Shelter For Cats: How Does It Work? What Use? What Status?
Without sterilization, many cats breed in the wild and struggle to be adopted. To give these cats a chance in a new family, shelters welcome the feline population with the aim of finding them a new home.
Operation Of The Cat Shelter
A refuge can be of two different types: either a private company with a profit objective, or a non-profit association under the 1901 law. In practice, it is therefore more associations that create shelters for abandoned animals.
Conditions For Opening An Animal Shelter
They can thus take in cats, but also dogs or NACs (New Pets) depending on the definition of their corporate purpose. To create a shelter, the association must hold the CCAD (Certificate of Capacity for Pets of Domestic Species).
This certificate is issued by the DDPP (Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations) or the DDCSPP (Departmental Directorate for Social Cohesion and Protection of Populations) of the department of the applicant. It is obligatory both for the breeding of cats and for the management of a feline refuge.
The shelter can only operate if a person, employee or manager, is present on site and has the CCAD. Rules must be respected in order to have the right to set up a shelter, relating in particular to hygiene standards and the areas allocated to each cat or kitten. Regular veterinary checks attest to the conformity of the installations.
Role Of An Animal Shelter
The primary role of a cat shelter and its raison d’être is above all to find a new family for their proteges. This must meet the particular needs of the adopted cat, but also the expectations of the family for a successful cohabitation “for life”.
But in addition, the management of a refuge involves rigorous management and several missions are to be carried out, including:
- Communication and collection of donations to make the association work
- Good management of staff or volunteer
- The good health of animals, in terms of food and veterinary
- Management of papers relating to abandonment and adoption
The proper running of a cat shelter therefore requires unfailing versatility, but also a real passion for animals. You should know that the manager of a shelter is often little or badly paid for the missions he carries out.
Usefulness Of A Cat Shelter
The cat shelter helps animals in distress. They can be collected by the reception structure following a request from the authorities (mistreatment and leaving the pound in particular), following abandonment (voluntary or wild) or following the loss of an unidentified animal.
The cats taken in are housed, cared for, fed, cuddled and put back on their feet to be offered for adoption in the best conditions. If they are not yet, cats and kittens are also identified and sterilized according to their age, which explains the justified adoption costs when an individual finds his pet there.
The purpose of the shelter is to find an adopter to avoid cats being euthanized. Employees and volunteers therefore know their animals held by the structure well. Capable of taking stock of the social abilities of the cat, its state of health, its character, the shelter directs future masters towards the animal that best suits their abilities.
It should also be remembered that any individual who wishes to abandon his pet (cat, dog or NAC) can contact a shelter such as the SPA or other private structure so as not to illegally abandon his pet. The employees and volunteers are not there to judge, but listen to the reasons that push the master to abandon it to better trace the history of the cat, its behavior, its possible pathologies in order to quickly find a home for the animal.
On the other hand, the “wild” abandonment of cats, assimilated to abuse, is severely punished by law, the offender risking a civil fine of up to 30,000 euros as well as a prison sentence of up to 2 years.
Cat Shelter Status
In the majority of cases, shelters are run by non-profit associations under the 1901 law, except in Alsace-Moselle where the 1908 law is used, although the same legal rules apply. These associations have the right to hire employees but also to call on volunteers for the operation of their host structure.
The cat shelter is placed under the responsibility of the veterinary services through the DDPP, the DDCSPP or the Ministry of Agriculture. As for the legal framework, it is fixed by the principles of the associations of the law 1901 in terms of contractual freedom and lack of interest in financial results, the search for profit not being the desired goal.
It is also possible to set up a cat shelter by creating a company, which will seek to earn money. In practice, this solution is very little adopted since it is difficult to make a profit in an animal shelter, but also because the company cannot offer tax advantages to donors.
Most often, the 1901 law association managing a cat shelter falls under one of the following two types:
- Recognized association of general interest: donations made entitle you to an income tax deduction on presentation of proof
- Recognized association of public utility: it must, among other things, be of general interest, justify equity and good financial solidity, include at least 200 members; in return, it is authorized to receive donations and legacies in addition to manual donations
In short, whatever the status of the association, it is quite possible to create your own structure to create a shelter for cats, or to contact a shelter to adopt a feline. Do not hesitate, either, to get involved in volunteering to help our mustachioed friends. The shelters face peaks in attendance during school holidays and need help on a regular basis. Finally, you can have confidence in these structures, which are subject to veterinary checks as well as administrative or tax checks.
