Meow’s The Time Cat Campaign

Helping adult cats and more Australians find love

Adult rescue cats make wonderful companions, but finding homes for them can be challenging - especially for the shyer ones. They tend to wait a lot longer for a home than kittens, which means they take up space in shelters and foster carer’s homes and put extra stress on rescue groups with limited resources.

We want to give adult cats, and their foster carers, an extra helping hand. So in 2016 we launched a reduced-fee adult cat adoption campaign ‘Meow’s the Time’ to help adult rescue cats connect with permanent loving homes.

What the research tells us about reduced fees

Research shows that rescue pets offered at a reduced adoption fee enjoy the same lasting and loving outcomes that full-fee adopted pets experience. We also know that adoption fees can be a barrier for some pet seekers, which makes two very valid reasons for introducing a reduced-fee adoption campaign.

Making sure that no-one’s out of pocket

To help cover the rescue groups’ out-of-pocket expenses from caring for these featured cats, we’ve also secured corporate and philanthropic sponsors to subsidise a proportion of the adoption fee.

We hope this incentive will encourage more rescue groups to participate in the campaign, increasing the number of adult cats offered for adoption at the reduced fee.

A special program for senior citizens and shy cats

This year, we’re thrilled to expand the support available for adult cats, with the introduction of a pilot program to help match senior (human) citizens with shy adult cats, at a reduced adoption fee.

Shy cats struggle more than most to find homes, but the rewards they bring their adopters are often far greater than for those adopting a confident kitty. What often starts off as a slow burn will, over time and with patience, develop into deep and lasting love.

We think senior citizens are perfectly placed to offer shy cats the time, patience and love they need to blossom. We also believe that the special love a shy cat brings will be an invaluable addition to a seniors’ life.

PetRescue is proud to be working on the Senior Citizens and Shy Cats pilot program in partnership with a newly-forming foundation with a strong interest in the human-animal bond. Together, we’re trialling a pet helpline to follow up with cat adopters via phone over a 10-month period. This will help us to measure pet retention rates, identify potential areas of support for pet owners, and gauge the overall success of the program.

Our 2017 strategy

With the launch of Meow’s The Time in conjunction with the Senior Citizens and Shy Cats pilot program, not only are we making adult cat adoption more affordable, we’re also reaching out to communities through targeted marketing, and offering free post-adoption support.

Our ultimate goal for 2017 is to increase adult cat adoptions and help more Australians bring a wonderful rescue cat into their lives.

This campaign helped create some amazing stories. Read the story of Liz and Ellie and Lily and Angie.