Homeless pets need your help with medical care!

Every year we talk about the need for donations to help with spay and neuter, vaccinations, medical care, food and litter due to the over population of cats.  I’m sure the public gets tired of hearing me ask and I get tired of having too repeatedly.  Sadly, though we have even seen an increase in 2022 of felines being surrendered to animal controls, shelters and rescues and even more devastating is the reduction of adoptions across the US.

One of the easiest things to do is get your cat spayed or neutered BEFORE it can add to the overwhelming number of cats in all our communities.  Warrick Animal Guardians continues to offer half-off and free vouchers along with a partnership with Warrick County Animal Control to get cats transported to a low-cost clinic in a neighboring county.  Last year we only had one spot a month but have been able to get our appointments up to two times monthly for 2022. 

According to estimates based in part on Shelter Animals Count data (which doesn’t account for all facilities) and other known and estimated sources, from 2019 there are about 3.2 million cats surrendered or picked up by shelters each year, but only 2.1 million cats adopted.  These numbers seem astronomical.  The best solution to prevent mass euthanasia is to find ways to provide financial support, education and other ways to get these animals fixed.  

Warrick Animal Guardian feels it is VERY important to try to prevent cats from entering rescues, shelter and humane societies in the first place.  Old ways of thinking can be detrimental.  We often hear statements like “I want my kids to experience the miracle of birth”.  While this in itself might be educational, a simple video, DVD or program can substitute for the real thing.   Another statement often repeated is “Its healthier for my cat to have at least one litter”.  Actually, according to VCA Animal Hospitals https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/spaying-in-cats “Several health benefits are associated with spaying your cat. First, spaying eliminates the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers. Second, breast cancer is the number one type of cancer diagnosed in intact (unspayed) female cats. If your cat is spayed before her first heat cycle, there is less than ½ of 1% (0.5%) chance of developing breast cancer. With every subsequent heat cycle, the risk of developing breast cancer increases…”

We can all be part of the solution!  Warrick Animal Guardians encourages everyone to adopt BUT if you can’t we love the way towncats.org thinks with these other ways to help below.

“There are so many other ways to get involved! Fostering is an excellent opportunity that allows you to temporarily house an animal that would otherwise be taking up space and resources in a shelter. Not only are you freeing up space for the shelter to take in more animals, but you’re also helping to ease the fear, anxiety, stress, and frustration that many animals face in a shelter environment. If you can’t foster, consider volunteering! Volunteering has various hands-on and remote opportunities which allow you to aid the shelter in their mission of saving lives. Maybe you go in once a week to help clean kennels and attend to injured or sick animals that are waiting to be adopted, or perhaps you offer your assistance with managing a shelter’s website or social media outlets to better advertise their adoptable pets. If you are unable to volunteer, then you could look into donating either money or supplies to your local shelter in order to help them provide the necessities to all of the animals in their care. One way or another, we can all do our part to ease overpopulation and find homes for shelter animals!”