FARMINGTON – Some animal shelters are seeing more owners surrendering their pets, since the economy started to slide last winter.

There is a waiting list at Franklin County Animal Shelter for people wanting to give up their cats, dogs or other animals.

Likewise, another nonprofit shelter, Responsible Pet Care in Norway, which cares for cats, is taking calls every day from owners who need to let them go.

“Just yesterday there was a taped box left outside the shelter with a note saying, ‘I can no longer afford to feed the cat,'” Responsible Pet Care Manager Lucille Moffett said.

There have been more than the usual number of cats left since last winter, Moffett said. The cats just left outside in boxes particularly bother her.

“People cry when they come in, because they don’t want to get rid of them,” she said. “It’s devastating not just to them but the shelter staff as well.”

Both shelters try to help owners on the waiting list until an opening at the shelter or foster care for the animal can be found. Sometimes the shelters provide food to the owner, as much as is possible, until the animal can be taken in.

“We have seen a number of animals coming in from people who are being evicted and are having financial difficulty keeping the animal or affording animal care,” said Patty Lovell, manager at the Farmington shelter, which is always filled to capacity.

A surrender fee is charged to help pay veterinary bills and the staff and for supplies to treat the animals, Lovell said.

The Norway shelter also has a fee but waives it, Moffett said. While keeping a full house of 85 cats and another 40 cats in foster care, adoptions in Norway are still going well, she added.

But both shelters are feeling the pinch – not just of a full house of animals but also of the higher costs of running the shelter.

Donations at both shelters are down.

“With the economy so low, fundraisers haven’t been that successful,” Moffett said.

“People have been very generous about supplying bleach, paper towels and litter as needed, but cash donations are down,” Lovell said.

The Farmington shelter recently learned it would not be listed as a community partner on the United Way pledge sheet. United Way donations can add as much as $13,000 to the shelter’s budget. However, people can still donate to the shelter through the United Way by writing in the shelter’s name for a designated gift, Lovell said.

Donations to the shelter through the United Way have always been designated gifts, since the shelter is not an allocated agency, said Lisa Laflin, executive director. There were more than 40 organizations in the 2008 campaign that did not appear on the pledge sheet list.

A private Oxford facility, Allen Hill Animal Shelter, contracts with 12 area towns for care of stray animals picked up by the animal control officer. For them, the last couple of months have been very slow, owner Charles Landers said.

Friday there was not a dog in the shelter. Owners are frequently located within hours of being picked up, long before the animals can go up for adoption.

“With finances the way they are, it’s been surprising this year that people haven’t abandoned their dogs. In the past, people would dump their animals quite often,” he said.

The small shelter is unable to take surrendered animals but cares for strays.

“We didn’t want to see them on the street with no place to sleep or eat,” he said. The shelter suffered a setback this summer when heavy rains flooded it.