Our Standards of Care
At Artemis House Sanctuary, we believe every animal deserves safety, dignity, appropriate medical care, and the opportunity to live as fully and comfortably as possible. Our standards of care reflect our commitment to ethical treatment, responsible rescue, and lifelong stewardship.
Lifelong Commitment
Cats accepted into Artemis House are provided a permanent safety net. Animals who are not suitable for adoption because of age, medical needs, temperament, disability, or limited socialization may remain at the sanctuary for life. We do not place arbitrary limits on how long an animal may remain in our care.
Medical Care
Cats receive veterinary care appropriate to their individual needs, including vaccinations, spay/neuter, diagnostic testing, treatment of illness and injury, medication, dental care, and ongoing management of chronic conditions when needed.
Medical decisions are guided by the welfare and quality of life of the individual animal, while also taking into account available resources, urgency, prognosis, and the needs of other animals in our care. When resources are limited, we prioritize treatment based on medical necessity, suffering, likelihood of benefit, and overall impact on animal welfare.
Age, disability, chronic illness, or lack of adoptability are not, by themselves, reasons to withhold care.
Special-Needs and Medically Vulnerable Cats
Artemis House is committed to providing care for cats who may have difficulty finding placement elsewhere, including cats with chronic illness, disabilities, advanced age, and conditions such as FeLV, FIV, or a history of FIP.
A diagnosis alone is not considered a reason for euthanasia. When a cat can maintain a comfortable and meaningful quality of life, our goal is to provide the care and environment necessary for that cat to thrive.
Safe Housing and Disease Management
We use quarantine, medical isolation, appropriate testing, sanitation, and thoughtful population management to reduce disease transmission and protect vulnerable animals.
Cats are housed according to their medical needs, temperament, social compatibility, and safety. When separate populations are medically appropriate, we maintain dedicated spaces for them.
Nutrition and Daily Care
Cats receive consistent access to food, clean water, shelter, litter facilities, and daily observation. Special diets and feeding plans are provided when medically necessary or appropriate for an individual cat's health and wellbeing.
Enrichment and Quality of Life
Sanctuary care means more than providing food and shelter. We strive to give cats opportunities for play, exploration, climbing, rest, social interaction, outdoor access within secure cat-safe environments, and the freedom to choose when and how they interact with people whenever possible.
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We recognize that quality of life looks different for different cats, particularly those who are feral, semi-feral, elderly, disabled, or recovering from trauma.
Respect for Feral and Unsocialized Cats
Feral or poorly socialized cats are not considered disposable simply because they cannot be safely handled.
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When appropriate, we provide sanctuary care, pursue gradual socialization, or use TNVR and return-to-field approaches for healthy community cats whose established environment can safely support them.
Adoption
Cats who are appropriate for adoption are placed with the goal of providing a safe, permanent, and compatible home. Adoption decisions consider the individual cat's personality, health, history, and needs as well as the proposed living environment. Artemis House does not support unrestricted outdoor roaming and prioritizes homes that provide secure indoor environments, catios, or appropriately secured outdoor spaces.
Population Prevention
We believe preventing suffering is as important as responding to it. Artemis House supports spay/neuter, TNVR, community-cat management, responsible adoption, and other humane strategies that reduce unwanted litters and unnecessary shelter intake.
Humane Handling
Animals in our care are treated with patience and respect. We favor low-stress handling, gradual acclimation, and approaches that recognize fear, trauma, and individual temperament.
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Behavioral difficulty, fearfulness, or lack of socialization alone are not reasons for euthanasia.
End-of-Life Care
Artemis House does not euthanize animals for space, length of stay, feral status, age, disability, lack of adoptability, or behavioral inconvenience.
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Euthanasia is considered only when an animal is experiencing severe or irreversible suffering and reasonable treatment, pain management, or supportive care can no longer provide an acceptable quality of life.
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Whenever circumstances allow, these decisions are made with veterinary guidance and with the animal's comfort, dignity, and welfare as the primary considerations.
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Our commitment is to preserve life whenever a meaningful quality of life can be maintained, and to provide a peaceful and compassionate end when it cannot.
Accountability and Continuous Improvement
Animal welfare practices evolve as veterinary medicine, shelter medicine, and our understanding of feline behavior advance. Artemis House seeks to continually improve our practices through veterinary collaboration, education, careful recordkeeping, and review of the needs of the animals entrusted to our care.
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Above all, our responsibility is to the individual animal: to protect their wellbeing, respect their nature, alleviate suffering, and provide compassionate care throughout their lives.