Lowndes County Statistics
Did you know that we are the only rescue that can pull cats from the Lowndes County Animal Shelter? That means that our efforts to spay/neuter, adopt, foster, among other programs are crucial to saving the lives of hundreds of cats every year! In our thirty years as an organization, our main focus has been to spay and neuter. One of our biggest projects in the recent years has been our TNR program (Trap-Neuter-Return). The numbers don’t lie. The more animals we are able to spay/neuter, the less must enter the shelter, causing a decrease in the amount of animals euthanized in the county shelter every year. Because of this hard work and our efforts to end overpopulation, the city of Valdosta will one day be no kill!
What is no kill? A no kill community means that more than 90% of the animals that enter a shelter make it out alive. In short, it means that animals are given a chance to survive and find a furever home rather than be euthanized for space or due to behavioral issues.
What does it mean to spay and neuter? The word ‘spay’ refers to the sterilization of female pets. The term ‘neuter’ be used to describe the sterilization of either female or male pets through the removal of reproductive organs.
What is TNR? Trap-Neuter-Return is an effective and humane way of controlling the feral cat population by capturing them (trapping), spaying/neutering, giving a rabies vaccine (Neuter), and releasing back to where they came from (Return).
Through three different programs (TNR, low cost spay/neuter, and citizen assist spay/neuter) as well as community engagement and education, we have seen a decrease in the amount of cats entering the shelter, and the amount of cats being euthanized in the shelter. Cats are self sufficient animals.
Unless they are too young, or sick or injured, there is no need to take them in. They can live their whole lives happily outside (and even happier if they are spay/neutered).
Check out our statistics below for a glimpse of the impacts our efforts have had!
Lowndes County Animal Shelter annual statistics: cats euthanized versus cats out alive
| Cats Euthanized | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| 1st Quarter | 238 | 161 | 88 |
| 2nd Quarter | 494 | 701 | 345 |
| 3rd Quarter | 432 | 550 | 269 |
| 4th Quarter | 337 | 408 | 160 |
| Yearly Totals | 1501 | 1820 | 862 |
| Cats Out Alive | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| 1st Quarter | 87 | 120 | 229 |
| 2nd Quarter | 163 | 18 | 212 |
| 3rd Quarter | 169 | 8 | 280 |
| 4th Quarter | 121 | 5 | 241 |
| Yearly Totals | 540 | 151 | 962 |
Lowndes County Animal Shelter cat euthanasia and cat intake versus The Humane Society of Valdosta/Lowndes County’s trap-neuter-returned cats
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| TNR Cats | 113 | 600 | 488 | 332 | 269 | 919 | 1310 |
| Euthanasia | 2144 | 1442 | 1436 | 1563 | 1501 | 1161 | 862 |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| TNR Cats | 113 | 600 | 488 | 332 | 269 | 919 | 1310 |
| LCAS Cat Intake | 2781 | 2225 | 2085 | 2180 | 2061 | 1972 | 1775 |
**Please note: The Humane Society of Valdosta/Lowndes County is NOT a kill shelter. We are a rescue who works with the Lowndes County Animal Shelter (a kill shelter) to save as many animals as possible from being killed. these numbers show that spaying and neutering does make a difference, as it dramatically decreases the population of homeless animals**
