It often takes a village, and in the case of Cat Depot, that has proven to be true. The shelter got its start in 2003 when volunteers teamed up with animal rights groups and the Sarasota Animal Services to rescue several hundred cats. The cats were residing in an abandoned animal shelter and desperately needed care and attention. The groups teamed up to safely transfer the cats to a warehouse, and Cat Depot was born.At the start of 2004, Cat Depot was able to begin offering the 262 surviving cats for adoption. Since then, the shelter has operated at full capacity. Unlike other shelters in the region, Cat Depot is a no-kill shelter. No cat leaves the shelter without the guarantee that will be going to a safe and loving home.Not everyone can adopt a cat. Cat Depot vets each person before they release the cat to the home. A pre-adoption questionnaire helps the shelter match the right person with the right cat. The adoption fees at Cat Depot are low, between $75 and $100 per cat. The fees cover the cost of standard vaccinations, a physical examination and pet insurance for 30 days. Each new owner also gets a free bag of dry cat food and wet food for cats.Cat Depot is more than a pet shelter, though. An outlet store is a key part of the shelter's services. Cat lovers can find everything they need at the outlet store. Educational programming is an essential part of the services provided by Cat Depot as well.In 2010, the shelter was able to greatly expand its educational programming by opening an 800 square foot educational and activity center. Programs offered by the shelter now include a three week camp for elementary school students in the summer as well as adoption assistant training and feral cat training.Spaying and neutering is one of the best ways to keep the cat population down. Many feral or abandoned cats are not fixed, leading to large colonies. Volunteers can borrow a trap from Cat Depot to catch feral cats.