CatSnip Hawaii — a nonprofit working to spay/neuter and vaccinate cats throughout West Hawaii — held its first-ever adoption event in Waikoloa Village on Saturday.
Some 40 kittens and cats looking for a home were displayed by the nonprofit 501(c)(3) during its Kits&Kats Adoption Event held at the Waikoloa Community Church. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a group of four staff members and volunteers gathered to watch felines find a new loving home.
CatSnip, founded in 2011, is one of the few organizations geared toward finding cats a home, as well as stopping the population growth of felines on the Big Island which could, if uncontrolled, can have a negative impact on native Hawaiian wildlife. Over just the past two years, CatSnip has averaged over 1,000 surgeries a year.
“Every cat we have is vaccinated, spayed and microchipped,” said Bee Henderson, president of CatSnip. “We charge $50 a cat and take our adoption process seriously. We need to know people are committed enough to care about the animals.”
All adoption fees go back to support CatSnip’s veterinary costs, she noted.
CatSnip Hawaii currently has about 150 cats of all ages at its facility in Kapaau, and averages about 100 successful spay-neuters each month. The program also works with the community to spay and neuter, as well as vaccinate, and return cats throughout West Hawaii.
The main goal of the organization in adopting out cats is to match each individual or family with the right feline.
“We have an adoption coordinator — people have to make an appointment with Sarah to come and look at cats. And basically she’ll just talk with them about their situation: Do they have dogs? Cats? Usually the cat will pick the people. You may come in thinking you want a black and white kitty and go home with a red one,” said Henderson.
While the organization continues its mission to spay-neuter, and find good homes for dozens of cats each month, it is not an easy task. The solution is to prevent unwanted litters in the first place.
“Until we get every cat on island fixed, we’ll still have kittens,” Henderson said.
Once a month, CatSnip can be found at Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Village Campus (across from Longs) in Waimea to help spay and neuter cats, as well as adopt out cats and kittens. The nonprofit is also able to transport animals to its spay and neuter facility.
What they need most right now is the community’s help.
“We’re short on funding. It’s a lot of work. We need more money for things like food and transportation. We’re working on getting more state funding as well,” Henderson continued. All donations are tax deductible as the organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered with the Internal Revenue Service.
For more information, visit CatSnip Hawaii on Facebook or email Catsnipadoptables@yahoo.com. For an appointment to spay/neuter or adopt a cat email the nonprofit.