WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — West Des Moines Public Services is on the hunt for a contractor to help continue efforts to take in and adopt out cats in the city, but in the meantime, they have to manage on their own.

A portion of West Des Moines Public Services’ job is helping take in cats and dogs, then either reconnecting them with their homes or getting them care before sending them to a shelter.

West Des Moines had a partnership with AHeinz57 for cats and dogs that ended in June. While AHeinz57 renewed their contract to take in dogs, AHeinz57 suspended their cat program due to high costs.

The City issued a Request for Proposal, RFP, hoping to find a new cat contractor in an effort to not have a gap in care and services, but wasn’t able to find a match right away.

“We asked for contractors who want to respond to fill out the document, and we have certain specifications and there were just a few issues with the respondents,” said Gary Rank, WDM Public Service Interim Director. “What they put in there were lacking information. So, we chose to not select any of those and to go back out.”

West Des Moines then released a new RFP, with specific requests that their new contractor have neonatal care services, kitten services, spaying/neuter and chipping services. Rank says, though the immediate need is there, they want the right fit to ensure proper care in the city.

“We know it’s time is of essence. We get that,” said Rank. “But in the same token, we want to make sure we got the right fit and that the animals are going to be taken care of like they should be. That’s the, that’s our main goal.”

While the city continues its search, Public Services is doing its best to run animal control services out of the small kennel they have set up. However, their shelter can only house around 24 cats at the absolute maximum, and they can’t provide special care.

“We don’t have the capacity such as a large kennel would have, we also for neonatal kittens or special needs cats. I don’t have staff 24 hours a day. I don’t have volunteers,” Rank. “It’s just that’s not our business plan. So that’s another reason to go out and ask for a contractor to help us with the process.”

West Des Moines Public Services took in around 150 cats in 2023 and around 218 in 2024. However, without a partner, they’ve only taken in 27 cats so far this year. Rank says they’ve had to be more selective about intakes without the additional help.

“Would we like to catch them earlier and socialize them? Absolutely. But without having that resource, I can’t do that because that’s jeopardizing the health, safety, and life of that animal. I just I’m not going to do it,” Rank said. “Once we have a contractor that we can work with, those numbers start to go back up.”

The city also utilizes a TNR program, which takes in cats, spays/neuters them, and releases them. However, this program doesn’t show its results immediately.

“We still think the TNR program is invaluable to us. All the cats that have been turned loose or have gotten loose,” said Rank. “If we can start eliminating some of those breeding pairs, it’s going to start to decrease the number of cats that are out there. It’s going to take time.”

Public Services says they are open to working with several contractors and working with contractors to make sure they have the needed resources. West Des Moines is accepting proposals till June 30th, Rank says they hope to secure a contractor before harsher conditions return.