Beaufort’s Tabby House cat adoption center shuts doors

The Beaufort County Animal Shelter’s Tabby House cat adoption center was opened in 2012 and soon became a place where cats were king. As of today, the adoption center has permanently closed its doors.

In a posting on the center’s Facebook page this morning, it was indicated that the coronavirus pandemic was mostly to blame for the closure, in addition to the new Beaufort County Animal Shelter’s ability to house cats for adoption, too.

“We are partly a victim of the pandemic, because the county has decided loss of tax revenue means they will no longer provide funds to pay for our rent and utilities, but we believe we could have overcome that with fund drives,” the posting said. “The loss did make us consider how, or if, Tabby House could survive on its own.”

According to the post, the original vision for Tabby House was to create a welcoming adoption center in an area of town where people would want to visit and cats could be showcased.

In 7 years the all-volunteer staff adopted out around 2,000 cats and kittens.

The posting continued, “the shelter director worked tirelessly to build a new shelter in the middle of the county and enlisted the help of Hilton Head Humane Association (HHHA) to make it happen.”

The rest of the post announcing the closure can be read below.

“One year ago, the new facility opened with space to shelter 100 felines ready for adoption.  Slowly, HHHA has assumed greater responsibility for intake and adoption.  The county also ramped up the spay/neuter program for strays as well as homed cats, meaning the number of cats/kittens coming to the shelter has decreased significantly.

So long as we remained part of the county, Tabby House could be assured of a share of kittens and cats.  Now that we would be just another shelter, HHHA is under no obligation to supply us with cats.  We could overcome any obstacle but the absence of our mission.

To all the volunteers, current and past, you have made a wonderful difference in the lives of both the cats and the people who adopted them, or even those who simply came to enjoy the company of our feline charges.  To those of you who adopted or visited, thank you.  You verified our purpose.  To those of you who donated, we will always be grateful.   Funds remaining in the Community Foundation Tabby House Fund will be used within Beaufort County Animal Service to enhance specific cat related programs and Tabby House will be memorialized.  To those who visited this page from all over the world, you made communicating with you a pleasure.”

We hope all of you will remember Tabby House fondly.