BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Focus on Ferals, a volunteer-run cat rescue, has reached capacity at its shelter and are currently unable to take in any more cats.
Focus on Ferals is a no-kill shelter in Byron Center. They take in cats that people either find or can no longer take care of.
The cats are rehabilitated and eventually found new homes. Unfortunately, the crowded quarters are making everything more difficult.
Adult cats are housed at the shelter on Clyde Park Avenue SW, while kittens are kept with foster families because of their delicate immune systems. Focus on Ferals' foster program is also at capacity.
Some families are even taking care of multiple sets of kittens.
Lori Frey, a volunteer at the shelter, says, “If we put more cats in these rooms, all we’re gonna have is cat fights and they’re not going to seem adoptable to the public because they’re going to be stressed. They’re not going to show their best selves.”
In total, the shelter is currently housing about 160 cats.
“We don’t have any more room for adult cats because they aren’t getting adopted. We don’t have room for kittens because they're not getting adopted,” Frey says.
Frey says most people looking to adopt a cat want kittens. Some of the adult cats living at the shelter have been up for adoption for several years. A poster on the wall outside one of the cat rooms lists the animals that have been there the longest.
Two cats by the names of Reginald and Posey have been there for three years now.
To get out of this tough situation, Frey says people can help in a variety of ways.
“We need adoptions, we need volunteers, we need fosters, we need donations and we need people to spay and neuter,” she says.
For more information about Focus on Ferals, or to adopt a cat, you can visit their website and Facebook page.
For information about a cost-effective spay and neuter program in West Michigan called C-SNIP, you can visit their website.
