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Catcall
By Annie Stoltie
Saylor, a rescued polydactyl cat who lives in Lewis, can unscrew jar tops. His owner shot a clip of him opening a jug then rewarding himself with the treats inside and submitted it to America's Funniest Home Videos. Saylor didn't win a cash prize, but he did appear on national television.
House cats (Felis catus) are clever creatures. Now, if they could just put a sentence together. Something like, "I live in the split-level by the post office. I chased a chipmunk too far and can't find my way home. Help. Oh, and meow."
At least that's Jeanne Polunci's dream. Since the late 1980s she, with partner George Patrick, has operated Purrs and Paws Feline Rescue and Adoption Agency, a Lake George organization that takes in Warren County animals slated for euthanization (after five days the county can kill unclaimed ones). If cats could talk Polunci says she could return them or offer choice words and some very specific physical action—remember, this is only a dream—to owners who abuse their pets.
Right now there are 500 felines at Purrs and Paws; 120 at Saranac Lake's Tri-Lakes Humane Society; 80 at Corinth's Adirondack Save-A-Stray; and 55 at Westport's North Country Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—the only animal shelters within the Blue Line. (At press time Tupper Lake's new Pet House for cats is shut down. Volunteers have 60 days to find homes for the facility's 225 residents.) These numbers don't reflect the feral cat colonies surviving in the wild or the hundreds of abandoned four-leggeds in Hamilton County, where strays are taken all the way to Gloversville, in Fulton County. And though shelters are already full, occupancy isn't as high as it'll get: Spring is upon us, which means a surge of kittens. Soon adorable fluff balls will arrive in droves.
From February through October cats breed, sometimes four or five times a year. That means a female, beginning as young as five months, can produce litters with as few as three or as many as 11 kittens. If a colony of a dozen cats is reproducing at this rate, do the math. That's a lot of critters.
The solution? Spaying and neutering. Both require a relatively simple surgical procedure by veterinarians that can cost a couple hundred dollars—cheaper than the price of food and medical care for a full brood. So why is it that so many pet owners don't have their animals fixed?
"Some people never think to do it," says Polunci. Others use the "male argument," that it's wrong to snip an animal's masculinity—often the same folks who consider cats to be "disposable," she adds. Lax pet owners let their unfixed, unvaccinated cats outside, which increases the chance of breeding; contracting and spreading rabies, distemper, leukemia or other diseases; becoming a meal for a coyote; being hit by a car; or getting lost. (Purrs and Paws's adoption contract stipulates that animals be kept indoors.)
Polunci says that some pet owners can't afford to spay and neuter, particularly during an economic recession. Indeed, money seems to be a big issue, according to North Country SPCA shelter manager Pam Rock. She thinks the public isn't aware of the assistance available, such as the New York State Animal Population Control Program. The state gives vouchers that reduce spaying and neutering charges for pets adopted from approved organizations to $30; it's $20 for people on public assistance. This process involves a good amount of paperwork—and time.
Rock's adoption contract requires, as per state law, that age-appropriate cats and dogs be spayed or neutered within 30 days. But enforcing this is almost impossible. That's why, says Tri-Lakes's shelter manager Lena Bombard, animals in her charge are automatically fixed before they can go home with anyone. Adirondack rescues aren't government subsidized, but rely on donations, contracts with towns (participating municipalities pay for guaranteed cage space for strays), fund-raisers and the occasional grant. So the Saranac Lake shelter's commitment to fix its population is a costly one.
What about financially strapped pet owners who already have an intact cat or two at home? Thanks to passionate volunteers, they've got options. Lake Placid–based Adirondack Friends of the Animals raises money and donates it for spaying and neutering. Same with Cats Limited of Hamilton County, which also collects proceeds from its annual summer crafts fair in Piseco. Cats Limited deals with feral cats, too. Seventy-seven-year-old codirector Pat Leadley locates colonies, catches cats one by one in Havahart traps, gets them fixed and returns them.
In May veterinarian Stacy Lambrinos, from Beekmantown, will realize her dream, launching a project that can't help but make a dent in North Country cat and dog populations. With money she's saved, Lambrinos has purchased an 18-foot custom-made solar-powered trailer—an operating room on wheels. Her Red Fern Spay & Neuter Mobile Veterinary Clinic will offer low-cost surgeries, with affordable medical care. You'll find the trailer in Tri-Lakes's parking lot every Friday.
Contact information:
Adirondack Friends of the Animals
PO Box 28
Lake Placid, NY 12946
(518) 523-3369
Adirondack Save-A-Stray
4880 Route 9N
Corinth, NY 12822
(518) 654-6220
www.petfinder.com
Cats Limited of Hamilton County
(518) 548-8732
Craft fair to benefit the organization: August 29, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., at the Piseco Community Hall.
New York State Animal Population Control Program
NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
10B Airline Drive
Albany, NY 12235-0001
(888) 669-0870
www.agmkt.state.ny.us
Pet House
190 Main Street
Tupper Lake, NY 12986
(518) 359-2528
Purrs and Paws Feline Rescue and Adoption Agency
3857 Route 9L
Lake George, NY 12845
(518) 798-0718
www.purrsandpawsrescue.org
Red Fern Spay & Neuter Mobile Veterinary Clinic
(518) 645-0178
www.redfernvet.com
Tri-Lakes Humane Society
PO Box 1111
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
(518) 891-0017
www.petfinder.com
North Country Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
23 Lake Shore Road
Westport, NY 12993
(518) 962-8604
www.ncspca.org
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