Our community is facing an unusually difficult situation for cats and kittens right now and we need your help.
There is currently an abundance of illness affecting cats in our region, and it is having a significant impact on the organizations that provide shelter and rescue services to our community.
At this time we are closed to regular cat intakes because of illness concerns, as are multiple other shelters in the region.
That means there are very few places for people to turn when they find a stray cat or kitten, or when they can no longer keep a cat in their home.
This is an incredibly unusual and concerning situation.
Why are shelters closed to cat intakes?
At the Roanoke Valley SPCA, we are taking illness very seriously and are closely monitoring the health of the cats in our care.
Recently, we unexpectedly lost two cats very suddenly. Both cats came from the same original household and therefore had been exposed to many of the same things before entering our care. We are still awaiting test results from their necropsies, but we do not yet have definitive answers about what caused their deaths, although panleukopenia has been ruled out.
We know how concerning it can be to hear about illness affecting shelter animals. Our goal is not to cause alarm, but to be transparent about what is happening and explain why intake restrictions are necessary.
When contagious disease is circulating, bringing additional cats into a shelter environment can put both incoming animals and the cats already in their care at risk. Sometimes the safest thing a shelter can do for the animals already depending on it is to temporarily stop taking in more.
If you find a healthy cat or kitten outdoors, please think before you pick it up
This is one of the most important things we want our community to understand right now.
Under normal circumstances, someone who finds a cat or kitten outdoors may assume that the animal needs to be taken to a shelter or rescue. Right now, that may not be an option.
The Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection (RCACP) is currently accepting only certain found/stray cats and kittens:
- Cats or kittens with some type of identification, such as a fabric collar, flea collar or microchip
- Cats or kittens who are sick or injured
RCACP is not currently accepting healthy found/stray cats or kittens.
Anyone seeking help from RCACP must call ahead and make an appointment. Do not bring a cat to RCACP without an appointment.
For a healthy cat or kitten found outdoors, if you are not prepared to take the animal into your own care, the best option right now may be to leave the cat where you found it.
We understand that can feel uncomfortable—especially if you are worried that a cat has been abandoned. But there may not currently be a shelter or rescue organization available to accept a healthy outdoor cat.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the cat has been abandoned, either. Many cats found outdoors are owned pets, community cats, or cats whose caregivers are nearby.
If the cat appears healthy and is in a safe location, consider observing from a distance and looking for signs that someone is caring for the cat rather than immediately removing it from its environment.
What about TNR of outdoor cats?
TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is another option for healthy outdoor cats.
TNR can help community cats by getting them spayed or neutered, vaccinated and returned to their outdoor homes.
However, please make a plan before trapping a cat. Confirm that you have access to the necessary services and resources and know where the cat will go after surgery.
Unless you are prepared to house the cat yourself following surgery and prior to release, do not trap a cat first and try to find somewhere to take it afterward. With local shelters and rescues at capacity or closed to intake, there may not be a placement available.
If you find a sick or injured cat
A healthy outdoor cat is very different from an animal who is clearly sick or injured.
If a cat or kitten is sick, injured or in immediate danger, do not simply leave it without seeking guidance. Contact the Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection at: 540-344-4922
Because intake policies and available resources are changing during this situation, always call ahead before bringing a cat anywhere.
If you’re trying to rehome a cat
If the cat is your own pet and you are looking for a new home, please consider private rehoming rather than surrendering the cat to a shelter whenever it is safe and possible to do so.
The Roanoke Valley SPCA offers a free Home to Home Rehoming Program designed to help people find new homes for pets without bringing them into the shelter.
Keeping a pet in its familiar home while a new placement is found can reduce stress for the animal, and right now, it also helps preserve limited shelter space for animals who have nowhere else to go.
Reach out to friends, family and your community, too. Someone close to you may very well be looking for a new furry friend, or even a temporary solution with someone you know may make all the difference while shelters and rescues work through this difficult period.
One of the most important things you can do: Vaccinate your cats
If you have cats at home, please make sure their vaccinations are current.
Vaccination is one of the most important tools we have to protect cats from serious and potentially fatal infectious diseases, including panleukopenia.
This is especially important for kittens, who are particularly vulnerable to serious illness and require a series of vaccinations as they grow.
If you aren’t sure whether your cat is up to date, check with your veterinarian.
And remember: indoor cats need vaccinations, too. Even cats who never go outside can potentially be exposed to infectious diseases through other animals, people, clothing, shoes or contaminated environments.
Recap:
Our community can make a tremendous difference during a situation like this.
If you have cats at home:
- Make sure their vaccinations are current and keep up with routine veterinary care.
- Avoid unnecessary exposure to unknown or sick cats.
- Keep unfamiliar cats completely separated from your resident pets.
- If you bring a new cat into your home, talk with your veterinarian about appropriate quarantine and veterinary care.
If you find a healthy cat or kitten outdoors:
- Don’t automatically remove it from where you found it.
- Observe from a distance and look for signs that someone is caring for the cat.
- Check for identification if you can do so safely.
- If you are considering TNR, make a plan and confirm resources before trapping.
- If you decide to take the cat into your care, be prepared to provide housing, food and veterinary care while you determine the next steps.
- Remember that shelters and rescues may not currently be able to accept healthy cats.
If you find a sick or injured cat:
- Call the Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection at: 540-344-4922 and explain the animal’s condition.
- Do not assume an organization can accept an animal without an appointment.
If you’re trying to find a new home for your own cat:
- Consider keeping the cat in your home while searching for a new placement.
- Reach out to petrehoming@rvspca.org for more information on the Roanoke Valley SPCA’s Home to Home Rehoming Program.
- Reach out to friends, family and your community.
If you are able to foster:
- Consider opening your home to a cat or kitten.
- Foster homes can provide something that shelters and rescues simply cannot create more of right now:
- If you are able to safely foster, especially if you can keep a foster cat completely separated from your resident pets, you may be able to help an animal who otherwise has nowhere to go.
We need our community right now
The current situation is difficult.
Three major shelter organizations being closed to regular cat intake at the same time is something we have rarely, if ever, seen in our community.
But there is something powerful about a community stepping up before a crisis becomes even larger.
Every person who gets their own cat vaccinated helps protect their own pet and the broader cat population.
Every person who provides temporary foster care, helps look for the owner of a found cat, supports a community cat through TNR, or helps safely rehome a pet creates one more pathway for an animal who needs somewhere to go.
Right now, our shelters and rescues need our community to give cats a little more time, a little more space and a lot more protection.
Please vaccinate your cats. Please think before removing a healthy outdoor cat from where you found it. Please make a plan before trapping a community cat for TNR. Please keep unfamiliar cats safely separated from your own pets. And if you are able to foster or safely rehome a cat, consider doing so.
Together, we can help our community’s cats get through this difficult time.