Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Will we ever be "kitten free?"

Year after year, I think with all the spaying and neutering that we're doing, our shelters can't be full of kittens again.  But, my hopes are usually dampened when in April they start filling with those furry bundles of love that, even though we try so hard to prevent, truly are hard to resist.  Now that doesn't mean I secretly love kitten season because I don't.  And, if we could successfully prevent kittens from being born in Sonoma County doesn't mean that we wouldn't have kittens available for adoption because all we'd have to do is step across the border into Lake County.  They'd be happy to share their surplus of kittens with our shelters.

Right now in Sonoma County we have multiple options available for anyone who has a cat that isn't altered.  Of course, Forgotten Felines holds weekly spay/neuter clinics for feral cats.  The cost is $30 per cat or whatever the client can afford, so cost should NOT be a factor.  If a client can't trap for themselves, we'll even find a volunteer trapper to assist.  Whatever obstacles our clients seem to have, we'll find a way to overcome them.  All they have to do is pick up the phone and communicate with us.

For tame cats, Petaluma has a monthly spay/neuter clinic for tame OR feral cats.  Same cost - $30 per cat or whatever the client can afford.  Rohnert Park has a FREE monthly spay/neuter clinic for tame cats.  And the Humane Society is now offering twice weekly clinics for the same $30 or whatever the client can afford for tame cats.  And, still we'll be seeing kittens.

What will it take for us to get to those people who, despite the options available, still will allow their cat to get pregnant and give birth?  Any and all ideas are welcome.  Check out our web site for our spay/neuter statistics from last year.  You'll see how hard we're trying to make Sonoma County "kitten free" which directly affects the number of cats put to death due to the lack of homes.   (The real goal here.)

Meow for now,
Jennifer

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