DDAF’s web site credits these events with over one-and-a-half million spay/neuters– which averages out to 107,143 cats and dogs getting fixed during this annual 24-hour event – 75 sterilizations every minute. And, it’s just another example of what we already know. Cats (and dogs) are not left intact because their guardians are irresponsible. When free or very-affordable spay/neuter service is provided at conveniently-located clinics, guardians do act responsibly and get their pets fixed. The spay/neuter barrier is not education or culture – but access and money.
Without special help, 85% of all pet cats are routinely fixed when they are first adopted. The remaining 15% -- that live in the families of the very young (college students and families with small children), the un-or-under employed (living off unemployment or from one paycheck-to-the-next) and the elderly or disabled (counting on social security to pay their living expenses) – simply don’t have the funds up front to fix their cats. Yet, fixing them is critical to their retaining their homes – otherwise their noxious spraying, fighting, yowling and kittening will eventually become intolerable for even the most committed caregivers – and the bond between them breaks – leaving the unaltered cat out on the street to fend for herself or taken to a shelter where she is as likely killed as adopted.
Even though these cats constitute only 15% of the pet cats, they cause 80% of the kittens born annually. Why? Because – when these unsterilized cats are abandoned outdoors –they form or join cat colonies – and continue reproducing. While Alley Cat Allies – and the myriad of groups using their Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) model – is highly effective at sterilizing these colonies, preventing the formation of new colonies is outside their scope. And, without halting new colony formation – by fixing the cats most at-risk of being abandoned –- TNR can never complete the task of controlling the outdoor cat population.
We thought it was only fitting to use 2010 Spay Day USA as the day to announce our new spay/neuter program – as it ties into providing year-round help for the same cats Spay Day USA addresses – pet cats in lower-income families – those who can provide routine daily love, food and water for their cats – but not the front-end money to get them fixed. By helping pet cats keep their original homes we’ll be preventing new outdoor cat colonies from forming – and thereby increasing the effectiveness of TNR work.
Our new program will be called Cat Spay of Santa Fe – and targets at-risk cats for residents of Santa Fe County. We have a lot of work yet to do to establish the program but hope to be up-and-running by late spring or early summer. Through Cat Spay of Santa Fe residents of mobile home parks and apartments – or families with annual incomes under $40,000 per year – can apply for up to 3 free spay/neuter vouchers covering the full cost to spay or neuter each cat and vaccinate once for rabies.
Over the next few months we’ll be contacting the vet clinics (shelter and private) to solicit their support. For as important as it is to make spay/neuter free, it’s equally important to make it convenient. For many caregivers the cost of gas is prohibitive and others are dependent on public transportation or friends and relatives to take them to a clinic – and they’ll hesitate to ask for help if it involves a major drive. Our Michigan spay/neuter programs enjoyed the support of over 30 veterinary clinics who regularly accepted our vouchers enabling us to schedule most surgeries locally – where the cats live. We hope the same will be true in Santa Fe County. Stay tuned for more details.
Let’s hope we can help make Spay Day USA every day in Santa Fe.
Yay for Cat Spay of Santa Fe! Best of luck!
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