Costs fall to keep cat numbers low

Area shelters offer spaying and neutering services at reduced prices as the season of feline romance arrives.

By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 22, 2003

It's romance time for cats, and local animal shelters hope families already have their felines spayed or neutered.

If not, several shelters are offering it for prices as low as $5 over the next two weeks to help dent the county's growing cat population.

People may not realize that close to 18,000 cats were abandoned and brought to local shelters last year. The majority of those animals are destroyed because there aren't enough homes for the kittens that pile up in the county's shelter starting in March, said Kenny Mitchell, director of Pinellas County Animal Services.

Animal Services will spay a female cat for $25 or neuter a male cat for $15. Most shelters offer the surgery at a severely discounted rate or free to families on government assistance.

"This is a good time because cats start going into heat as the daylight increases," Mitchell said. "They'll crank out two litters for sure if no intervention is taken and they're outside."

Two cats and their progeny, if left alone for seven years, produce 420,000 new cats.

"In the next month we'll start receiving the pregnant cats," said Rick Chaboudy, director of the Humane Society of North Pinellas. "People see the cats outside and think everything is fine. They don't see the injuries that we see. They don't see the difficulties in finding those kittens homes or the numbers."

The Humane Society is setting aside March 8 as a "neuter-a-thon" where they will neuter as many male cats as possible in one day for $5 apiece. Male cats don't take as long to fix as females, Chaboudy said.

Last year they neutered 384 in one day. The program is by appointment only and so far, 190 appointments have been made.

Education is key, said Connie Brooks, shelter manager with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The agency is providing 500 free spays to people who make less than $20,000.

"I have a couple that comes in with kittens and they'll come back and say, 'Oh, I brought you some more kittens,' " Brooks said. "Those are the people we want to get to."

A worst-case cat population scenario could lead to a massive rabies outbreak, Mitchell said. One rabies outbreak came in 1995, mostly because raccoons shared food with or bit roaming cats. Those cats in turn were petted by humans, who then contracted the viral disease.

Cats that roam are also at greater risk for feline or cat scratch fever, veterinarians say.

Animal laws require that cats have their shots and a license. To date, the county has 70,000 cats listed as vaccinated and licensed, up from 20,000 cats a few years ago. Pinellas County Animal Services offers special deals to people who license, spay and vaccinate their cat at the same time.

The Pinellas Animal Foundation, Pinellas County Veterinary Medical Society and Friends of Strays are also participating in the population control program.

"I like cats, but they need to be kept under control and indoors, particularly in Pinellas, where we have a real tight area," Mitchell said. "We can make a difference if we focus."

-- Adrienne P. Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com .

For more information:

Pinellas County Animal Services, 582-2600, 12450 Ulmerton Rd., Largo.

Humane Society of North Pinellas, 797-7722, 3040 State Road 590, Clearwater.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 586-3591, 9099 130th Ave. N., Largo.

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