Haywood Spay/Neuter Spring 2017 Serving the community by providing low-cost spay/neuter services and animal wellness programs Monthly donors make our operation much smoother with bills paid on time. We wish we could hug each one of you! PAGE 1
Lowest KILLS on RECORD The combined success of affordable spay/neuter, rescue groups, feral cat sterilization, and barn cat placements helped reduce shelter kills to its lowest level on record! Q: If we could collect dogs like we trap cats, would shelter dog intakes drop? Bastet was the daughter of Ra the Sun God. Every sunrise with Ra, Bastet fought countless battles against the evil serpent god Apep. Bastet killed Apep, releasing her from the nightly conflicts to roam free and guard home and hearth. A: Yes, especially if we identify pet owners who delay despite proven benefits of FIX by FOUR months. Over half of unplanned litters are first litters, typically dumped at the shelter or given away. Thanks to our ALTERnate Transport volunteers, homebound owners can avoid first litters and wandering males by accepting a lift to the clinic for their puppies and dogs. Volunteers also lend a hand in the pet s successful recovery, ensuring staples are removed or other follow up. Haywood Spay/Neuter kicked off its current Trap-Neuter-Return project in 2009. Over $300,000 in charitable TNR grants and donations have been invested in Haywood County, which dropped the shelter cat intakes from over 1,800 in 2008 to under 700 in 2016. Thank you! PAGE 2
Wellness Initiatives Remain Popular The growing success of simple Wellness initiatives pays dividends in health and happiness Ask any Floridian about fleas and you quickly appreciate freezing weather s role in pest control. Now consider our mild mountain winter. Low-income dogs and cats need your help more than ever! Our Stay Healthy Wellness project provides flea, tick, and worm treatments to nearly 1 of every 3 Haywood County pet owners. Many low-income pets suffer for years, developing hot spots and flea dermatitis from unchecked infestations. Your gifts provide protection to the most vulnerable pets and free-roaming cats. Wellness clients are repeat clients. Happy lives include family pets. Thank you for bringing happy endings to families in Haywood County! Affordable flea and tick treatments bring pets back into the house and sleeping with the kids again. Haywood Spay/Neuter completed 1,638 sterilization surgeries in 2016 People will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelo PAGE 3
THEY BREED LIKE RATS Ancient civilizations designed their cities with fresh water and sewer systems. Their sentries undoubtedly befriended the cats and dogs that patrolled under their watch of the community s precious food storage bins. Thanks to you, our working cat program mirrors an ancient defense against an ever-present pest. One rat eats up to 50 pounds of grain per year. Females can produce up to seven litters and 140 babies per year. The common brown or gray rat is 10 long and weighs as much as a black rat. Infamous for the plague, rats transmit a frightening list of diseases both directly and indirectly to humans. Rats begin to reproduce at three to four months of age. Brown rats have sensitive hearing and possess a very highly developed sense of smell. Their sight is poor but is sensitive to ultraviolet light. Brown rats are called wharf, sewer, street, Hanover, Norway and Norwegian rats no, they didn t come from Norway. Use standard traps never poisons to remove rats if barn cats or a pet terrier dog are not feasible. Poisons cause internal bleeding, a cruel death for any creature plus poisons, herbicides, and insecticides are a threat to the environment Many dog breeds kill rodents, including the highenergy Jack Russell Terrier. The Jack Russell needs a firm, experienced trainer to avoid the Small Dog Syndrome where the dog believes it is pack leader to all humans. It isn t. Your support provides affordable spay/neuter surgery that helps calm pet behavior. Cats are rodent specialists. Their sit-and-wait strategy is supremely suited to catching mice and emerging burrowed animals like rabbits. Thanks to you, 120 kittens and cats found homes in safe, clean barns since 2013 through our Kittens2Barns project. PAGE 4
AGE in YEARS CAT is: 1 2 6 10 14 20 = HUMAN 15 25 45 60 72 90 DOG is: 1 2 6 10 14 20 = HUMAN 7 21 37 53 69 93 SOCIALIZING FERAL KITTENS Foster newcomers can achieve success with feral kittens eight weeks of age or less with these simple tips: 1. Confine kittens in a safe space but avoid hiding spots like beds and furniture. Large kennels in family spaces are ideal add a water bowl and litter box. Use a cardboard box or open carrier as a sleeping cubby. 2. Take advantage of their endless appetite. Never put food down and walk away! 3. Place food at your feet or nearby. Gradually work up to touching the plate while they eat and then gently stroking them while they eat. 4. Prepare kittens for being picked up by expanding touch from around the head and shoulders to their underbelly. 5. Gently move the kittens from one food bowl to another bowl nearby while they are engrossed in eating. 6. Sitting on floor, pick up a kitten and move to your lap, all the while holding a bowl of food under its nose. Pet the kitten while it eats. Gradually tighten your hold and slowly shift toward cuddling against your heartbeat. 7. Try coaxing a kitten to eat baby food from your finger & jumping onto your lap. Add cuddles as a reward. 8. Interactive play includes cat toys and strings on sticks. Shy kittens will take time to join the fun. 9. FIX by FOUR months! Older and shy kittens do better when adopted directly from foster vs. being held in an adoption center. Thank you, new fosters!! Feral momcats and litters are frequent shelter guests that need special handling to avoid euthanasia. Our Spay Momma program prevents another litter. PAGE 5
Haywood Spay/Neuter 182 Richland Street PO Box 992 Waynesville NC 28786 Non-Profit US POSTAGE PAID Waynesville, NC 28786 Permit #54 DONATE ONLINE www.haywoodspayneuter.org Tuesday through Friday 11 AM - 5 PM or by appointment 828.452.1329 Follow us on Facebook Haywood County TNR Hotline 828-400-5981 WHY GIVE NOW? The short winter of 2017 shows in the spike in female heats and early pregnancies in Haywood County s pets and community cats. Why give now? To provide surgeries that might be delayed and result in an unwanted litter! Why give now? To FIX by FOUR months and prevent a first litter. First litters are half of all unwanted puppies and kittens. Why give now? The TNR Team is active, buying fuel for trapping and clinic trips 4-5 days a week. THANK YOU! PAGE 6