Our Mission
El Gato Charities works in tandem with El Gato Coffeehouse to foster and find homes for Houston area rescue cats.
Houston’s traditional animal shelters are often at capacity, and while exact numbers are very difficult to determine, the overpopulation of strays in Houston is so significant that it became a prominant issue in the 2019 mayoral race.
Large populations of free-roaming cats can be problematic for a number of reasons including cat health, human public health, and ecological/environmental protection.
One unfixed female cat and her kittens can produce thousands of cats in just a handful of years.
Since El Gato Coffeehouse opened in April 2017, we have found homes for nearly 430 previously-homeless cats. Since the formation of El Gato Charities in 2020, we have already TNRed 18 cats and successfully socialized and found furrever homes for 4 of the 18. (A fifth is still available for adoption!).
Collectively, we adopt approximately 100 cats per year and foster 18-20 cats at a time. This helps to relieve the burden placed on traditional shelters in Houston that are frequently at capacity.
Our Vision
We envision a city without animal overpopulation issues where all shelters are no-kill.
Goal One
We will formalize our intake process so that El Gato Charities is self-contained in intaking, fostering, and adopting out cats in our city.
Our 2-5 Year Goals
Goal Two
We will move to a new, bigger location where we will have much-needed space to accommodate the needs of the cats and our growth plans. This including socialization rooms for new cats to acclimate before integrating to the El Gato population and quarantine rooms to safely contain any sick kitties without the risk of spreading illness to the rest of the gatos.
Goal Three
We will establish a volunteer-run Trap-Neuter-Release program to serve our community of neighbors both human and feline. This program will have the capacity to lend traps, teach TNR skills, and provide vouchers for vet visits.
Serving our Houston neighbors both human and feline.
Our model offers an easy and comfortable way for individuals considering adoption to visit with our cats in order to find the right cat for their lifestyle. Even people who know that they do not want to or cannot adopt a cat can come and enjoy cat therapy in the cat cottage.
Our peaceful environment along with the 7 day trial adoption (i.e. sleepover) that we offer nearly eliminates instances of cats being returned after adoptions are finalized.