These Chicago Animal Shelters Are Taking In Houston's Stranded Pets

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 31, 2017 1:36PM

Several Chicago animal shelters are taking in cats and dogs from Houston, where Hurricane Harvey has caused devastating displacement and flooding since it hit on Friday.

Edgewater's Felines & Canines has said it will take in 100 cats displaced by the flood, according to DNAinfo, after identifying Houston's cats as being more desperately in need of help (other groups have stepped up to offer help for Houston's dogs). Because the cats are likely to come with health problems, the shelter is seeking donations from the public to help offset the costs of taking them on.

"Our goal is to help where help is needed most, so we are stepping up for the cats of Texas," the organization announced yesterday in a statement:

Additionally, the Anti-Cruelty Society and PAWS Chicago are working with Houston-based shelters and other areas to help out. PAWS, for example, received 40 dogs on Tuesday night from a Nashville shelter that was looking to make room for Texas animals, according to the Tribune. PAWS founder Paula Fasseas says the Chicago-area PAWS shelters could hold up to 100 pets, mostly pets that were already in shelters, as opposed to displaced pets that have Texas owners actively looking for them.

The Anti-Cruelty Society is also in the process of transporting pets from Houston to Chicago, and spokeswoman Colette Bradley told the Tribune that the shelter will particularly need volunteers to help move the dogs and cats from the airport to the shelter's River North center, and people who are able to open up their homes to larger dogs that need extra exercise and space to move around. If you want to help, you can fill out the shelter's online form here.