ST. GEORGE — Life on the streets can be tough for homeless cats, with many of them competing against each other for food, all the while interbreeding and spreading genetic defects.
“Adopting our way out of the problem of homeless cats will never work,” said Kris Neal, director of One More Chance C.A.T.S. “We are only putting a Band-Aid on it until we implement strict spay/neuter policies.”
Neal’s organization works to decrease the number of stray and feral cats in Southern Utah. To accomplish this, Neal heads up a trap, neuter and return program funded in part by the Best Friends Animal Society.
“Cats are humanely trapped, taken to a participating vet, and evaluated for disease and underlying health issues,” Neal said. “The cats are spayed or neutered and vaccinated. The tip of the ear is removed to mark them as a fixed feral.”
This aims to curtail shelter admissions, reducing operating costs and providing more space for cats who are adoptable. Cats can breed two to three times a year which can really boost the number of homeless cats. Neal said every cat they fix has ties to 100 other cats that are not going to be born. The goal is to eliminate the community cat population by stopping the breeding process.
“Trap, neuter and return is the only humane and proven method of feral cat population control,” Neal said.
Health benefits of spay/neuter
February is spay/neuter awareness month. The Humane Society of Utah is using this time to spread the word about the health benefits of spaying/neutering. Kelsie Watters, manager of St. George Clinic, said spaying/neutering animals at a young age can prevent certain cancers and other health problems. It can also curb unwanted behaviors such as aggressiveness, escaping and spraying.
“For older animals, they can develop things like enlarged prostates and uterine infections,” Watters said. “That can be life threatening and really expensive to treat so we recommend spaying/neutering older pets as well.”
The Humane Society of Utah runs on donations, offering spay/neuter services for less than they cost to perform. The clinic in St. George does 25 surgeries a day, routinely spaying/neutering 10 dogs and 15 cats. The cost is $70 to neuter a male cat and $80 to spay a female cat. For dogs, it depends on the sex and weight of the animal. Spay/neuter services for dogs range between $100 and $125.
The Humane Society also offers low cost vaccinations which help to keep animals healthy and prevent the spread of disease in the community. Spay/neuter can also benefit feral cats by reducing the community cat population and stopping the spread of genetic problems that arise from inbreeding.
The Iron County Sheriff’s Animal Shelter is also promoting the benefits of spaying/neutering animals. Carrie Haber, a technician at the shelter, said most of the animals they work with are not spayed/neutered. Haber said pets that are fixed are easier to adopt out.
“It is mandatory when adopting a shelter pet that they must be fixed within 30 days of adoption,” Haber said. “Many people would prefer to adopt one who is already fixed.”
The fix
Animal advocacy groups are hoping the public will respond to the push to get animals spayed/neutered and vaccinated this month. Spaying/neutering both owned and homeless dogs and cats reduces the number of animals that wind up in shelters each year.
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