Shelter Resumes Cat Adoptions After Distemper Outbreak

Cats are once again available for adoption at Orange County’s main animal shelter in Orange.

A 30-day quarantine imposed last month because of an outbreak of feline distemper at the county-run shelter was shortened to 14 days on Wednesday, which means the public now can begin choosing cats proven to be disease-free.

Because state law requires a four-day impound of animals before adoption, as well as spaying or neutering, animals selected Wednesday or today wouldn’t be ready to take home until at least Monday, shelter officials said.

“We are getting a handle on the disease and ready to start up the adoption again,” said Mike Spurgeon, chief of regulatory services at the county Health Care Agency, which oversees animal control operations.

The shortening of the quarantine period for cats under age 5 comes after a rocky period for the shelter, whose leadership came under fire in December for failure to control the distemper outbreak, which began in October.

Some people who had adopted shelter cats complained that the animals became sick or infected cats already in the home, and all the animals died. Shelter officials said that at least 25 cats died of the disease before the quarantine was imposed.

The head veterinarian, Dr. Richard Evans, resigned this month after being criticized by other veterinarians, animal advocates and even his superiors at the Health Care Agency for not vaccinating and isolating all healthy cats to control the disease at the shelter, on The City Drive. When the 30-day quarantine was first imposed Dec. 28, shelter officials said it would be too costly to vaccinate cats coming into the facility.

But on Dec. 30, Spurgeon ordered all sick cats destroyed and all others inoculated and placed in separate cages. The shelter also began installing dozens of individual cages to quarantine the felines for the 14-day incubation period for the disease.

On Wednesday, 124 cats were housed at the shelter, and all but six were in separate cages. Eight cages were empty. Workmen also were beginning construction of a large area to accommodate as many as 200 more separate cat cages recently ordered, Spurgeon said.

The enclosed area, called a “cat adoption pavilion,” is intended to make it easier for the public to view cats that are available for adoption.

The shelter has been widely criticized by animal advocates for not adequately promoting pet adoptions and for housing cats in gang cages, which they say promotes fighting and disease.

To ease cat adoptions, the shelter will have a list of animals available posted at the service counter.

Cats brought to the shelter today still must be quarantined for 14 days to screen for distemper. Cats 5 years or older generally have developed immunity to the otherwise fatal disease; holds can be placed on older cats after they have been held at the shelter for the four-day minimum set to allow owners time to claim their lost pets.

Thousands of cats are destroyed each year at the shelter. In 1998, the shelter impounded 12,038 cats and killed 9,535 of them. Just 254 were claimed by owners, and 2,011 were adopted.

Shelter officials urge all pet owners to ensure that their animals are properly vaccinated, have licenses and wear permanent identification.

The shelter can be reached at (714) 935-6848. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and until 7 p.m. Wednesday. It costs $55 to adopt a cat or kitten. The fee includes vaccinations, flea treatment, neutering and a cat carrier. The shelter is on The City Drive South, one block north of the Garden Grove Freeway.