04/17/2025
The rescue response is SPOT ON!
Following our post requesting donations last night, we received this email. It prompted a discussion amongst our board which resulted in this awareness post. Members of the adoption team gave feedback of hearing similar comments regarding adoption fees, as well as members of our intake team gave feedback of hearing the term "donation of kittens" etc.
Several things within this email received are very wrong, but if you are not in rescue, I can see how it might be misunderstood, so I will clarify.
1. If you surrender kittens to ANY rescue, this is NOT a donation to that rescue. Donations to a rescue include funds, supplies, food, cleaning items, equipment, office supplies, items for fundraisers, etc. Donations are required to fund the kittens people SURRENDER to our care.
2. All rescues rely on donations to operate and to be able to extend care to the next animal in need. If donations are not kept in balance with the intake level, the rescue will no longer be functional.
3. Rescues do NOT get everything donated to them. Rescues are lucky to receive donations of supplies, funds, food, etc., but it generally is not near enough to cover the actual usage of the rescue--funds are therefore needed to complete the needs. It is a very common misunderstanding that rescues receive free vet care and all supplies given to us. While we all wish this were the case, this is definitely NOT the case. All rescues have enormous veterinary bills monthly that we all struggle to pay. We are lucky to work with a handful of veterinary offices who extend small discounts to rescues, but not all practices extend this generosity. Even rescues who have an in-house vet on staff, they still have bills included because a vet needs to get paid so they can live as well! Supply costs are still supply costs, medicine is still a cost, etc. Nothing in life is free--EVER. The misconception that "rescues get everything donated" is very false.
4. A rescue usually spends far more money on an animal than the requested adoption fee. This holds true across the board, across every rescue, every type of animal, etc. Rescues rely on private monetary donations to offset the expense costs to adoption fee and create a balance.
5. We request donations on intake posts when they arrive without a donation. When kittens arrive to us with a donation, we do not ask for donations towards their care.
The above information is applicable to EVERY rescue situation, and I am sure other rescues can add information to this that I have overlooked in writing this.
Now to hit on the cost of bottle babies. Hand raising bottle babies are significantly more expensive to rescue than weaned/older kittens. Here are a few things to consider:
1. Extra supplies required per litter: Each litter gets their own devoted bottles, ni***es, incubator unit, linens, etc. Formula is expensive, wipes are used in unimaginable numbers.
2. Electricity: The level of laundry (linens need to be cleaned daily), the incubator running 24/7 (the equivalent of a microwave oven), washing bottles after every feeding, this all increases the electricity bill noticeably.
3. Care Protocols: Our nursery program has protocols in place that provide milestone care steps to give the kittens the best chance of survival. This includes deworming, preventative antibiotics at the 2 week mark, extra distemper shot dosed to weight as a precaution. Older and weaned kittens do not need these additional items.
4. Supplies: Our nursery fosters stock supplies and equipment similar to a NICU for kittens. Feeding tubes, various syringes, medications, food types, wound care, parasite care, linens, kennels, incubators. Supplements used when encountering a fading kitten, emergency supplies, heat sources, etc.
5. Even despite these additional measures, protocols, vet care, supplies, etc., an orphaned kitten has a low survival rate. There are times when we devote supplies and funds to a kitten for weeks, and they ultimately pass away. This is a complete loss to our nursery in regards to finances, AND a complete loss to our teams heart.
All of this is in addition to the core costs rescues incur with intaking an older/weaned kitten:
Distemper vaccinations $25 ea, 3 needed $75
Rabies vaccination $25
Microchip $25
Flea Treatment $15
FIV/FeLV/Heartworm 3 way test $25
3 deworming treatments $15
Spay/Neuter (basic/standard) $100 (give or take a few depending on clinic)
Thats $280 in basic costs of a kitten age 8-12 weeks. This doesn't include any unplanned vet visits, sickness/infection, dry or wet food, litter, toys, etc. It also doesn't include the additional costs of raising neonates listed above (sky high electricity bill, formula, baby wipes, additional medication bills/vet bills, unique supplies for feeding and general care, etc).
Next, keep in mind that when we intake neonates, they remain in our nursery care program on average for 3 months. This is far different than other rescues who intake already weaned/older kittens who can intake a kitten, and place it for adoption within a week or two (or however long their quarantine period is before adoption). This significant length of time means significantly higher food commitments and cost of care. That same significant length of time in our rescue care is also what turns our bottle babies into the social butterflies our adopters have come to expect and love! That significant time also allows our fosters to know those kittens inside and out, and the kittens health is much better known as well.
We adopt our kittens for $150, moms/adults/juveniles for $75. We are in line with most reputable rescues in our area in regards to cost, yet our costs of care are higher due to the nature of our intakes. We can only do this because of generous private donors to offset the additional costs we incur.
Rescues exist because their teams have a love and devotion to helping animals who otherwise would have none. Rescues are not in existence to "profit." When you surrender a stray to any rescue, that is just that... it is a surrendered animal. It is not a "donation" used for profit. The costs of animal rescue are FAR, FAR greater than any adoption fee. Each animal surrendered to a rescue will cost that rescue hundreds--sometimes thousands--to bring that animal to be "adoption ready."
However, all of this said...The reward returned to fosters and rescues who see the complete process is priceless.
Thank you for your understanding, I hope this helps to clarify some financial confusion, and thank you to all who donated on our previous post. Every little bit helps and we are grateful for all of you who understand our need. Thank you so much for your support.
Unlike other professions, most rescues look forward to a day where there is no need for them, all animals are well cared for, and we can close our doors due to lack of need. Until that day, rescues across the globe will continue to fight for the ones needing a voice, and part of that fight is fundraising, requesting community support, all in an effort to help as many animals as we possibly can.
I would like to thank Lisa for emailing us last night and prompting this discussion amongst our board of directors. If one person has questions like this, it is likely that other people do as well. Thank you for bringing this confusion to light and allowing us the opportunity to clarify costs.
**This post is not intended to downplay costs of other rescues not catering to neonates. This post is written from our perspective, our costs. Our situation is unique due to the unique nature of the animals we care for. Every rescue is different and has different costs. We all work together to achieve the same goal.**
Animal Rescue & Sanctuary. Hill Hounds Rescue and Animal Sanctuary, Inc. Our New Bern, NC Chapter currently intakes canines up to 35 lbs.
