FORT WAYNE, IN – With the Fourth of July soon approaching, Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control urges pet owners to take extra precautions to keep their pets safe and comfortable.

Summer months, especially around the Fourth of July, are the busiest time of year for animal shelters. To ensure your pets stay safe at home this holiday, here are some helpful tips:

  • Keep your pets inside in a confined room with curtains over any windows.
  • Try playing calming music or playing Animal Planet on the TV.
  • Give your pets enrichment and their favorite toys so they can keep their minds busy and not focused on the loud fireworks. Try filling a toy with peanut butter or various treats.
  • Some pets are more anxious than others. We recommend talking to your veterinarian to see if any medication could aid in keeping your pet’s stress level down.
  • If you have cats, we recommend purchasing and using a non-sponsored product called Feliway. It puts out a calming pheromone that is unique to only cats.
  • If you need to take your dog outside to use the bathroom, make sure they are wearing a properly fitted collar or harness while they are leashed even if you have a fence.
  • Double check your fence to make sure there are no openings or loose areas, as well as checking that all latches are secure.
  • Make sure all pets are wearing up-to-date I.D. tags on their collar.
  • Make sure your pet is also microchipped and that the information is current. FWACC offers microchipping for just $15. To check to see if your pet’s microchip is up-to-date, visit our website.

While we understand you might want your dog(s) to be a part of the festivities, it can be overwhelming for many dogs. A stressed or anxious dog is more likely to try to run away or even bite. For the safety of you, your family, and your dog(s), please keep them safely inside your home.

Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control will be closed Monday, July 4 for the holiday. If your dog or cat happens to get loose, start looking immediately. File a lost pet report through Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, post to Lost Dogs of Fort Wayne’s Facebook or Lost Cats of Fort Wayne, and check our website daily for current housed stray animals. Lost pets will be able to be picked up starting Tuesday, July 5 when the shelter reopens at 11 a.m.  If you find a lost pet it’s important to get it checked for a microchip at a veterinarian’s office, pet store or by an Animal Control Officer so its owner can be contacted.

FORT WAYNE, IN - Black Forest Café owners Julie and Emily Pressler, Animal Care & Control staff, and city officials gathered June 9 to celebrate the Grand Opening of the café that will have cats from Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control available for adoption.

The whimsical German-themed cat café is the first of its kind in Fort Wayne. The mother-daughter duo are hoping to create a relaxing space for people to come enjoy specialty beverages and a variety of pastries; along with the option to visit for an hour in a cozy room with adoptable cats.

“ We are so excited to share the joy that cats bring through a unique and fun experience” owners Julie and Emily Pressler said. 

Customers can walk in and get a crafted coffee drink sourced from Old Crown. A separate room will house the adoptable cats. Guests can pay $10 for an hour session in the cat room. Guests can plan ahead by booking a time slot to visit the cats online. No reservation is needed to visit the café side of the business.

All the cats at the café are available for adoption through Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control. As the largest open access shelter in northeast Indiana, the shelter is often overwhelmed with cats during warmer months.

“We are so excited to partner with Julie and Emily to offer another avenue of adoption for cats in our care, “ Animal Care & Control Director Amy-Jo Sites said. “More cats come through our doors than any other animal and we’re always looking for ways to ensure every healthy, adoptable animal has a positive outcome. This unique opportunity is a great addition to our life-saving efforts.”

Black Forest Cat Café is located in the JoAnn Plaza at 4716 Coldwater Road. To learn more about the café click HERE. To learn more about adopting from Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control click HERE.

FORT WAYNE, IN – Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control is launching a new life-saving campaign urging citizens to stop “kitnapping” unweaned kittens.

Kitnapping is when kittens are prematurely separated from their mothers (usually before 8 weeks of age) which drastically decreases their chance of survival. This often happens when citizens find a litter of kittens and immediately bring them to the shelter. We understand it’s in an effort to help, but more often than not it’s causing more harm when they are separated from their mother.

In 2021, nearly 2,100 kittens were brought to the shelter. Of those more than 420 died. Those deaths were largely due to kittens failing to thrive, a result of not getting the important immunity that their mother offers. So far this year nearly 80 kittens that will need to be exclusively bottle-fed have come to the shelter and into the foster program – 26 of which have come in the first 10 days of May.

FWACC is encouraging anyone who finds a of litter of kittens to first see if the kittens are healthy and well-fed. If that’s the case, their best chance at survival is to leave them where they are and let them stay with their mother until they are weaned – then they should be brought to the shelter to be considered for adoptions or the community cat program. If the kittens are in immediate danger, injured or appear underweight they should be brought into the shelter immediately. If bringing the kittens into the shelter is your only option, it is best to use a humane live trap to get the mother too so they can stay together.

The shelter is in immediate need of donations and fosters to help save the lives of bottle-fed kittens coming in each day. The foster program operates solely on donations and does not use tax-payer funds.

To learn more about how to tell if a kitten is healthy, how to tell their age, donate and to sign-up to foster click HERE

 

Director Amy-Jo Sites

AmyJo

Adoption Lobby Hours:

12:00 - 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
12:00 - 6:00 p.m. Wednesday
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. First Saturday of each month


CLOSED Monday, Saturday & Sunday FOR ADOPTIONS
To submit a pet adoption profile, you must do so 15-minutes before closing to allow sufficient time for processing.


Business Office Hours (lost & found- receiving lobby- citations or other law enforcement concerns):

11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mon-Fri
CLOSED Saturday & Sunday


Animal Control Officer Assistance
260-427-1244
9am-8pm Monday - Friday
After 8pm, weekend & holidays,
call 260-449-3000

After Hours / Immediate Officer Assistance:
1:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. Emergencies
260-449-3000


General Contact Information:
Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control
3020 Hillegas Road
Fort Wayne IN 46808
260-427-1244
After 8 p.m. and on weekends and holidays, call 449-3000 for assistance.
Fax: 260-427-5514


It is our mission to serve our community in a humane, public safety capacity while working to keep pets with loving families by providing education opportunities and resources or facilitating re-homing or adoption when necessary.

WebsiteBadge Color

BCFP Better City for Pets Seal

orphan kitten club

BPF Logo