The Lucky Ones

Why are they the lucky ones?

Because a compassionate animal control officer (ACO) called on rescue groups to get the very pregnant Zazzles out of the shelter so she could have her babies in a quiet, calm environment. This ACO reached out so that all of these cats would have a chance at life and loving homes. She also opened up a cage for another animal to be saved. This ACO “gets it”.

This is how it’s supposed to be. Shelters working with rescue groups to save lives. But it’s sadly not always the case. There is no requirement for shelters to reach out for help. They don’t have to call on rescue groups or the public to be fosters. We don’t have a version of the Companion Animal Protection Act (CAPA) here in New Jersey, so Zazzles and her kittens are truly the lucky ones. I encourage you to learn more about CAPA via this website: http://www.rescue50.org/capa.html or if you want a shortened version, I wrote about CAPA back in 2011. Delaware and California have versions of CAPA on the books already!

But there’s more to this story. We know that Zazzles actually had a home before ending up at the municipal shelter. She was loved and fed … given up because her family could not care for her any more. And, she was obviously not spayed. This is Zazzles’ second litter so this one adorable kitty has introduced a total of nine lives to this crazy world.

If only she had been spayed. Even after she had her first litter – the number of lives would have been cut in half. And the stress on her body; cut in half. Her risk of mammary cancer; cut in half (or probably more).

There ARE low-cost options to have your animals spayed or neutered. Just do a web-search for “low cost spay neuter new jersey” and you’ll get a whole bunch of choices. Here are a few of the ones that we have used:

Monmouth County SPCA, Eatontown, NJ

People For Animals, Hillside and Robbinsville, NJ

Forgotten Cats, Willow Grove, PA

Second Chance for Animals Clinic, Franklin Twp, NJ

A quick websearch will result in many more for you to choose from!

Need some answers about spaying/neutering? Check out this FAQ: http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/spaying-or-neutering-your-cat-faq

Got some extra bucks lying around? Donate here and we’ll have a cat spayed or neutered in your honor!