A Reply
Thank you for visiting our site and especially for your comment, actually we hear that a lot.
TARPS’ Adoption Fees
Here are our adoption fees:
Kittens (up to 6 mo.): $100
Adult Cats (6 mo. to 3 years): $75
Senior Cats (older than 3 years) Price to be determined by TARPS
This gives us a perfect opportunity to explain how we determine our fee.
First, I must explain, TARPS is funded by the community. Funds come from a variey of sources. Donations come from regular people, local businesses and when we are lucky, grants. We are not part of any larger organization and our staff is (unpaid) volunteers. All the money, that comes in, goes towards the general costs of running a building (rent, utilities, repairs), our office, cleaning supplies and not least of all: veterinary costs; pet food; cat litter etc. You can actually get a sense of what we use these funds for by looking under our Shelter Needs list link to the right of this blog. What is not donated must be bought.
We accept animals that come to us in many states of health. It is not uncommon to have animals come in abused, with an injury, or illness. These animals get immediate attention. Operations, medical care, medicines these expenses are made before they are well enough to assess for adoption or fostering.
Reliable
Adoption fees and member dues are our only regular source of funds. We are here to find adoptive homes for our animals and these fees keep us in business to do that. These fees offset the cost of caring for our animals and their vet care bills.
I don’t know where you live, but if you check out the other TARPS-area shelters and humane societies you will find we are even with or under their pricing¹.
Well, that is some of the behind the scenes costs.
You are thinking… But what do I get?
Aside from a loving pet, let’s look at what you get for your adoption fees.
Spay/neuter: when a TARPS animal is old enough, it is altered. If you are adopting one of our kittens, we will cover the cost of the operation if you bring it to our vet. (Yes, even after you take your cat home.)
Up-to-date vaccinations (distemper/rabies): TARPS covers those first shots.
Blood tests: Tests for FIV (feline HIV) and Feline Leukemia. We cover these screening tests.
Worming, Revolution applied (ear mites, flea, round and heart worm protection): Each animal is treated
Micro-chip pet identification (when cat is spayed/neutered): A microchip with your pets identification infomation will be inserted. If your pet is lost, this process may help to reunite you.
Vet exam: The animal’s first vet visit
Thirty days of pet health insurance: If you activate this insurance when you get home it may save you money, if your pet has an illness or injury in the first month.
In addition:
Pre-adoption behavioral assessment: We do our best to work with our animals. To get to know them as much as we can in our shelter enviroment. We realize each animal is different. Because we do this, we are able to work with you to make a perfect match for your particular family situation.
New pet package: You receive pet care information on your animal and tips on how to survive some of the normal adjustment periods in your pet’s life. We will set you and your pet off with some samples to get you started on your life together.
Free behavioral counseling for the lifetime of your pet: Call us with any issue you may have with your TARPS pet and we will do our best to help you out. Not just for your first day, week, month, or year. As long as we exist, we will support you and your efforts to make a safe loving adoptive home for your pet.
We wish that everyone could leave our shelter with their pet and live happily ever after. But that is not always the case. If you find you cannot keep your TARPS pet, for whatever reason, we will welcome the animal back to our shelter. If you find this pet is not a good match for your family, just to much to handle or because of economic issues, call us. Once a TARPS animal, always a TARPS animal.
No Thanks, I’ll just pick up a FREE kitten
You see these signs all over, especially in the spring. FREE Kittens. I’m sure you have heard “Nothing is ever free.” It is true in this case.
Yes, our fees seem like a lot of money. But let’s see how much you would be paying if you covered the same initial cat care costs yourself.
Many free pets come with no prior medical care, okay you’ve saved on the adoption fee, but your vet costs add up quickly. These animals are most likely not spayed or neutered or have their full set of vaccinations which are required by law.
We will just take the items we can attach a price to. These prices are based on average vet costs. These may be higher or lower based on where you live².
*Initial Vet visit: $45
*Distemper and Rabies vaccinations: $15-$45
*Blood tests: $45-50
*Revolution medicine: $15-$203
MicroChipping: $45
Spay/Neuter cost: The cost of neutering usually ranges from $50 to $100. The cost of spaying, which is more complicated, usually ranges from $125 to $300. A Spay and Neuter Clinic may cost around $40.
Cat insurance: around $16/mo.
So at the low end, your costs are around $230 for your FREE pet.
Best interest
We hope this helps you to see where you money goes when you write your check to adopt a pet. We’d like our adopters to go home knowing TARPS is doing all it can to assure they leave with a healthy pet.
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*Many times these 4 costs are combined in your first vet visit bringing the vet visit combined cost $100-125
¹Local shelter links:
http://www.wchs4pets.org/index.php/page/adoption-fees
http://www.monadpets.org/adoptionfees.html
http://www.spfldhumane.org/adoptionfees.html
²http://www.spayneuternow.com/prices.html
http://www.petfinder.com/blog/2011/11/30/pet-adoption-qa-why-are-pet-adoption-fees-s/
