It’s Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week, and that means it’s time to thank the hardworking people who save so many animal lives and make adoptions possible.

According to the ASPCA, approximately 1.6 million shelter cats are adopted every year from shelters around the U.S. What would we do with that many more cats on the streets?

There are lots of ways you can help your local animal shelter or rescue.

Volunteer

Animal rescue isn’t a profitable business. It is expensive and time consuming, so it relies a lot on dedicated volunteers. You could be one of them! You already know how to scoop a litterbox, so you have skills they need.

Your local rescue probably needs foster homes for cats. If you don’t have room in your home for fosters, maybe you have time to help out at an adoption center or helping staff adoption events.

If you can’t do that, there are ways your local shelter may need help that doesn’t need direct contact with animals, like helping with data entry or social media.

Collect Donations

What does your local cat rescue need? If you ask them or check their Amazon wish list, you might be surprised it’s a lot more than cat food and litter!

Many rescues need donations of paper towels, bleach, and other cleaning supplies to keep their facilities clean. They may also need office supplies to generate the paperwork necessary for adoption contracts or hand sanitizer to help keep potential adopters from accidentally spreading germs between the cats up for adoption.

Before you get rid of those old towels, ask your local rescue organization if they want them. They may not match your new shower curtain, but homeless cats won’t care about that.

Of course, there’s nothing like donating money to your rescue organization. It helps pay for veterinary costs and for supplies needed to keep caring for cats until they find happy homes.

Adopt

If there is room in your family, one of the best things you can do for your local rescue organization is adopt a cat. That makes room in their care to rescue another cat in need.

Say Thanks

It doesn’t matter whether it’s this week or any week, be sure you thank the volunteers you meet who work in animal rescue. They give so much of their time and their hearts to helping cats.

Without volunteers in animal rescue, our family wouldn’t include Cupcake, Newton, or Pierre. So we thank everyone involved in animal rescue from the bottom of our hearts!