Kurashiki Cat Protection Association - Aiming to Reduce Unfortunate Cats and Create a City Where Humans and Cats Can Coexist

The charm of cats lies in their adorable eyes and their innocent, carefree personalities.

They provide a lot of healing, but the lives of outdoor stray cats are very hard.

Many cats suffer from cold, hunger, traffic accidents, and abuse.

To reduce the number of such unfortunate cats, the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association is active in Kurashiki.

They mainly rescue cats that have been taken in by the Kurashiki City Health Center and act as a bridge to connect them with people who want to adopt cats.

We spoke with Yoko Shiota, the representative of the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association, about their activities and thoughts.

Current Situation of Cats at Kurashiki City Health Center

Euthanasia refers to the act of ending the life of an animal that poses a threat to humans or is no longer needed.

The cases of stray dogs and cats being taken in by health centers and animal welfare centers and subsequently euthanized are one of the serious social issues.

In the fiscal year 2004, the number of cats euthanized in Japan was 238,929. The number has decreased, and in the fiscal year 2020, it was 19,705.

▼ The number of cats euthanized in Kurashiki City in fiscal year 2002 was 1,829.

The number has been steadily decreasing, and in fiscal year 2019, 35 cats died after being taken in due to accidents or illness, but there is currently no euthanasia of cats in Kurashiki City.

The Kurashiki City Health Center takes in injured cats and kittens that are approximately one month old or younger.

A major factor in achieving zero euthanasia is the collaboration with the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association.

Most of the cats that come to the Kurashiki City Health Center are taken in by the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association, which looks for adoptive families.

In 2020, the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association rescued 153 cats from the Kurashiki City Health Center and, including those taken in from citizens, transferred the lives of 207 cats to adoptive families.

About the Activities of the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association

The Kurashiki Cat Protection Association mainly takes in homeless cats that have been taken in by the Kurashiki City Health Center, facilitates their adoption, and works to achieve zero euthanasia of cats in Kurashiki City.

In 2013, Yoko Shiota and Yumi Hiraga started their volunteer activities. From the beginning, they have been taking in cats from the Kurashiki City Health Center and looking for adoptive families.

In 2018, to help more cats, they established the voluntary organization "Kurashiki Cat Protection Association."

In the fiscal year 2019, they were selected for a citizen project proposal by Kurashiki City and started an initiative to increase the number of milk volunteers who care for nursing kittens. As of December 2021, about 20 milk volunteers are active.

The main activities are as follows.

• Temporary care and adoption of rescued cats
• Implementation of adoption events
• Training of milk volunteers and foster volunteers
• Fundraising

Each will be introduced in detail.

Temporary Care and Adoption of Rescued Cats

When kittens are brought to the Kurashiki City Health Center, the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association typically follows this process to find adoptive families.

1. Receive a call from the Kurashiki City Health Center
2. Decide among the available members who will take care of the cat
3. If the cat is not healthy, provide initial treatment at a veterinary clinic
4. In most cases, since they are nursing kittens, a designated milk volunteer will care for them at home for 1-2 months
5. Start looking for adoptive families on the internet (official website, adoption recruitment site, blog, Instagram)
6. After 2 months of fostering, administer vaccinations
7. Debut at an "adoption event" where potential adopters gather

Since most of the cats taken in by the Kurashiki City Health Center are kittens approximately one month old or younger, they are carefully raised while being fed milk multiple times a day.

When there are applications from potential adopters through the internet or adoption events expressing a desire to welcome a cat into their home, the adoption process begins.

The process from application to adoption typically follows this outline.

1. Receive contact from a potential adopter
2. Have them fill out a questionnaire to confirm if they meet the adoption criteria
3. Conduct a meeting (the milk volunteer visits with the potential adopter to check the new home and family)
4. Prepare for cat care using the "list of items to prepare before welcoming a cat" (after preparation, they send a photo)
5. Sign a pledge
6. After a 2-week trial period, if everything goes well, finalize the adoption

If during the 2-week trial period it is discovered that a family member has an allergy or that compatibility with other pets already in the family is difficult, the adoption will not proceed.

Adopters do not need to be residents of Kurashiki City; there are also applications from other prefectures.

Additionally, there are the following conditions for adoption (excerpt).

• Must be kept indoors at all times
• Annual vaccinations and spaying/neutering must be performed
• Consent from all family members is required
• No family members should have allergies
• Must be in a physical and mental state to care for a kitten
• Must have a stable income to care for a cat
• Must have spayed/neutered any existing pets
• Must not keep the cat in a cage for long periods
• Single individuals, cohabiting couples, and minors are not eligible
• Families consisting only of seniors are not eligible (unless there is a guardian) and so on

In addition to kittens taken in from the Kurashiki City Health Center, there is an increasing number of cases where injured adult cats from accidents or cats taken in from citizens are being rescued and looked for adoptive families.

Implementation of Adoption Events

Once or twice a month, we hold adoption events to recruit adoptive families for cats.

This is a place where potential adopters can visit, see the cats' appearances and personalities, and consider whether to welcome them into their family.

Cats cannot be taken home on the day of the event; instead, potential adopters consider whether they meet the adoption criteria and prepare for the adoption process.

In addition to adoption events, we have also held photo exhibitions during the summer vacation to encourage mainly children to think about coexisting with animals.

Training of Milk Volunteers and Foster Volunteers

To eliminate cat euthanasia, we are training milk volunteers who can care for kittens.

With the selection for the fiscal year 2019 citizen project proposal by Kurashiki City, we have been advancing this project in collaboration with the administration as a joint project with the Kurashiki City Health Center.

We are also recruiting foster volunteers for weaned cats.

Additionally, as a collaborative project with Kurashiki City, we are also accepting consultations regarding issues related to cats.

Fundraising

Raising kittens that have grown up outdoors requires medical expenses and supplies. The Kurashiki Cat Protection Association is seeking donations.

The Amazon "Wishlist" includes cat food and cat litter, allowing donations to be made within one's budget.

Additionally, donations can be accepted through a postal bank account.

In addition to the activity report account on Instagram, there is also a dedicated account for donation reports called "Kurashiki Cat Support", where reports on support supplies and donations are being made.

Through the training of milk volunteers, recruitment of adoptive families, and fundraising information dissemination, the Kurashiki Cat Protection Association has steadily increased the number of cats that can be helped.

We spoke with the representative, Yoko Shiota, about the process of expanding the support network and their thoughts on the activities.

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