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Cat Depot: A Home For Homeless Cats And Kittens

Cat Depot: A Lifeline to Felines in Need

By Kacey Krznaric

Photography by Chad Spencer

“There is something about the presence of a cat that seems to take the bite out of being alone.”
~Louis J. Camuti

With only 2% of lost or missing cats making their way back to their homes, Cat Depot is truly a home for the homeless. From its humble roots of taking in 262 cats who may have been euthanized because they had no place to go, Cat Depot has grown by leaps and bounds over the past eight years. Co-founders Linda and Ken Slavin, along with executive director Shelley Thayer and a remarkable staff and volunteers, have made Cat Depot more than just an adoption center. They’ve successfully created a state-of-the-art refuge for cats and kittens, offering a free-roaming facility for the animals they serve, providing adoption services, education, and a resource center for the public.

At Cat Depot, the staff works diligently to rescue abandoned, abused, injured, and relinquished cats and kittens and carefully finds loving homes for these animals. Cat Depot also puts forth a remarkable effort in educating the public about the misconceptions of cat survival skills and the correct steps to take to ensure that cats are properly cared for, safe, and healthy. In addition to this, the Education and Activity Center provides the opportunity to assist new and seasoned pet owners with increased knowledge and tools to benefit both their personal pets and free roaming cats in and around their communities. Cat Depot helps pet owners find low cost spay/neuter resources and has implemented a new program for trap, neuter, return, and cat colony care. In October, the organization will offer a free food bank for those in need of assistance for personal cats and community cats.

Since its inception, Cat Depot has doubled adoption numbers and opened a Surgery Center in their Sarasota-based facility to care for the resident cats and kittens currently under their care. The team at Cat Depot is establishing new and innovative programs every quarter that build awareness of homeless animals, and they are always looking for new ways to educate the public and improve cat care. At the very heart of its mission, Cat Depot strives to discover ways to move closer to their ultimate goal: a time of no more homeless cats.

I had the opportunity to speak with Cat Depot’s Executive Director Shelley Thayer, and she was kind enough to share some of her personal, special experiences at Cat Depot. As any animal lover could imagine, it’s very easy to get attached to the resident cats and kittens at Cat Depot as their unique personalities begin to show through. Some cats hold a special place in Shelley’s heart at the facility: Deputy who was rescued by four policemen, Henry who was saved after people from Ohio and Sarasota reached out to help him, and Susie who received a check from a Cat Depot supporter in France to help pay for her much needed surgery. Shelley, a truly dedicated animal lover, volunteered to help the rescued animals from Hurricane Katrina and was involved in a rescue effort that saved 800 cats in a Nevada desert, one of the largest cat rescues in history. She is the proud owner of four cats and one dog – all rescued from various states across the country, including right here in Florida.