Before You Surrender Your Pet
We understand that sometimes it’s just not possible to keep a pet, but before making the decision to give up your cat, please consider all of your options. When you surrender a pet to any shelter, the transition can be difficult. Shelters can be very stressful environments for even the most well-adjusted animal.
Before you make the final decision to surrender your animal, please do these things:
- Talk with your veterinarian to rule out possible medical issues your pet may be experiencing.
- Consult a trainer or behaviorist for help with common behavioral problems.
- Look for an alternate place to live that accepts pets.
- Talk with friends or family to determine if they would be able to commit to taking care of your pet.
- Re-home your pet to a new home yourself. Interview and ask for references from their veterinarian. This transition will be much easier for your pet and will allow you to know that he is going to a good new home.
Please also consider the following advice:
- DON’T drop your pet off in the woods or countryside, assuming that it can take care of itself. Pets lack the skills to survive on their own and may die of starvation or injury. There is an increase of coyote and fisher cat populations.
- DON’T abandon your pet in a house or apartment you are moving out of, or just leave them behind outside thinking that someone will eventually find it. This doesn’t always happen.
- DON’T just give your pet away to anyone – a stranger. Make sure that you interview and reference check the potential new owner. You don’t know if that person is a responsible owner or even honest. Pets that end up in the wrong hands may be abused or sold to research laboratories.
If you have exhausted all other avenues, and you still need to place your pet, you can call MetroWest Humane Society to discuss surrendering them to us. We are a no-kill shelter so our admissions are limited to available space and resources. We generally cannot take a surrender immediately. We accept cats from the greater MetroWest area on a case by case basis. Please call the shelter at (508) 875.3776 to speak with our shelter manager about your situation.
Necessary Documentation
If you choose to relinquish ownership of your pet, we will ask for the following:
- Any pertinent records pertaining to the pet (medical records, a bill of sale, etc.)
- A completed Animal Surrender Application and brief profile of the pet’s habits and behaviors.
MetroWest Humane Society requires that the pet’s actual owner relinquish custody of the animal. If you are bringing in an owned pet that is not yours, we require the animal’s actual owner to sign the animal over to MetroWest Humane Society.
If your pet has any special food, supplies or toys, (no litterboxes) please bring those in at the time of surrender.
We do request an owner surrender fee to help offset the costs of caring for your animal. Our surrender fees vary and are contingent upon the medical history of your cat while in your care.
What Happens Next?
At our shelter, all animals receive necessary veterinary care, nutritious food, exercise and plenty of love and attention from our experienced staff and volunteers. Animals accepted into the shelter are up for adoption after a brief holding period to assess behavior and health. We may put some animals who are sick, underage, or who would benefit from behavioral intervention in foster care and return them to the adoption program at a later time. We do not euthanize an animal to create space, nor do we have any time limitations for adoption. We work hard to give second chances to every potentially adoptable animal.