If you need to get rid of your cat, you might be wondering if you can drop them off at your local PetSmart.
Since they have pets for sale you might think that they take pets in to help find them new homes.
Lots of factors can influence your decision to get rid of your cat. Maybe you’re moving to a new house or apartment where cats aren’t allowed. Maybe you simply can’t keep up with litter and food costs in this fledgling economy.
Maybe you’ve developed an allergy, or always had one and are tired of taking allergy medication every day.
Whatever your reason, you’ll want to do right by your cat and give them the best chance of getting into a new home.
The reason PetSmart entered your mind is that they usually have very cute and friendly dogs and cats for sale in their stores, and you thought your cat would be a good fit. Also, it’s not as if PetSmart is licensed to euthanize pets so they’ll either find it a buyer or send it to the pet shelter if it doesn’t get bought.
Either way you’d be off the hook. But unfortunately they don’t accept animals directly from the public, so you’ll have to use a different method to get out of this situation.
Can I Give My Cat to PetSmart? Answer: No.
PetSmart is not a pet shelter, and they do not have a policy of taking in unwanted animals.
If you take it there they will only refer you to your local animal shelters and turn you away. There isn’t a financial advantage in taking in new cats, and the only reason they feature pets for sale in the store is to make money.
If they started taking in animals they would be inundated in a short amount of time and it would end up costing them money in maintaining these pets until they are sold. That’s why they leave that part to the shelters and only get what they can sell quickly.
Better Options
If you’re made the determination that you can’t keep your cat, you should give it to your local animal shelter.
This is where PetSmart selects the pets that are featured in their stores, so it’s their best chance at making it in. The large majority of cats that are given to shelters do not end up finding a home, so it’s important that you exhaust all of your resources before you go this route.
There are a lot of time tested ways of finding a home for an unwanted pet, and pretty much announcing this fact to those around you is enough to find an interested party.
Go Social
Asking around to family and friends is probably the best way to go.
A simple post on Facebook with a cute picture of your cat could be all that is needed to find them a good home. If enough interest is generated it will likely not take long for someone to say they’ll take it.
This is especially true if you’ve been posting cute posts about them all along and people have developed an online relationship with your cat through your news feed.
Reconsider Your Decision
If you aren’t able to find them a home and are still thinking about giving them to a shelter, but don’t want them to risk being put to sleep, you should maybe think about changing your mind altogether.
Perhaps talking the situation over with your close friends might be able to help you see things from a different angle. Maybe you’ve painted yourself into a mental corner and you have been overlooking an obvious solution.
Give Them a Good Shot
If you have to take them to a shelter because you’re moving or you can’t afford them anymore, or for whatever reason, be sure that they have the best chance by having them professionally groomed and buying them a nice collar.
These little steps can put them at the forefront of the shelter and separate them from other cats that don’t look as sharp. This way they’ll stand out and have a higher chance of getting adopted, and avoiding the back room.
Please don’t take your cats or dogs to PetSmart. I work there and for years people would bring their animals in to drop them off for all kinds reasons. It would almost kill me to see what happens to another fur baby, because it made me feel so bad for the animal.
I’d run around trying to find someone to take it, failing to do so. Then someone would call animal control and it would break my heart to see them go out the door to animal control knowing what would happen. I’m not working there much now because I have retired due to a broken heart for those animals that we couldn’t keep or find homes for.
In other words, please don’t do that to us. It’s your own responsibility to do so, not ours. Please think of all the responsibility that you have when you take an animal in. It’s so sad for the poor things when you dump them.
I love it when people come in with their animal (trying to dump them) and say they want to donate it. I don’t mean to be cruel, but that is how it is. Thanks for listening.
That would break my heart if I would of been in your shoes. My experience I’ve taken them in when a few feral female have kittens I couldn’t get rid of them in the past years since I moved to Stockton, CA. I only had two of my own cats then some feral cats came around this one I couldn’t catch her next thing I end of having lots of kittens. Now in 2017 I have 17 cats the main one that was having kittens passed away, I thought yes no more kittens, but I have a heart for animals I love them.
Then suddenly here are two females I wasn’t able to catch them they are pregnant omg I went crazy one female had four kittens they all died that was sad. The other one had three now I’m gonna have to take them to a shelter and I’m so afraid they may put them down.
They are so cute adorable my heart goes out to them that I have to them in, I have to get rid of the cats that I wasn’t able to get rid of in the past. I’m gonna be 63 I have A-Fib going to hospital a lot I worry for them cause can’t get anyone to take care of them. My husband has lung cancer stage 3 he’s very sick I have to take care of him n myself. It’s so hard to get rid of my cats n can’t catch the feral ones it’s so crazy, I’m called the cat lady on the block n someone made a complaint on me with the SPCA about all these cats. My neighbor has 4 cats but their inside cats. He’s caught some of the ferals had them spaded n buster then I’m the one feeding them.
It’s the saddest thing for me. But I have to say when I go to feed them n I’m sad I get so much love from the ones that are mine some keep their distance. I have to get rid of them it’s expensive on their food get their shots some get sick n don’t make it I am so overwhelmed it kills me inside that I have to do what I got to do. They love me so much. That’s my thoughts it hurts so bad for these animals.
I’ve literally gone through the same thing. I started out with 1 rescue a kitten my husband found in the middle of the road, a female calico and about a year later the store clerk in our small town talked my husband into taking another female cat who was supposedly pregnant and he didn’t know it but got home and I look and see that its a male! Needless to say our calico got out when she was in heat and ended up with a litter of kittens then we noticed we had strays already living out behind the building behind our house.
It’s been three years since the first litter in which my son begged to keep a female calico kitten from the first litter and before we knew it…. we had and still have a huge problem Its crazy how quickly its spiraled out of control! I feel so guilty and should have had our rescue calico fixed but never expected all these strays out there waiting to jump the little girl cats.
And on top of all this I’ve found a few of them homes thinking i was getting it under control but as quick as I find a home we’d have 1 or 2 left from that litter and then more kittens! And its so hard to find cats homes!
I’m going out of my mind because I cant find a solution. I don’t have the heart to take them to a pound or shelter and I’m running out of options. I don’t know what to do. Were supposed to be moving from North Carolina to Virginia in a couple months. I pray you get some help with yours and for all the people that are trying to make a difference but can only do so much.
There’s a lot of hard working animal advocates and re-homing centers out there but with cats multiplying like these have i can see why there overwhelmed with hardly any room for the next animal. Wish me luck and thanks for sharing your story. Now I know I’m not the only one who’s gone through this with Cats.
I am glad to read others going thru what I do with heartbreak after heartbreak. We only have ourselves to blame for not getting them to the clinic to be spay and getting those toms out there to a clinic to be fixed. have not done the math but I would save on cat food I imagine if I would just get it together and get with the program that someone else started.