DE SOTO, Iowa — AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport will soon revert to exclusively a dog shelter again after announcing that the rescue is phasing out its cat program.

The rescue’s leadership says it will uphold its contracts with Waukee and the City of West Des Moines, but when those contracts end in June, so will its cat program.

Amy Heinz, the founder and CEO of AHeinz57 tells us that one cat alone costs the rescue $165 upfront for the necessary vaccinations, medications, and any surgeries needed like spaying or neutering. That’s not including the overhead for facilities, cost of employees, or care for other animals.

Heinz says the rescue started as dogs and transport, and to keep that mission alive, certain aspects have to change.

“We can’t go bankrupt, and if we continue down this path, the amount that the cats cost us is maybe offset by a quarter of donations … The contracts help, but not every city wants to pay for cats. Some will flat-out say they’re not going to. I can’t go bankrupt. My house, my car, and my life insurance policy are all on this. So, if this goes under everything I have ever worked for in my entire life goes under,” said Heinz.

Heinz said instead of taking feral cats off of the streets, TNR programs that trap, neuter, and release the cats need to be utilized to help combat the growing feral cat population.
“There is a crazy number of feral cats [in Iowa.] and they don’t want to come in here and live in here. TNR programs work, and people need to trust that they work and do TNR in their communities. The cities and counties need to step up and pay for it because they all expect us to take it on and we just can’t,” said Heinz.

When asked about their own experience with cat intake, and how AHeinz not accepting cats anymore, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa released this statement.

“In 2024, the ARL took in over 7,200 cats— and while it’s already a strain on our capacity, we’re committed to helping the animals that need us and understand the challenging gap between the actual cost to care for a cat versus the fee most people will pay to adopt one even if the pet comes fully vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and microchipped – which is a big cost savings to prospecting pet parents.

AHeinz’s decision to end their cat program over the next year highlights the need for collaboration between shelters and local communities to tackle these challenges. Providing programs and resources like expanding access to free and low-cost spay/neuter programs is key to preventing overpopulation and keeping cats in loving homes. Additionally, Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs also humanely manage populations of community cats and reducing the number of animals entering shelters. Working together is crucial, so that we can focus on helping the pets and the people that love them.”

Heinz said that the rescue is working to place cats currently in their care into loving homes and that many of the cat’s adoption fees have been reduced or sponsored completely, making them free. For a list of available cats from AHeinz57, click here.