to take in four of Ms. Compton’s rescued animals.
Several groups from other areas also have agreed to lend a hand. They include Purrfect Acres in Georgia and two Atlanta groups: Fancy Felines of the South and Atlanta Siamese Rescue.
At HES – which is already caring for about 250 unwanted cats and kittens waiting to be adopted, in addition to dealing with the 70 cats from East Ridge – Bilyeu is determined not to resort to euthanasia to reduce the numbers.
Instead, he is working hard to increase adoptions. During June, for example, HES adoption fees for cats have been cut in half to encourage people to come in and choose new pets.
Thanks to a new state-of-the-art cat adoption room and other innovations, HES has not had to euthanize a healthy cat for seven months, he said. They’re not about to start now.
“But we will need help from the community,” he said. “Everybody who can donate, we will really appreciate it.”
For more information, or to make a donation, call HES at (423) 624-5302.
To arrange to adopt one of Ms. Compton’s cats, or to donate to CATS, Ms. Caperton can be reached by calling (423) 875-3940.
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