Tri-County Humane Society: 32 of the Crosby Cats Find Forever Homes, So Far

(KNSI) – Nearly a third of the Crosby cats brought to the Tri-County Humane Society have found their forever homes.

On April 11th, investigators in Crow Wing County brought 94 cats to the St. Cloud animal shelter after they were found living in deplorable conditions. Since then, the Humane Society has had 32 cats find homes, and another 23 are at the shelter waiting for someone to adopt them. The rest of the cats are staying with foster families or still need medical attention.

Jake Judd/KNSI News

Tri-County Humane Society Executive Director Marit Ortega told KNSI News they had the space, but dealing with more than 90 cats at once is daunting. “When they come in all at once like this, it puts a big strain on our resources in the fact that we want to get them all treated immediately, we want to get them vaccinated immediately, we want to check them for fleas and get them treated immediately. It was the volume all at one time that was the big strain.”

When news of the case came to light, the community stepped up, donating around $71,000 and truckloads of canned and dry cat food, litter and other supplies. The donations were a lifesaver, as the facility spent over $20,000 in the first week in medical bills alone, and the cats still need ongoing care.

Ortega says the flood of donations has dropped to a trickle. However, there are still plenty of generous people helping. “Just yesterday, we had someone whose mom had passed away. And their mother was a huge lover of cats and dogs, and so, because they knew that we had taken these animals in, they wanted to make a gift in loving memory of their mother and made a very generous gift.”

On average, the local humane society takes in around 5,000 animals a year and is able to find homes for 94% of them.

If you would like to adopt a cat or help out with their care, click here.

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