Stay-A-While Cat Shelter in North Royalton, Ohio

A local non-profit no-kill cat shelter named Stay-A-While is worth the visit if you're in North Royalton, Ohio. This shelter houses many cats, most of which are up for adoption. The exterior of the shelter looks just like the house next door. Once you enter the house, you are greeted by cats in the Office area. To your left is the "Big Room", which contains adoptable cats. They are free to roam around and you can play with them as you wish. Inside the Big Room is a smaller room that is home to the kittens that are available for adoption. Inside, you can sit on the chairs provided and watch the kittens in action as they jump and hop around to get your attention. These rooms are full of cat trees, benches and there is even an outside porch so that they can get some sun in the summertime.

At the other end of the property, there are a few more rooms, one being called "The Shy Room". These are cats that are still adoptable, but are not as friendly and may be afraid of other people or animals. This room is the quieter section of the shelter, to allow the shy cats some relaxation from their otherwise tense lives of being scared all the time.

Next to the Shy Room there are two other small rooms that also contain adoptable cats. Since the shelter doesn't want overcrowding in rooms, they often put some of the cats in these rooms, so that they have more space.

When new cats come into the shelter, they are taken into quarantine where they are tested and observed for a short while to make sure that everything is okay with the cat. After that they are placed in one of the many rooms at the shelter. All of the cats are given yearly shots and each has their own folder detailing everything the shelter knows about them.

When adopting, the shelter goes through a very extensive process, to insure that they are placing the cat in a good home; one that will treat the cat like one of the family.

They do have rules, such as: Families with children 5 years of age or younger can only adopt cats 6 months of age or older. The cat must be kept indoors 100% of the time. Cats cannot be given as a gift.

During the adoption process, the shelter has the potential owner sign an adoption agreement which details specifics on how they want the cat to be treated and to give it time to adjust to its new environment.

Volunteers are always welcome at the shelter, or if you would like to sit around and play with the cats, that is encouraged too! The shelter has a newsletter that they send out giving news on adoptions, and special items that the shelter needs at the time. Usually cleaning supplies, food and litter are at the top of the list.

If you aren't able to adopt a cat, you can choose to sponsor one. They send you a picture of your sponsored cat and you can visit him/her anytime that you like to bring them treats! The sponsor program is very popular with people that aren't able to have pets of their own. You may even get a Christmas card from your sponsor cat.

Stop in during business hours and take a look around. But make sure to bring a treat for the cats or they'll be mad at you!

You can find out about adoption policies, hours, fees and general info on their website: http://www.stayawhilecatshelter.org/