Aug. 15, 2013. Avery County Humane Society in a partnership with a Bill and Kathy Avery grant are now pushing ahead to fix 1,000 free roaming cats in Avery County.
“North Carolina animal shelters ‘put down’ 168,000 cats every year because there simply is no place for them,” remarked former board member Bill Avery.
“We plan to neuter 1,000 cats in Avery County and hope that residents will bring their animals to the shelter to take advantage of the free spay and neuter. We started with billboards throughout the county asking residents to fix their animals. Now we’re backing this up by expanding the program with free spay and neuter for cats. We hope to eliminate the growing numbers of roaming cats. In the end, this effort will prevent the shelter’s current overcrowding,” Avery added.
Executive Director, Bruce Malfatone, explained, “One unfixed cat or dog can be responsible for hundreds of offspring and we are going to do our part to prevent that from happening in Avery County. We recently conducted a test program in Newland and it was a huge success. Our biggest problem is getting the surgeries done. Two local veterinarians, Dr. Lang and Dr. Jewell, have agreed to help with reduced cost for surgeries. So, between them and the spay, neuter clinic in Asheville, we hope to keep things moving at a reasonable pace.”
Bruce cautioned, however, that residents need to understand that they may be on a wait list, if the demand remains high. Presently, we only have those two sources for reduced cost surgeries necessary to continue the program. We are extremely grateful that these two vets truly care about animals and want to help with this worthwhile project.
Charlene Calhoun, shelter manager, said that unfixed roaming cats is the root cause of animals dying by the millions throughout the U.S.
“I’m excited that we have the funds to be part of this grant designed to take control of the cat population. We have been overwhelmed this year with kittens. I’ve never seen anything like it; we have no idea why this year’s feline population has tripled. As fast as kittens are adopted, a dozen more come in,” she said.
If you have cats and want to be part of this program to help Avery County prevent unnecessary feline deaths and curb the cat population, simply call 828-733-2333 and tell them you have cats that need to be fixed. It’s that simple.
To make arrangements to bring your cats to the shelter, please call 828-733-2333 today. Proof of residency is required.
You must be logged in to post a comment.