This week’s Grunion Gazette featured a story about a score of domestic cats dumped among the ferals at the Alamitos Bay landing in Seal Beach (please read the entire story here, and thanks to writer Ashleigh Ruhl for writing an effective account). According to statements from Seal Beach Animal Care Center board member Dee Carey, the cats appeared healthy but were also frightened and difficult to catch. One ran from its would-be rescuers and was hit by a car and killed.
You no more dump domestic cats, rabbits or other pets into feral colonies as you would put your grandmother on a beach cruiser and send her peddling down the 710. Thank whatever goodness there is for devoted, knowledgeable rescuers. Two of these from Seal Beach—the all-volunteer animal-rescue organizations SBACC and Helen Sanders CatPAWS—have taken 13 of the cats into their care; the others went to the Mission Viejo shelter and the Animal Hospital of Huntington Beach. Several are featured in the Virtually Pets section. They all seem affectionate, although understandably nervous.
“CatPAWS took five, SBACC took eight,” said Annelle Baum, CatPAWS cofounder. “Can you believe that these domesticated kitties not only were dumped but they aren’t even fixed? This will add several hundred dollars to their care until they are adopted.”
CatPaws also is personally paying for room and board at a special facility they built inside a Long Beach pet-boarding facility. At $5.00 a day per cat, this can get pricey for an all-volunteer organization; both SBACC and CatPAWS would appreciate donations.
“We always need donations, but our bigger concern is space, as we are inundated with kittens. We need adoptions!” Carey said. SBACC has its own beautiful cat facility, also named for feral rescuer Helen Sanders, who passed away in 2005.
A $1,000 reward is being jointly offered by SBACC and CatPAWS for information leading to the arrest of the offender, who will pay a hefty fine. I hope he or she will get some education, and I wish that it could be accompanied by a day in the public stocks, although Facebook works pretty well in that arena. Sadly, this is far from an isolated incident. One of our cats, Eunice, was a CatPaws rescue, and she spent the first few hours of her now happy fatso life in a garbage can with 13 littermates. It may have taken a slow news day—it happened in Seal Beach, after all—to make this nasty incident public, and it undoubtedly was thanks to the dedication of both rescue organizations to bring it to the front page of a popular weekly. Furthermore, Carey also stated in the Grunion article that all the cats seemed to be related to one another. The scenario I get is that someone got a cat, probably female, and even with all the available low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter options we have in this area, neglected to get the pet fixed, and bingo—20 cats in two years, which the article reported to be the age of the oldest cats. And there could have been more—who knows what happened to them? So multiply that by the number of unaltered roaming cats—and multiply it by the frequency at which cats do multiply—and you’ve got shelter overpopulation, ferals and anything ill that can befall an unprotected animal.
If you’re reading this article and have room in your home and heart for one or two of the cats or can make a donation, please click on the links on the organizations’ names. Most of all, spay or neuter your pets, and if you know of anyone who cannot afford the procedure, alert them to one of the efforts listed in Pet Projects or to a low-cost spay/neuter hospital such as Golden State Humane Society. This will help prevent what Baum succinctly described in one sentence: “What a horrible, horrible situation for these innocent cats and kittens.”
“The question is not, ‘Can they reason?’ nor, ‘Can they talk?’ but rather, ‘Can they suffer?'”
~ Jeremy Bentham, 18th-century British philosopher and political radical
Virtually Pets
Now, meet a few sample cats. All are young; the tabbies may be 6 months old, and the black female could be as old as 8 months. As of this writing, the SBACC cats haven’t been named, but by the time you run down there to pick a couple of them up, they surely will have been.
At Helen Sanders CatPAWS
Hannah
Maya
Harper
At SBACC
Jetty Cat 1
Jetty Cat 3
Pet Projects
Fix Long Beach Mobile Clinic Alters 31 Pets!
On Saturday, Aug. 10, several families came with their cherished family members—their cats and dogs—to the fifth Fix Long Beach mobile spay/neuter clinic at Cesar Chavez Park to get their pets spayed or neutered for free. Fix Long Beach’s efforts help to prevent situations like the one described in the above article. Also available were inoculations for species-specific inoculations, flea treatment, and education from Fix Long Beach volunteers (including the veterinarian) and an officer from Long Beach Animal Care Services. Another event is scheduled for Aug. 24 at Drake Park. Meanwhile, you can donate here to help fund additional clinics and reduce the animal overpopulation crisis.
Left: “My dogs are superstars!” said Ken Johnson, seen here with Fix Long Beach volunteer Jayne Ure and his four dogs. Johnson, who is homeless, recently found out about Fix Long Beach and decided to do what he knew he should have done long ago. “This is something I’ve been counting on doing for a long time,” Johnson said.
Through August, Spay/Neuter Voucher Distribution, Long Beach Animal Care Services at Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring St., Long Beach, Weds.–Fri. 10AM–5:30PM; Sat.–Sun. 10AM–4PM (ACS is closed on Mondays,Tuesdays and holidays)
Throughout the month of August, Long Beach Animal Care Services will be distributing spay/neuter vouchers in person at their facility at the PD Pitchford Companion Animal Village. Vouchers are only valid at participating veterinary clinics and will be distributed solely to residents of Long Beach and the four contract cities (Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cerritos and Signal Hill), one per household. Additional vouchers may be distributed upon request and with supervisor approval.
“We usually offer a limited number of vouchers on the firstThursdayof the month; however, through the generous support of our community, we are able to increase this program for the entire month of August,” said ACS manager Ted Stevens. “In all five cities within our jurisdiction, dogs are required to be licensed. In Long Beach, cats are required by to be licensed with current rabies shots and spayed or neutered.”
The vouchers are redeemable only at participating local veterinary hospitals and clinics. In order to qualify for a voucher, pet owners must provide proof of address through photo ID or a utility bill. Owners must pay the remaining balance of the spay or neuter procedure directly to the veterinary hospital, and ACS will reimburse the veterinary hospital for up to $30 of the procedure. Availability and pricing will vary. Please call ahead for pricing and appointment information. A full listing of participating veterinarians can be found here under Spay & Neuter Programs.
In addition to the discounted cost of a dog license, Stevens added, spaying or neutering your pet helps reduce companion animal overpopulation. Furthermore, sterilization increases the chance of your pet having a longer, healthier life as well as a lower risk of developing a number of expensive and deadly diseases. Finally, sterilization can make your dog or cat a better pet, reducing their urge to roam and decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt.
Saturday, Aug. 24, spcaLA Mobile Adoption event, PetSmart, Long Beach Towne Center, 7631 Carson Blvd., Long Beach, 10:30AM–3:30PM
Can’t make it to an spcaLA Pet Adoption Center? We can come to you! Meet our adorable adoptables at PetSmart!
Sunday, Sept. 1, Catalina Humane Society Dogathon and Dr. Denny Day, Joe Machado Field, Avalon, Catalina, 10AM–2:00PM
The Catalina Humane Society is gearing up for its first-ever community event: an outdoor Dog Festival and Dr. Denney Appreciation Day during Sunday, Labor Day weekend! Planned activities include a dog parade at10AM, a dog show, contests and dog demonstrations. The Dogathon fund-raiser is simple and easy: no jogging, no cupcakes to bake, no wrapping paper or magazines to sell. Just pick up an entry form at Coney Island, the Steamer Trunk or DC-3 at the Airport-in-the-Sky and ask family, friends, neighbors and coworkers to donate whatever they can to the Catalina Humane Society. Whoever collects the most money (all donations are tax deductible) receives Best of Show honors. The winning dog may be the fund-raiser’s own pet or someone else’s dog, or you can select one of the dogs attending the event. Second- and third-prize winners also receive “titles.” All money raised helps CIHS with its trap-neuter-release, feral cat colonies, low-cost pet adoptions, school programs, therapy-dog training and much more. Also, join us in a citywide hug to our fantastic local vet, Dr. Richard Denney, and enjoy live music, food, vendors, fun dog contests (costumes, pet tricks, show categories, etc.) for the whole family, which of course includes The Dog! For more information, check out our CIHS Facebook page.
Volunteers Needed for Third Annual Holiday Bone-Anza Event.
Presentedby Friends of El Dorado Dog Park
The Friends of El Dorado Dog Park, an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit, are looking for volunteers to assist with their November 17 event that will take place at Good Neighbor Park, 2800 Studebaker Rd. on Nov. 17, 10AM–4PM.
“With the dog park opening soon, it is going to be more important than ever to create a successful Holiday Bone-Anza fund-raiser,” said Mary Matthieson, FEDDP president. “We are all on the same goal of making our dog park a premier dog park.” Besides setting up and breaking down the event, volunteers will be needed to help with managing booths, helping with activities, flier distribution and a number of other things. FEDDP will send out an e-mail for the scheduling of a volunteer meeting at the first of October. For information, click here or send an e-mail to [email protected]
Every Thursday in July and August, Free Yappy Hour, Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E Ocean Blvd,Long Beach, 9AM–5PM
LBMA’s Architecture for Dogs is celebrating human’s best friend in the best way. Yappy Hour, sponsored by Pussy and Pooch provides doggie snacks, and leashed pets can play outside on models of the très modernes living spaces for dogs featured in the exhibit. Your dog is welcome to view the exhibit with you as long as you can carry him or her; a free pet valet by Wooftidoo is available for larger dogs to wait for their humans. There will be giveaways and much more!
Sunday, Sept. 15, Pet Foster Class, P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring St., Long Beach, CA, 10AM–noon
Help a pet better his or her chance at adoption! SpcaLA is looking for foster parents for pets of all ages and needs. Potential foster parents must fill out and submit an application, available here, prior to attending a foster class. We provide the food, materials and pet—you provide a temporary loving home! For more info, call (323) 730-5300 x300 or e-mail [email protected].