Petcurean Names Winners of Uplift the Underdog: Cat Edition 2020

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Press release: Petcurean

Petcurean has announced the winners of Uplift the Underdog: Cat Edition 2020, a campaign designed to raise awareness of the many cats who are overlooked for adoption each year due to age, health conditions or other perceived “imperfections.”

According to the American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 3.2 million cats are taken into shelters across the United States each year. While 1.6 million are adopted, 860,000 are euthanized. North of the border, Humane Canada estimates that approximately 81,000 cats were taken into shelters in 2018, with only 62 per cent ultimately getting adopted. When you consider these measures do not include thousands of non-member organizations in both countries, the number of cats who desperately need help becomes much more apparent.

As part of their campaign to shine a light on these underdog cats, Petcurean invited rescue groups and shelters across the United States and Canada to nominate their most deserving cats from mid-January to February 2.  From the nominees, 12 finalists were chosen in two categories – six American cats and six Canadians – with one winner to be chosen from each country. All 12 received a major food donation, plus a commitment from Petcurean to cover the cost of their adoption fee.

Then, from February 18 to 24, the public was invited to help raise even more awareness by voting online for the cat they most wanted to help get adopted. Thousands of votes were cast in both countries, and on February 25, the winners were announced.

In the United States, the winner was Francine from the Sacramento SPCA.

In Canada, due to some technical issues, two winners were chosen instead of one: Bogart from Pantry Four Paws in Hamilton and Ernesto from Annex Cat Rescue in Toronto.