About the Connecticut Cat Rescue Web

Scott Panzer was the original founder of the Connecticut Cat Rescut Website. Yay Scott! Thank you for doing such a great job for so long! Visit Scott's current website! (Please note, Scott now lives a world away in California -- I'm leaving this intro here as a kind of history of the site, and because it so perfectly outlines the goals of the website. - Dee)

Scott's Intro: Why am I doing this?

I am a cat lover living in New Haven, Connecticut, and have three cats, pretty much the maximum I can fit comfortably in my home. I wanted to do something more to help stray cats find homes, but cannot do large-scale cat rescue myself. So I created this website in the hope that it would help people find homes for cats they have rescued or can no longer keep. I also wanted to provide some enhanced visibility on the net for the humane societies and animal rescue groups that work hard to get cats into loving homes and to educate people about the importance of spaying or neutering their cat so that it doesn't contribute to the population of abandoned or unwanted pets. This is essentially my personal animal welfare project.

Why an internet site for cat adoptions?

It is often very difficult to find homes for cats. There are almost always more cats to go around than homes for them. During peak kitten season (mid spring through early fall), shelters overflow with kittens, and individuals who rescue cats in their own homes often have more than they can care for. The CCRW offers an advertising forum that complements (but does not replace) the more traditional approaches of postering veterinary offices and pet supply stores or putting an ad in the local newspaper. Because the internet is a global network, the ads reach a dispersed audience (internet users throughout Connecticut are targetted). In addition, it does not cost me much to store the ads, so I can leave the postings up for an extended period of time. Because internet users are currently a small fraction of the population, it is important that people seeking homes for cats use other approaches in addition to the CCRW.

How you can help

The main feature is a set of pages where people may list cats available for adoption, lost or found cats, and animal shelters and rescue organizations. There is no charge for this service. The success of this feature depends upon community participation. If you or someone you know needs to find a home for cats, put your information here. And if you want to adopt a new cat for your home, please look here!

Combatting the pet overpopulation problem is another goal of the CCRW. We urge you to spay or neuter your pets, and to encourage your friends to do the same. Also, if you are considering adopting a special breed of cat, we urge you to take a look first at breed rescue organizations and animal shelters to see if you can find a suitable pet. Many wonderful mixed-breed cats face being put to sleep in animal shelters because there are not enough homes, but would make as good a pet as a purebred.

Finally, in order for this endeavor to be successful, it must be known to as many internet-aware cat lovers as possible. I have listed this site in the major web-site directories on the internet, and in Connecticut area directories. I have also distributed a poster advertising the CCRW at Yale and among pet supply stores and veterinary clinics in the New Haven area. Additional advertising in other areas of the state would be a great help. If you are a regular user of a BBS or internet provider in Connecticut, feel free to upload the information file to your BBS's archive, or post it in an appropriate newsgroup. Please don't SPAM the net with this, I don't need enemies made. (Also, please don't post it to rec.pets.cats, as I do that periodically). Also, if you would like to distribute a copy of the poster to your favorite vet or pet supply store, or post it on a public bulletin board at your company or university, please contact me and I will send you some.

TO REQUEST UPDATES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE WEBSITE:

email catrescue@dreslough.com