Longtime Houston-area animal shelter to close despite 80 cats in need of new homes

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A longtime Houston-area animal shelter is closing for good, and now shelter staff are scrambling to find homes for their 80 remaining cats.

Adopt-a-Cat has been operating continuously since 1994, but now says it no longer has the money to keep going.

The group's founder, Dr. Beverly Harper, said it costs about $6,000 to $7,000 to care for the cats and pay the shelter's three employees.

Harper said donations started to dry up during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there are now even fewer people with money to donate after the recent storms.

"People don't have the money that they had," Harper said. "They're doing things like getting rid of the trees in their yard."

Harper said it became clear to her earlier this year that the shelter would have to wind down operations.

"I'm a realist in that I know everything ends," Harper said.

She said they've stopped taking in new cats and are hoping to adopt out the remaining ones as soon as possible.

"I do want to be able to take care of them properly until we do close down," Harper said.

If you're able to adopt a cat, you can visit their website at adoptacattexas.com

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