National “Spay Day” is an annual event designed to bring attention to the eight million homeless dogs and cats who enter shelters every year in the U.S. and the millions more who suffer and die on the streets. The Cleveland APL is asking Cuyahoga County outdoor cat caretakers to celebrate by bringing feral and homeless outdoor cats to the Cleveland APL on February 27th to be spayed or neutered (“fixed”) through its lifesaving TNR program. Caretakers then release the cats back into their familiar territories and continue to provide care, but now without the worry of having more litters of kittens born to a life on the street. Call today to secure an appointment!
“In honor of Spay Day, we’d like to spay or neuter 50 homeless cats on February 27th for only $10 each” said Sharon Harvey, President & CEO of the Cleveland APL. “This is an event where everybody can be a champion. The streets and shelters of Cleveland will soon be facing a flood of homeless kittens but, with the help of our community, our low-cost program provides a solution to this crisis.”
The Cleveland APL offers a low-cost TNR (trap-neuter-return) program year-round aimed at curbing the overpopulation of feral and homeless cats. Thanks to a subsidy provided to Cleveland residents by the City of Cleveland and grants from the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, a Keybank Trust, the Bernice Barbour Foundation, and the Ohio Pet Fund, the APL currently offers the spay and neuter service for only $10 for any feral or stray outdoor cat living in Cuyahoga County. This includes sterilization surgery and age appropriate vaccinations. Cats are ear-tipped for identification – meaning a small portion of the left ear is painlessly removed. They are then returned to their familiar habitats under the care of dedicated caretakers.
Studies show that sterilizing felines in feral colonies will first stabilize the number of resident cats and then lead to a decline of the colony over time. Nuisance behaviors associated with breeding, such as the yowling of females or the spraying of toms, are virtually eliminated. Unspayed cats can go into heat at just 4 months of age and give birth to three litters each year. 2012 was the first year the Cleveland APL saw a decrease in the number of kittens being surrendered, which can in part be attributed to the effectiveness of the TNR program.
For more information about the Cleveland APL’s TNR program, call Sara Dillenkofer, Cleveland APL Spay/Neuter Services Coordinator, at 216-377-1624 or visit www.clevelandapl.org/tnr.
