Today's World Spay Day 2012

The last Tuesday in February is set aside annually to bring international attention to the importance of spaying and neutering pets. For cats this is particularly important because they can breed when they’re as young as 4 months old and as often as three times a year – starting in late winter and continuing into fall. 

It’s easy to see how the situation spirals out of control.  You adopt a stray cat or the kitten of someone you know and before you realize it she’s pregnant.  Once her kittens are born you try to find them homes but a few don’t adopt out so your single pet cat is now a family of cats.   And – if you don’t act quickly to get the entire family fixed – more kittens will follow.  We hear this story over and over again from people applying for our free spay/neuter vouchers – and we think – if only they had known about our program sooner…

And -- as important as cat spay/neuter is in containing the domestic cat population --it’s even more important for the cat.  Once spayed (or neutered) the cat is healthier, a better companion and statistically much more likely to retain his or her original home.  Left intact, it’s only a matter of time before the difficult cat behaviors – yowling, spraying and kittening – become more than even the most dedicated caregiver can manage.  When this happens the cats are typically abandoned outdoors (where they form or join feral cat colonies and continue reproducing) or taken to the local animal control shelter (where they’re often put down -- for no other reason than they were never sterilized).     

Fortunately for most pet cats – about 85% of them – spaying and neutering is a routine part of adopting – shelter cats are typically fixed at 8 weeks of age before they are released to a permanent home.  And stray cats that are rescued by families with the resources to take their new cat or kitten to the vet for a new cat checkup are usually fixed right away. 

It’s the remaining 15% of cats that miss out – not because their new family doesn’t understand the importance of spay/neuter but simply because they lack the front-end money to get it done.  This is where we—and many other organizations today -- help.  By fixing the pets adopted outside the shelter systems  by students, young parents, and disabled or elderly adults living on a fixed income.    And by doing so more cats will keep their homes forever -- which is the best outcome for everyone – the cats, their caregivers and their communities.   To learn more about our spay/neuter program visit Zimmer-Foundation.org

Happy Spay Day!

Cat Spay of Santa Fe 2011 Update

During 2011 we funded the sterilization of 1,130 cats living in northern New Mexico.  This was our first full year of operation and it brings our program total to 1,589 cat sterilizations for 798 households -- and we hope to build on this growth in 2012.

Although we provide the funding for these spay/neuters, the real key to our effectiveness is the willingness of area spay/neuter and veterinary clinics to accept our vouchers as payment in full -- often at a significantly reduced price than they charge to the general public.   Establishing a centralized clinic to do our work would be much less effective.  Why?  Because the people who most need our help -- families with young children, students, the unemployed and those living on fixed incomes such as the elderly or the disabled -- can't or won't drive long distances to a spay/neuter clinic -- especially when it involves two trips -- one in the early morning to drop the cat off and the other in the late afternoon to pick them up.  Working through in-place veterinary clinics puts spay/neuter directly in the communities where our target group lives.  And in a region as spread out as northern New Mexico this is particularly important.

We especially thank the following clinics for their participation:

• Animal Wellness Center, Santa Fe
• Brainerd Animal Health Center, Sapillo
• Espanola Humane Society, Espanola
• Gruda Veterinary Hospital, Santa Fe
• Pecos Valley Veterinary Clinic, Pecos
• Sangre de Cristo Animal Hospital, Santa Fe
• Santa Fe Humane Society Spay/Neuter Clinic, Santa Fe
• Santa Fe Humane Society Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic, Northern New Mexico
• Valley Veterinary Clinic, Santa Fe
• Vista Larga Animal Clinic, Edgewood

Often we hear "If you can't afford to get your cat fixed, you shouldn't have one", but we simply don't believe that's true.  There are many that can provide a good loving home for a cat who don't have the wherewithal to pay for the sterilization.  And -- often these are the same people -- that can benefit most from the unconditional love a cat can give them.  By helping them get their cats fixed we help cement the bonding -- eliminating the problems that most often cost these cats their homes -- kittening, yowling, fighting and spraying.   And in a culture that kills thousands and thousands of companion animals each year for lack of homes -- we think this is an important thing to do.