As many of you know, Emma Jane is taking care of a cat colony, which seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.
As many of you also know, there is no way, Emma Jane can afford to spay/neuter these cats. The result is obvious.
One cat can have 4 litters a year. At an average of 5 kittens per litter, that's 20 kittens per year.
Emma Jane, at last count, had 19 cats, most of which are female. So, let's say 15 female cats. By the end of the year that's 20*15 = 300 new kittens.
(some of whom are going to be having litters of their own this year).
Of course not all of them are going to survive. Predators are going to take care of some of them, as are disease and cars.
However, we can be more pro-active about it and decrease the suffering and lessen the risk of disease and the risk to humans (rabies), as well as the threat to songbirds
So, we decided to make an effort at getting all of Emma Jane's cats spayed and neutered, as well as vaccinated. This will not only stop cat proliferation in its tracks but also improve the life of the existing cats. The females will be more healthy. Pregnancy takes a toll on their bodies as well as puts them at risk for a number of infections (urinary and mammary being the most common). The males will fight less and be at less risk of injury, which can lead to death either directly or slowly through untreated infections.
Typically to spay/neuter and vaccinate a cat will cost a few hundred dollars. However, we found a low cost spay-and-neuter clinic in Washington DC (http://www.washhumane.org/catnipp.asp). They will spay/neuter+vaccinate for a total of $45.00 per cat.
The clinic happens to be on my way to work, so I can drop the cats off in the morning and pick them up in the evening.
Also, I do not have any cats of my own, so any communicable diseases are not going to be a problem. I have volunteered to keep the cats until they are ready to be released again.
We are going to do the cats in batches. For one, we do not have the funds (yet?) to do all of them at once and for another, I don't think I can handle 19 cats at the same time (if anybody else volunteers to house and care, we can possibly do more at a time)
The sweeter cats we will put up for adoption. With so many cats already up for adoption (check craigslist), I don't have much hope that we will find homes for any of them, but we can try. If you know anybody in the market for a cat, let me know! However, if the cat is to be adopted the price for spay/neuter+vaccinate jumps to $123 (+ $35 optional microchip). The reason is, that the DC subsidy for feral cats does not apply in that case. But, the cost of that will be carried by the adopter, so that would free up funds for another colony cat. I'm just mentioning it here, in the unlikely event anybody is interested in adopting.
Karen, Matthew, David + Jodie B. are providing some cat supplies. I can get my hands on some traps for the not so easy to catch cats, as well.
Karen, Matthew, I, David + Jodie B, as well as Hugh are donating funds to get the first batch spayed/neutered and vaccinated.
What we still could use are:
- kitty litter and food
- cat traps (my supply line is unreliable, as they need the traps themselves, too)
- one largish dog crate or several medium ones to temporarily house cats at my place - they would be returned once all of the cats have been fixed. I have one crate, but we can do bigger batches, if I had more crates
- help with transport between Emma Jane and my house in Arlington
- MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY. We have 6 cats covered now. 13 to go. Again. that's $45.00 per cat. You can give cash/check to Karen, Matthew or me.
Thank you very much for your help in advance and Emma Jane would be sooo delighted!
-- ellis
(703)-536-three two oh nine
mailing address is up to date in the roster
