Volunteers, foster network helped Gonzales Pet Adoption Center handle 377 intakes in 2024, Kingdom Rescue tells council

Kingdom Rescue and staff from the Gonzales Pet Adoption Center told the Gonzales City Council on Jan. 30 that community fosters and volunteers helped the shelter manage a surge of animals in 2024 and supported a planned transition of operations.

In an annual report presented to Mayor Souker and the council, Tracy Chase, who manages GPAC records, said the shelter recorded 377 cat intakes for the year and that Kingdom Rescue as a rescue organization took in an additional 100 cats for placement. "Our total intakes for GPAC this year were 377 cats," Chase said. She described Shelterluv (Shelter Love) as the database they used to track intakes, medical records and transfers.

The presentation said GPAC achieved about 250 adoptions in 2024, of which 86 were direct adoptions from the Gonzales facility; other placements were via partner adoption events, transfers and foster placements. The shelter reported 96 animals returned to colonies after trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNR) work, and 40 cats were transported to out-of-state rescue partners over the holidays.

Nut graf: The group told the council the combination of a high intake rate, neonatal kittens and a contagious disease outbreak in summer made shelter diversion and an expanded foster program essential to saving animal lives; Kingdom Rescue urged the council to support continued rescue partnership as GPAC transitions to city management.

The presenters said the shelter endured an outbreak of panleukopenia, a highly contagious feline disease: "We had an outbreak of panleukopenia ... it's untreated. It has a 90 percent mortality rate," Dominique Lee, GPAC medical lead, said, adding that their treatment produced an "over an 85 percent live rate" among treated cases. Lee and other presenters credited foster care and medical foster supports with many of the saved animals.

Kingdom Rescue and GPAC staff also described the shelter's diversion work: volunteers and residents were trained to care for neonatal kittens, and the rescue supplied formula, bottles and medicine to community fosters. Rose Louise Jones, a resident who spoke during public comment, described a personal foster case: "All 5 of them survived," Jones said of five neonatal kittens she bottle-fed after shelter staff guided her through medical care.

Financials and capacity: presenters said fundraising and transfers helped narrow a recurring monthly shortfall. Jessica (last name not specified), who described online fundraising, said the group's campaigns raised about $36,798 in the year and that the single event "Jordan's Way" raised more than $9,000. Shelter staff said per-cat average costs were about $350 and estimated a monthly operating shortfall in the $1,500–$3,500 range depending on intake volume.

Recommendations and transition: presenters said GPAC will continue operations with Christie (lastname not specified) as building manager and that Kingdom Rescue intends to act as a rescue partner to assist foster placement, transports and auxiliary programs. Christy, introduced as the current building manager, stressed the importance of the barn‑cat program that relocates feral or nuisance cats to working farms and similar homes.

Council reaction and next steps: Mayor Souker and council members thanked the volunteers and presenters. The presenters asked the council to support continuity in shelter management and to consider shelter-capacity guidelines and continued partnership with local law enforcement for intake coordination. No formal council action was taken on the presentation during the meeting.

Ending: The presenters left the council with a request that the city consider support for foster recruitment, continued funding for medical care and possible grant or software support to improve recordkeeping and public access to adoption information.