From the Sun: Fix your feline friends

From the June 27th, 2013 edition of the Woodford Sun: 

Fix your feline friends

By Beth Oleson, Education Coordinator

Rabbits get lots of credit for their reproductive speed, but cats aren’t far behind.  They can reproduce at just four months old, and have two or more litters a year.  Average litter size is six kittens.  The math gets a little overwhelming, but think of it this way: in just seven years, a single cat, her mate, and their offspring become 420,000 cats.  Or, think of it this way: for every person born, 45 kittens are born. 

There’s no question about it; cats are seriously overpopulated.  Millions of them enter shelters in the United States every year, and while we’re proud to maintain a placement rate upwards of 90% every year at Woodford Humane, that is far from the norm; on a national scale, only 30% of homeless cats are ever adopted.  Spay and neuter is the one way that those placement numbers will ever rise, and the euthanasia numbers fall, so you can see why it’s such an integral part of what we do and what we teach. 

As important as it is for all of us, as cat owners, to make sure that our cats are spayed and neutered, it’s equally critical that we do the same for the cats who are nobody’s pets.  Feral – or wild – cats are easy to overlook.  They’re not snuggly, they don’t curl up by your feet at night or purr when you pet them.  Heck, you might not ever even get to pet them.  It’s easier just to leave them to their own devices.  And for that exact reason, ferals are the biggest drivers of the cat overpopulation problem.  Every year, we take in hundreds of kittens from feral moms – barn cats, or strays – who haven’t been fixed, because they’re nobody’s pet. 

So whose job is it to take care of these feral cats; to have them spayed and neutered and reign in cat overpopulation?  The answer, really, is all of us.  It’s crucial for the cats and kittens already waiting for homes, and for the feral cats themselves, but the benefits reach farther than we might realize.  Keeping the feral cat population under control reduces the spread of fatal diseases like feline leukemia and FIV to our pets; it eases the pressure on cats and kittens already waiting for homes in shelters; it even benefits the nature lovers concerned about cats’ impact on bird populations, and the gardeners who are tired of roaming cats using their flower beds as litter boxes. 

Help us help these cats, and every cat in our care: if you know of one or many feral cats who need to be spayed and neutered, contact us at 859.873.5491 or manager@woodfordhumane.org and ask about the TNR – trap, neuter, return – program for feral cats.  We can help with pet cats, too, so get in touch if yours isn’t fixed.  By working together to help the cats in our community – even the ones that are nobody’s pet – we can truly make a difference.

Spay/Neuter Saves Lives!

Spay Day USA is an annual event that takes place on the last Tuesday of February (February 22nd, this year) across the country, and although we're always talking about the benefits of altering your pets anyway, Spay Day gives us a great opportunity to really dust off the old spay/neuter soapbox! There are so many reasons to spay or neuter your pet; it's good for them, it's good for you, and it's good for us.

Spay and neuter surgeries are very routine procedures, and although they may seem invasive to us, they are simple and virtually bloodless. While any surgical procedure is stressful for a pet, the risks associated with spay/neuter surgeries are so minimal that the benefits easily blow them out of the water!

An altered pet won't:
-Go into heat. If you've ever been around a cat in heat, you know exactly why this is a good thing! If you've never experienced a pet's heat cycle, think about this: your dog or cat is a mammal, and like human mammals, they have periods, complete with all the usual mess and bizarre behavior. 'Nuff said. (I'm a woman, by the way, so I'm allowed to say we behave bizarrely...male readers, quote me with caution.)
-Develop cancers of the reproductive organs. Uterine, ovarian, and testicular cancer are common in unaltered pets, are expensive to treat, and are frequently fatal.
-Be as territorial. While some pets are a little territorial by nature, spaying/neutering reduces urine marking behavior and overprotective aggression towards people and other pets.
-Be as likely to escape and roam. Roaming behavior is usually tied to searching for a mate, and those escapes can be expensive and dangerous.
-Lose its gender identity. We encounter this most often with male pet owners, and we refer to it as the "Dude Factor;" while you might associate your identity with your gender, pets simply don't think that way! They don't have any inherent gender identity to lose. Neutering a male dog doesn't make him a sissy; in fact, he won't even realize that anything has changed. Don't think about how you would feel if you were in your pet's position, because you aren't; instead, think about the extra years you're adding to his life by preventing serious illnesses and reducing his desire to pick fights.

An altered pet will:
-Be the same energetic, active pet he or she was prior to the surgery. There is a big myth that spayed/neutered pets get lazy and fat, but the fact of the matter is that weight gain is caused by feeding and exercise habits, not by any surgical procedure.
-Play better with others. The reduced desire to defend territory makes for an easier-going pet, which means you can rescue another one from your local humane society!
-Live longer. On average, spayed/neutered pets live 3-5 years longer than intact ones.
-Love you unconditionally, just like he or she did prior to surgery.

If you don't see a good enough reason there to alter your pet for his sake, consider altering your pet for the sake of all of the homeless pets that walk through our doors each day. Every year in the United States 4-6 million pets enter shelters, rescues, and humane societies; only half of them ever find homes. The fact of the matter is that pet overpopulation is a very real, very serious problem in this country and across the world and there simply aren't homes for them all. Allowing a pet to reproduce, even just once, brings 3-8 more lives into the world when there are already millions of unwanted pets waiting for homes. So save a life this February: Spay or neuter your pet, and spread the word. That simple surgery is the biggest step you can take to help us work toward a world in which there are no more homeless pets!

To find out more about the benefits, importance, and "how-to" of getting your pet altered, give us a call or drop us a line: 859.873.5491 or manager@woodfordhumane.org. Low-cost options are available, and we'll do what we can to help you get that pet fixed!

If you feel as strongly about spaying and neutering as we do, please donate to our Spay/Neuter Fund and help us continue to provide low-cost surgeries to families in need.

7 Year Old Helps Homeless Pets

Emily Harper turns seven on November 25th.

Nine friends attended her birthday party, but instead of gifts for her, Emily asked them to bring items to help our homeless pets.

On Friday, November 19, she and her dad delivered the presents to our Adoption Center and our animals thanked Emily in person! She especially enjoyed visiting with our adoptable bunny, Deloreon.

Emily has made a difference in the lives of our homeless pets. What an inspiration!

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Humane Red & Humane White Wine

Philanthropy at its "winest"

Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery has created Humane Red & Humane White wine to benefit our homeless animals. The labels feature two adopted Woodford Humane pets, beautifully photographed by Peggy Maness Photography.

Each bottle of wine costs $20, and of that Lovers Leap will donate $5 back to our animals. In addition, the total Humane Wine donation will be earmarked to Woodford Humane's SAVE Matching Gift and Endowment Fund, so each bottle purchased goes twice as far helping our animals!

To get Lovers Leap Humane Wines to give as a gift, or for yourself, please visit Lovers Leap at 1180 Lanes Mill Road, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Or contact them at info@loversleap.com or (502) 839-1299.

Must be 21 to purchase Humane Wines. Lovers Leap promotes responsible drinking.