There’s no shortage of cats at the Whitman County Humane Society

The Whitman County Humane Society in Pullman, Washington, takes care of all kinds of animals waiting for adoption. The organization shelters cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and even the occasional snake.

Elle Barnes, the shelter operations manager, has a simple goal for the animals she cares for: “Whatever it takes to get them adoptable so that we can find them forever homes,” she said. 

Barnes said this year, adoptions have been down, but intakes have been up. She attributes that to “kitten season”  which she says sweeps the nation during the summer.

“It’s when there’s little bits of warm bursts or heat, in the temperature outside, and then cats start going into heat, and then we end up with babies a few months later,” she said.

At the shelter, cats make up the majority of the animals available.

“We have right around 87 cats and maybe closer to 90 now that we have these kittens in,” she said.

Some of the kittens in the shelter that day were only nine days old — they were found by a local community member. That’s one way the humane society will get animals in. Another way is when pets are surrendered. 

Being in a university town like Pullman, it’s easy to put the blame on college students — think adopting a cat in August, and surrendering it in May. But Barnes says that’s not the case.

“A lot of our adoptions that happen here, they’re with many types of people, but quite a few of them will be with college students, we’re in a college town,” Barnes said. “And I don’t feel like we have a high re-intake from those students.”

Barnes said returns are relatively low overall. And it’s not just older adults who can’t care for their pets anymore.

“Whatever group of people gets hit with those ‘free puppies outside of Walmart’ is usually who’s coming back to me,” she said.

Elle Barnes, the shelter operations manager, holds one of the more talkative cats, Frankie. (Credit: Phineas Pope / NWPB)

Later, Barnes walked around the shelter to a room full of cages bursting with kittens. The current roster includes Violin, Bucatini and Cavatappi, among many others. One kitten named Compactor got his name because he bit the person who found him.

In a cage near the front of the shelter were Beep and Omelet. Beep was found feral, and was named because of beeping sounds he’d make. Omelet was feeling just a little bit lonely — all of his litter mates had been adopted, but he was left behind. 

A content pair of cats: Beep, left, and Omelet, right. (Credit: Phineas Pope / NWPB)

“They were cuddling all day long, and Omelet was beginning to actually play instead of just sitting in a corner,” Barnes said. “And so we realized Omelet needed an emotional support animal, and Beep is Omelet’s ESA (emotional support animal).” 

The two cats are such best friends, that they’ll have to be adopted as a pair.

Barnes said in the long term, she’d love to see the shelter expand to accommodate more animals. 

But in the meantime: “I want more than anything for our community to feel like we’re there to support them,” she said.

This story is part of a continuing series focused on regional nonprofits.