In celebration of World Spay Day (February 23, 2021), we’re proud to announce Second Chance has received a spay/neuter grant from the BISSELL Pet Foundation that will allow us to spay/neuter 300 cats outside of our adoption program! With a mission to find every pet a home, the BISSELL Pet Foundation focuses their efforts on adoption, spay and neuter, microchipping, and emergency support. They have generously chosen to fund our spay/neuter outreach efforts: in 2021, we’ll be concentrating on stray, feral, and indoor/outdoor cats in rural counties.
Two nearby rural county shelters, Johnston and Franklin, rescue up to 5,000 cats per year, but only about 35% of them are adopted or transferred to their rescue partners. (Around 85% of cats in the Wake County shelter are adopted or transferred out, and approximately 78% of dogs in these two rural shelters are adopted/transferred out, so rural cats are at a disadvantage compared to both urban cats and rural dogs.) To help get more cats out of the shelter, we want to ensure that fewer cats go into the shelter.
That’s why we’ll be working with the Friends of Wake County Animal Center to expand Kitty Clip access to Johnston County and Franklin County residents, who will be able to get their cats spayed/neutered for $5 each. We’ll also be partnering with other organizations and volunteers to trap and spay/neuter cats, especially those in feral colonies. By preventing thousands of kittens from being born into homelessness, entering county animal shelters, and taking up valuable space, we’ll help the county shelter staff keep space open for other cats and euthanize less, as euthanasia for space breaks their hearts more than anyone’s.
We’re grateful to the BISSELL Pet Foundation for granting us $7,500 for 300 feline spay/neuter procedures–we couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate World Spay Day!
