Naperville shelter A.D.O.P.T. is in the midst of a management dispute — one so severe that the police had to come to its last board meeting. Money appears to be part of the issue, but there's also an even more primal concern. In the words of A.D.O.P.T. watchblogger Its_Kaos (yes, this shelter has its own hateblog), "where have all the cats gone?" Commenter Janet (yes, this shelter's hateblog has commenters) fleshes out Its_Kaos's concern:
I just checked. There are only 44 cats posted. There are 46 dogs. I have NEVER seen that few cats available at the shelter, even in past winters when the influx of kittens declines. I know Rich fought tooth and nail to prevent the 3 small com rooms from being taken over with puppies. Sandy may say they are not trying to rid the shelter of cats, but their actions say otherwise.
When Susan Yates was on the board, she told me she felt like the lone voice speaking out on behalf of the cats because the board leadership was so dog oriented. They never wanted to discuss how to improve things for the cats. Everything was centered around dogs. It's no wonder there's such a dog vs. cat divide in the shelter.
And an anonymous commenter responded:
Rumor has it that the cat side will be going away in favor of doggies. There is no longer anyone available in a leadership position to speak out on behalf of the kitties. Wonder what will happen to those who volunteer or work with the cats? Will they be terminated or forced to move into dog care??
That was the situation in January. Just a few days ago, one Barb Shields claimed the issue had been resolved:
I was at the shelter last Saturday and for the first time in many months, the Cat Intake Room was completely full. Very glad to see that....let's keep it up!
Are the kitties indeed back? And will they now begin to assert their dominion over dogs? The schism at the shelter is apparently so pronounced that it has separate email address for "Dog Questions" and "Cat Questions." I've emailed them both, and will let you know what I find out.
Update: Sandra Boston of A.D.O.P.T. sent me this response:
--This is not a recent allegation unfortunately. For as long as I can remember, volunteers on the cat side of the shelter have expressed this opinion however, I have never received any specifics backing up such a statement.
Facts are
--The shelter has the capacity to hold 40 dogs and OVER 100 cats. In addition there is a puppy room and a kitten room.
--There are far more approved cat/kitten foster homes than dog/puppy foster homes. And foster homes do require significant monitoring of the animals within them.
There are at least a dozen cat/kitten fosters and four regular dog/puppy fosters.
--At any given time throughout the year, there are ALWAYS more cats/kittens within our adoption program than dogs/puppies.
--Adoption hours for cats/kittens are significantly greater than for dogs/puppies There are 6 different cat adoption times and 3 dog adoption times. Total number of cat adoption hours are 14 vs 8 for dogs.
From the above, I really am not sure how one would conclude that dogs are being favored in our adoption programs versus cats.
As far as I am concerned, all animals deserve the best care possible and that is what A.D.O.P.T. is all about.