Public & Veterinarian Help Needed with a Huge Number of Rescued Cats

Updated: 1-6-10

CRAFT is asking for assistance from the public to help care for 53 cats and kittens rescued from a hoarding situation Madras on Tuesday.

Madras home where cats were removed
Click for larger imageOther agencies removed a total of 61 cats and kittens, leaving behind many more for CRAFT and Jefferson County animal officials to deal with. Jefferson County does not have a shelter for cats and would have had to euthanize most of them. They took several for which there were foster homes. CRAFT took 53 others and came to an agreement with Jefferson County to leave the remaining approximately 30 others at the location for a couple of weeks, with County oversight, until suitable locations can be found for them.

Several of the cats taken in by CRAFT had to have immediate veterinary care. Some that went to Bend Spay & Neuter Project will likely have to have eyes removed due to injury/infection.

Bend Spay & Neuter and Companion Pet Clinic in Bend have graciously agreed to reduced fees for spay/neuter and other services to help these cats. Other veterinarians are being asked to do the same if possible. If each would help just a couple of cats at a reduced fee, it would make a huge difference.

All of the cats will be vaccinated, treated for parasites, spayed/neutered if needed, ID chipped and quarantined for a period of time. Most are tame and likely were pets at one time, but animal abandonment is a huge problem this year, leaving all animal rescue groups and shelters overwhelmed. CRAFT normally assists about 500 cats and kittens a year, but assisted well over 900 in 2009 prior to this event, stretching resources and volunteer help to the maximum.

CRAFT is a small, nonprofit, all-volunteer, no-kill sanctuary that accepts many cats that other agencies will not accept or would euthanize. Help is desperately needed in the form of foster homes, adoptive homes, good quality cat food, cat litter, paper towels, cleaning supplies and monetary donations to use towards veterinarian costs and medications. Click to print our complete wish list.

Only a few of these cats are available for adoption at this time. Those available now, as well as many other cat and kittens needing loving homes can be seen on the CRAFT website. CRAFT’s sanctuary is open for adoptions and visits every Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 PM, and other days/times by appointment.

CRAFT will work with Jefferson County on the remaining cats as space and funding allow. Jefferson County will continue to monitor the location in the future to make sure this situation does not reoccur.

A primary goal of CRAFT is to educate people on the need to spay and neuter their cats to help end the tragic problem of pet overpopulation. In conjunction with Bend Spay & Neuter, CRAFT assisted cat owners financially with the spay/neuter of over 200 pet cats in 2009 that may not otherwise have had this done, and sponsors are always needed to continue this important work.

These cats and kittens will be available for adoption, once they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and have been completed all of their medical treatments and temperment testing. (The three cats pictured below are a sample of the rescued cats.)

We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to:

• All of the volunteers that have helped with this huge rescue project, as well as those that continue to help care for the cats on a daily basis.


• Bend Spay and Neuter Project, not only for taking 6 of the cats that desperately needed urgent medical care, but also for their generosity, compassion, and willingness to help us and the cats, year round.


• Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals (OFOSA) of Portland, for also accepting 10 of the cats that are are also in need of various medical treatments.


• The public here in Central Oregon, for their monetary support as well as donations of food, cat litter and other desperately needed supplies.