Enjoying the High Life at the Petco Cat Condos
By Valerie Burton
Have you ever been wandering around Petco and seen some adorable cats living in luxurious digs? We caught up with Donna Drake, HSLC’s Animal Director and board member-at-large, to give us the inside scoop on the cat condos.
HSLC: What’s the story of the cats at Petco? How do they get to live in the condos?
DONNA: We carefully screen the cats that are placed at Petco for their suitability for the location. Timid, shy, high energy or aggressive cats aren’t placed there because of the stress of confinement, the noise, and the amount of people stopping by to look. The ideal candidate is a friendly, very social cat who loves attention and will come to the front of the cage when people stop by and try to get folks to interact with them by sticking their paws through the holes in the plexiglass or by meowing for attention.
HSLC: Who takes care of them?
DONNA: I am one of a small group of volunteers, 6 or 7, most of whom have taken daily care of the cats on rotational basis since HSLC took over the Leesburg Petco cat condos in December 2019. We provide food, water, clean the litter and cubbies, make sure the bedding is clean and that the cats are ok and healthy. We will also take them to vet appointments and facilitate meet and greets with potential adopters. Most importantly, we spend time giving them lots of love and attention. In addition to taking care of the cats, we promote HSLC and our other adoptable cats to anyone who stops by to look at them as we take care of them.
HSLC: Do a lot of cats find homes by showing off their personalities living in the condos?
DONNA: The Leesburg Petco store is a great location for marketing HSLC’s adoptable cats! The condos are located near the grooming salon and visible from the check-out stations, so they get lots of exposure and attention from customers in the store. The Petco staff is great at promoting our cats to their customers, and also give them lots of attention. We have adopted lots of cats out of these condos since we took them over. Since the condos are fairly roomy with separate cubbies for food, litter, resting and hiding, we’ve been able to put some bonded pairs in them and get them adopted. Both the HSLC volunteers and the Petco staff become emotionally attached to these cats and highly invested in seeing them find forever homes!
HSLC: Do the cats ever need a break from all that attention?
DONNA: We do try to rotate them out to a foster home after a couple of weeks so that they get a week or two cage break. This is another opportunity for people to do short-term fostering for us!
HSLC: How can people get involved, in addition to fostering and adopting?
DONNA: Leesburg Petco is now our only venue for showcasing our adoptable cats, besides online or at in-person events. This is why it is so important that we have volunteers to help care for any of our cats located in the condos. We are always looking for volunteers to help care for these kitties. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort, and the cats are so grateful for the attention!
HSLC: Great, so interested people should go to the HSLC website and sign up to volunteer, foster or adopt!
Donna, thank you so much for shedding light on the story of these cat condos! You are making a huge difference in the cats’ lives, and we’re sure if they could they’d say THANK YOU for all you and the other volunteers are doing to find loving homes for them!