Good news for all you cat-parent procrastinators: The Mickelson Cat Clinic... led by The Venice Cat Coalition and St. Francis Animal Rescue with the support of Dr. Andrea Bivens, the Animal Rescue Coalition, a team of experienced cat technicians, Buddy's Feral Cat Program, and Sarasota in Defense of Animals .... has added hours for the spay/neuter clinic. Additional funding has been provided by memorial contributions from family and friends of Venice Cat Coalition founder Theresa Foley, whose father passed away two weeks ago. Those memorial funds allowed a fourth day of surgeries and 20 more cats to be added. Check out their press release below and GET GOING before it's too late!
Spay-Neuter campaign currently in progress
A successful day one kickoff of a 4-day spay-neuter blitz in Venice, Florida
VENICE, FL - This morning, 23 of the 80 cats scheduled for surgery were spayed so they won't be breeding and bearing offspring. The Mickelson Cat Clinic kicks off day one of a 4-day spay-neuter blitz. The spay-neuter clinic comes at a critical time as springtime looms and thousands of kittens are born in Southwest Florida, inundating rescues, shelters, and flooding the pet section on Craig's List with homeless cats.
The clinic is part of the Venice Cat Coalition campaign celebrating 2013 World Spay Day, a national event promoted by the Humane Society International and HSUS to spotlight spay/neuter as the best way to save the lives of companion animals, feral cats and abandoned dogs who otherwise would killed in a shelter or on the streets. In February, more than 270 cats have been sterilized locally by cat advocates to mark World Spay Day on Feb. 26. We will conclude the annual event with phone requests to 30 local vets to donate 2 surgeries per month for the coming year, making the event's impact last all year.
The Venice Cat Coalition and St. Francis Animal Rescue are leading the effort, which tapped into the resources of local veterinarian Dr. Andrea Bivens. Additional surgical equipment is being provided by the Animal Rescue Coalition, and a team of experienced cat technicians are also participating to ensure the program's success. Among the 270 surgeries, many were provided by Buddy's Feral Cat Program as well as Sarasota in Defense of Animals.
Initially the four day MASH-type surgery event was initiated by the Venice Cat Coalition. It earmarked funding provided by a donor who recognized the problem of inadequate spay-neuter surgeries to serve the populations of Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. Since then, additional funding has been provided by memorial contributions from family and friends of Venice Cat Coalition founder Theresa Foley, whose father passed away two weeks ago. Those memorial funds allowed a fourth day of surgeries and 20 more cats to be added.
"Imagine the impact we can make if we can continue to sterilize 200 cats a week in our three counties on a routine basis," said Theresa Foley, Venice Cat Coalition executive director. "We have the organizational ability and veterinarians to do this. What we need more than anything is funding to continue this clinic for the remainder of 2013 and beyond. We have worked to get the cost to about $25 per cat. We are diligently recruiting new supporters, donors and allies to get spay-neuter funding and legislation in place so that our counties can proudly join in the national campaign to save lives," Foley said.
The clinic is currently booking for March. Call 941-525-4568 for a reservation.
To mail a check, make online donations or contribute to the memorial fund, please go to our website at www.venicecatcoalition.com.
Anyone wishing to underwrite or sponsor any part of the clinic should contact Theresa Foley directly at 941-525-4568.
WHAT: Free spay-neuter clinic for cats
WHEN: February 23, 24, 25 and 26 (8 am to noon)
WHERE: St. Francis Animal Rescue
1925 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL
Comments