Pets of the Week
AWS: Prevention is key to 2006 "Project Kitten" Campaign
KENNEBUNK - Spring means the beginning of "kitten season" in Southern Maine, so the Animal Welfare Society (AWS) is urging local residents to do their part to help prevent an unwanted litter by spaying or neutering their cats.A fertile cat can produce an average of three litters of kittens in one year, with between four and six kittens in each litter, according to the Humane Society of the United States. By conservative estimates, in just three years' time one female cat and her offspring could produce over 40,000 cats.
To assist pet owners who may not be able to afford the full veterinary cost of spaying/neutering, AWS offers two different certificate programs.
Friends of Animals certificates are available for purchase to anyone who would like them. They greatly reduce the cost of spaying and neutering for both dogs and cats.
The AWS also offers its signature "Year of the Cat" program, which is available to low-income residents in the York County area AWS contract towns that need financial help to get their cat sterilized.
Year of the Cat certificates are available for purchase at the shelter, by phone and mail and Friends of Animal certificates are available by phone. For more information, call our Spay/Neuter Coordinator at 985-3244 x 120.
In anticipation of hundreds of kittens brought to the shelter each year, most during the spring and summer months, AWS proactively launched the fourth annual "Project Kitten" campaign last month. The campaign has dual objectives to raise public awareness of the cat overpopulation problem in Southern Maine and generate much needed donations of supplies to help care for more than 600 new mouths to feed anticipated during 2006.
"The message of the Project Kitten campaign is both prevention and preparedness," AWS Development Director Brian Winslow emphasized. "If we are successful in getting the word out about the importance of spaying/neutering cats to stop the cycle of unwanted litters and the low-cost assistance programs available, I would hope to see the numbers of homeless kittens in our shelter decline steadily over the next few years. In this case, success of the campaign would mean that we wouldn't need to have a 2009 Project Kitten campaign."
On the preparedness front, the Project Kitten campaign seeks to collect donations of essential supplies - Kitten Milk Replacement (KMR), dry and canned kitten food, cat litter and toys - so that all of this year's kittens can be properly cared for in foster homes.
Volunteers who are willing to provide foster care for a mother cat and her litter of kittens for a period of 8 to 12 weeks are also needed.
The campaign will culminate in a Kitten Shower next Saturday, May 20, from noon to 3 p.m. with fun, raffles, the weigh-in contest and a cat/kitten alumni photo contest.
During 2005, AWS issued over 600 low-cost spay/neuter certificates and provided foster care and sheltering for over 1,000 homeless kittens.
For more information on Project Kitten and AWS spay/neuter assistance programs, contact Katie Dolloff at 985-3244 or visit the AWS website at www.animalwelfaresociety.org.
