So how did we get from Feral Cat Colony Assistance to Lower-Income Spay/Neuter?

“The focus of our Cat Spay of Santa Fe program is to keep the cats -- most at risk of being abandoned outdoors or relinquished to shelters -- in their original homes by providing free and convenient spay/neuter assistance.”

When we moved to Santa Fe from Ann Arbor we changed more than our address.  We also changed the focus of our cat spay/neuter programs -- from feral colony trap-neuter-return (TNR) to lower-income pet cat sterilization.  Not because we don't get the value -- or the urgency -- of reducing feral cat populations -- but simply because we do.  We just believe we can be more effective in complementing in-place TNR programs by doing pre-emptive TNR -- fixing lower-income pet cats to keep them from being abandoned outdoors and exacerbateing the feral cat problem.  Borrowing from our new web site's background information, here's why we made the shift:  

Today we think of cat spay/neuter in terms of population control — but routine cat sterilization actually began in the 1950s with the introduction of kitty litter — long before cat population was seen to be a problem. Kitty litter brought cats indoors — and behaviors that were perfectly acceptable outdoors (yowling, spraying, and fighting) became unacceptable indoors. As their caregivers started complaining, vets offered the "fix" of sterilization. Fixing the cats did in fact end most of the noxious behaviors — and cats became accepted (and cherished) indoor pets.

Today, some 85% of indoor pet cats have been fixed — but that leaves 15% unfixed — and in our experience (10 years, working with both pet and feral cat caregivers), these unfixed indoor pet cats are the ultimate source of most of the kittens born each year. While we support and applaud those conducting TNR programs, we've come to the conclusion that the colonies established under these programs cannot be stabilized until that 15% of unfixed pet cats is significantly reduced — and in our opinion, that can happen only when sterilization services are both free and convenient.

In managing our TNR program in Michigan (almost 2,000 colonies), we continually received requests to fix a few new cats that had just "shown up" (frequently pregnant). Initially we thought, well, that's okay — it's nice that these free-roaming cats found a colony to join. But when some of these cats started showing up in boxes — on doorsteps — and kept "showing up" year after year — the realization started to dawn that these cats weren't free-roaming — but abandoned.

Then, in managing our lower-income spay/neuter program (almost 2,000 participants) and talking with the families, we began to understand what was happening. Most people find the behaviors of unfixed pet cats (male or female) very annoying — and most know the solution is to fix them — but when it's stretching the budget just to buy food and litter, paying for sterilization (even with a low-cost program) isn't out of the question, but it is a significant burden that's very easy to put off. And then when that behavior happens to strike a famiy member as intolerable — or when the cat becomes pregnant and the family can't deal with the prospect of a litter (or more likely, yet another litter) — and the family sees their choices as taking the cat to an animal control shelter (where they believe the cat will be killed) or dropping them off in the country at a house that looks "cat friendly" — it's hard to see them as "bad" — or "careless" — or "irresponsible" — more just "human".

To reach this group, we'll need the cooperation of the veterinary clincs in our service area (Santa Fe County). Convenience (near-access to the service) is as important as cost — especially to the elderly and infirm. Of the 57 small-animal vet clinics in our service area in Michigan, over 50 worked with us — and we worked regularly with 30 because of their location and pricing.

So for the time being, we've chosen to focus on the pet cats of low income families - living indoors or out. If we can significantly reduce the abandonments and kitten births of these cats, TNR has a fighting chance of working. We encourage those doing TNR continue to do so — even those TNRing just a few feral cats hanging out around their porch, shed or barn. And we'll help to the extent we can.

Our current program limits us to 3 cats per family — but that's how most feral cat colonies start,  If you're feeding outdoor cats and fix them right away you'll prevent a full-blown colony from forming in the first place.  And if you do, we'll may be able to help with the cost.

Cat Spay of Santa Fe is open for business at Zimmer-Foundation.org

Easter marks -- not only the beginning of spring time -- but also the start of kitten season  -- the eternity from early spring to late fall when intact female cats go in and out of heat every two weeks -- even when they're nursing baby kittens.

Nationally, most intact female cats have at least two litters a year -- in warmer climates or years when winters are less frigid -- three litters are not uncommon.  And, when female kittens are born early in the breeding season, they'll be sexually mature in 16 weeks and contribute a litter of their own during the same kitten season they were born in.

Spring and summer are also the time of year when pet adoptions are at their highest.  Shelters are kept busy fostering and socializing baby kittens and adopting out as many as they can before they get too old to be selected.   Media announcements alert us to the shelters' plight of too many kittens and not enough homes -- and yet the irony is that the shelters only see the top layer of available kittens.  85% of all cat and kitten adoptions are done person-to-person not shelter-to-person.    And -- potentially -- an even higher number of kittens don't make it into adoption statistics at all -- they simply are born and continue to live -- not as companion pets but wildlife -- in feral colonies with their mothers and fathers -- much the same way that squirrels and rabbits live. 

As cute and loveable as kittens are -- the problem of cat overpopulation is not -- in fact it's dark and ugly.   But -- it does have a known and implementable solution:  pro-active sterilization of all cats and kittens living indoors or out -- the sooner the better.

We've been working pretty hard over the last few months getting our Foundation registered in New Mexico, checking accounts set up, and literature prepared so we'd be ready to start issuing our free spay/neuter vouchers before kitten season got too far along.  The last piece of the process was publishing our web site and it was completed last week.  So now we're open for business at Zimmer-Foundation.org.  We can issue free veterinary vouchers -- covering the full cost to spay or neuter up to three cats -- for Santa Fe County families with annual incomes under $40,000 per year. The procedure is simple:

If you live in an apartment complex or a mobile home park and have an e-mail address, click on our e-mail application and complete the form. Once you’re done, click the e-mail button (at the top of the form) to send it to us for processing.

If you don’t have an e-mail address and/or you own your home, you’ll need to use the mail-in application. After you complete the form online -- print it out using the double-sided setting on your printer-- and simply fold it in thirds with our address on the outside. It’s pre-addressed so all you need to do is add a first class stamp and stick it in a mailbox. (Homeowners also need to include the 2009 tax information requested as independent verification of annual family income.)

We’ll process applications quickly and send vouchers for qualified cats through the mail.  If you don't hear back from us within 10 days, call or e-mail us for an update.  The voucher specifies the clinic authorized to do the surgery. As soon as you receive your voucher(s), call that clinic to schedule your surgeries as the vouchers are only good for 30 days.

If you live in Santa Fe county and would like to help us get the word out – simply print out our flyer and post it on a public bulletin board.  Good locations for posting are pet stores, veterinary clinics, churches, schools and fast food restaurants. And, if you know someone who has an unsterilized cat, you could even print out the mail-in application and hand it to them to use.

Fixing cats is the best way – if not the only way -- to fix the companion animal welfare system. No longer spraying, fighting and kittening – sterilized cats are better companions and  much less likely to be abandoned outdoors or relinquished to a shelter.