Edmonds shelters crowded with cats

EDMONDS — After a slow summer for adoptions, there’s no room at the inn for Edmonds’ stray cats.

Both the city’s official shelter and the only shelter that accepts cats directly from owners are full, officials said this week.

“Not a lot of people adopted cats this summer,” said Kristin Adix, owner of Edmonds’ Adix Bed and Bath, which contracts with the city for housing stray or abandoned animals.

There’s no apparent reason for the lack of adoptions. At Adix, there is even a purebred Siamese cat named Charleston — a valuable animal for any cat aficionado.

“They are all pretty awesome cats right now,” Adix said. “They like to play and cuddle and they are a good bunch. I am surprised that they have not gone.”

Adix said she has 17 cats up for adoption at her shop.

The lack of adoptions is not only an Edmonds problem, said Mary Leake Schilder, spokesperson for the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, also known as PAWS.

The organization has almost 200 cats up for adoption in its shelters in Lynnwood and Seat­tle, Schilder said.

“We are packed. We are full of cats,” she said.

A summer lull in adoptions is not unusual, but it has hit hard this year, she said.

If adoptions do not come through, the shelters eventually are forced to put the cats down.

Adix said it has been a few years since the cat backlog was so extensive.

The problem has been compounded, because a few cats came in pregnant and had kittens. It’s leading to a perfect storm, she said.

“Our message is that we have cats, they have been here forever, and we need to get them homes,” she said.

This week, Edmonds police started advertising Adix’s cats in hopes citizens would start adopting and saving them.

Some police employees have even taken in foster cats and kittens, Adix said.

While adopting at Adix is free, owners are responsible for spaying or neutering the cats and for getting shots, costs that can run as much as a few hundred dollars.

Adopting is a serious decision, Schilder said.

“If somebody is going to adopt an animal, they need to be ready to make a lifetime commitment,” she said.

Prospective owners should think about the personality and type of cat, but also about the costs of owning — like vet visits, toys, bedding and food, Schilder said.

If a family has young children, they should probably also talk to an adoption counselor, she said.

But, now is a good time for adoption, she said.

“The shelters are full,” Schilder said. “There are so many wonderful animals, and because there are so many, people have a lot to choose from.”

Chris Fyall is editor of the Edmonds Enterprise.