3rd Annual Free Cat Spay Month Sponsored By WTPC Rescue

Sedona AZ (March 14, 2012) – For the 3rd year WTPC Rescue is sponsoring Free Cat Spay Month in the Sedona and the Verde Valley.  This unprecedented project will run throughout March. All female cats, as young as eight weeks old as long as they weigh in at one pound, qualify for the program.

AM Arizona morning talk show host Tonya Mock says of the program “Free Cat Spay Month provides an essential service to the Verde Valley, saving countless innocent animals from being needlessly euthanized because people are unable to find homes for them.”

Because cats can reproduce several times a year, and kittens mature quickly, just two cats can quickly become 2,000. Two uncontrolled breeding cats produce: 2 litters a year, at a survival rate of 2.8 kittens per litter. Continued breeding will produce 12 cats the first year, and by the sixth year the number jumps to a  staggering 66,000.  There is an estimated 30 million to 100 million stray and feral cats in the US.

Every spring is “kitten season” and shelters quickly become overloaded with kittens and their mothers.  Each year hundreds of thousands of cats and kittens are euthanized across the United States because the influx of kittens is overwhelming.  Due to the success of the last two years there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of kittens dropped off at local shelters: numbers have dropped by an estimated 50%.  As a result the adult adoptable cats are getting chosen instead of being passed over for a fluffy kitten and less cats are being euthanized.   This means enormous savings to local taxpayers.

Spearheaded by Welles, the WTPC projects rescues kittens and adult feral cats by implementing T N R (Trap Neuter Release) programs. She has been an animal advocate since childhood and is one of the founders of the first low-cost spay and neuter clinic in the United States.   This Las Vegas clinic was a model for other programs around the country. When she sponsored a similar program in Nevada the amount of kittens being dropped off at local shelters was reduced by a staggering 40% according to Welles.

“There are no qualifications and we are not limiting it to one female cat per household.  However because we have restricted funds there is a limit to how many spays we will be able to perform.” states Welles “All that we ask is that those who can afford to get their cat spayed please do so with their own vet and let those who cannot take advantage of this free opportunity.”

If they receive more funds they will be able to extend the amount of spays available.

The public can support the WTPC project and the Free Spay program by making a donation to help these animals and end the feral cat problem in Sedona. Donations to this project are gratefully accepted and needed. A Cat Spay costs $74.50.  For more information or to make a donation by Credit Card go www.wtpcrescueproject.com To make a donation by check please make the check out to WTPC Rescue and mail it to PO Box 3001, Sedona, AZ, 86340.

Dr. Chris Bertch of the Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic in the Village of Oak Creek is the participating veterinarian for this much needed project.  Pregnant cats can be neutered as well as those with litters.  Dr. Bertch is also offering discounted vaccines to those participating in the free cat spay program.

There are no walk ins.  People must call first for an appointment and submit a filled out authorization for feline spay.  Applications can be picked up at the following locations: In Sedona Bashas, Sedona Pet Supply and the Sedona Public Library; In the Village of Oak Creek at Weber’s, Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic and the Village Pet Supply; In Rimrock/Montezuma at Beaver Creek Gas Mart and Doggy Styles (Pet Grooming);In Camp Verde at Camp Verde Feeds and in Cottonwood at Food City and Mt. Hope Foods.