During the 1990s and 2000s, Helen Sanders would ride through the streets of Seal Beach on her big three-wheeled bicycle equipped with a large basket, which was filled with cat food. This she would distribute to the homeless cats who lived by the jetty on First Street, near the San Gabriel River Bike Trail.

Sanders’ mission involved more than feeding stray kitties. According to animal advocate Deborah Felin-Magaldi, Sanders would manage the colony of jetty cats by scooping them up, getting them fixed and vaccinated, and putting them back by the rocks. She did all this even before the term “trap/neuter/return” (TNR) was coined or practiced as widely as it is now, She continued in her humane endeavor until her death in 2005. By this time, thanks to Sanders’ commitment, care and support from the community, the number of cats had whittled down from several dozen to about five.

sign showing a silhouette of a woman feeding cats, the full moon above, is embedded on a wall next to a placque commemorating HElen Sanders.
A commemorative plaque honoring Helen Sanders graces a wall bordering the beach at First Street in Seal Beach. Photo courtesy of Helen Sanders CatPAWS.

 

That may be success on a small scale, but it’s also an example of how the birth of unwanted pets and shelter overcrowding can be humanely prevented if everyone does their part—not just in cat colonies but beginning at home. Feb. 23, is World Spay Day. And neuter is understood, of course—”World Spay Day” just trips off the tongue more gracefully.

On Feb. 23 at 5 p.m., Felin-Magaldi, who helped organize the all-volunteer Helen Sanders CatPAWS, will join Fix Long Beach board president Diana Kliche for a Zoom presentation designed to educate anyone, anywhere about the necessity to make spaying and neutering pets available to everyone.

“This has always been area of interest for me,” Felin-Magaldi said. “We have to turn off the faucets, and we have to impress on the populace how to help. We have to chip away at reasons that people won’t fix the pets, too, but we also have to provide tools and resources to get their animals fixed.”

Those faucets are sourced by a number of wells: backyard breeders, people who think that their children’s lives would be enhanced by seeing the miracle of birth or feel that animals should be left as nature intended, unaltered stray animals and cats in feral colonies, and “oops litters”—accidental litters born when, say, an unspayed dachshund female whose owners are attempting to breed her with another dachshund digs under the fence and meets up with Marmaduke. Unfixed cats allowed to run free or kept in a location with the opposite feline sex present can drop up to five litters a year from the time they’re four months old. That’s a lot of kittens—the luckier ones wind up in rescues like CatPAWS. The others wind up euthanized, eaten by wildlife, hit by cars, or set upon by cruel humans.

“In our city in 2015, we had a law passed that would make it mandatory for people to fix their cats and dogs,” Kliche said. “Obviously, we felt that it was incredibly important. Deborah asked me if we’d like to participate in World Spay Day because, since [Fix Long Beach’s] inception, we’ve helped spay and neuter roughly 10,000 pets and we’ve seen the euthanasia rate at our shelter decrease every year. Spay/neuter is beneficial for all communities throughout the world, not just in the U.S.”

Felin-Magaldi and Kliche will explain what their organizations do and how they plan to increase community access to low-cost spay/neuter procedures, advantages of the procedure, resources to make them available to people who can’t otherwise afford them, and how the community at large can help apply Helen Sanders’ efforts to cats, dogs and rabbits. The presentation will also include guest speakers, a question-and-answer session, and fun, games and trivia contests. Participants will be entered into a drawing for a $100 American Express Card, which will buy a nice supply of kibble.

Register for the World Spay Day event here. It’s free to attend, but donations are always welcome. They can be made here and will be split between CatPAWS and Fix Long Beach to help fund their spay/neuter efforts. More details are available in the Just fur fun and fur-ther education section.

Virtually pets

Helen Sanders would be grateful to see how far her eponymous organization has come. The little guys seen in these photos came from unspayed mothers and unneutered fathers, and they’re some of the lucky ones. Donations to Helen Sanders CatPAWS help to fix both kittens and mothers (and the fathers, too, if they can locate them), get them vaccinated and checked by a vet, and loved in foster homes until they go to a loving home forever. To adopt any of these cats, visit this link, click on a photo, and fill out the adoption application.

white cat with black ear masks, body and black spot on forelegs looks at camera , forelegs in forefront.
Fumble, 5 months old, is the perfect catch! This boy will make a play for your heart and he’ll score a touchdown! Fumble is the MVP and is ready to show his tackle skills with any toy you have! He can’t wait to sign on to a forever team.

 

BEautiful brown tabby with white chese stares fixedly at camera.
Quarterback, 5 months old, is ready to join your team! This boy comes in clutch when it comes to cuddle time or playtime. He loves to tackle fake mice or score treats for being adorable. He can’t wait to sign on to an official family!

 

Silver tabby stares with her big, green eyes at camera.
Serenity, 1 year old, is ready to relax with a good book and take naps with you all day! She will be your buddy when you come home from work ready to unwind—just let her jump into your lap. Let this cutie bring some calm into your life!

 

white cat with large black spots, a black tail and a black head mask cuddles next to his brother, who has the same pattern but more black on his body.
Phineas and Ferb are both 11 months old. They’re brothers, and they are named after the cartoon because they always make their own fun! They love going on adventures together and always end up curled up in a cuddle-pile. They are looking to go home together.

 

cat with tabby patches and white muzzle and legs lies on a floral bedspread.
And here’s Chompers (pronounced “shom-PAY], 10 years old, nearly toothless and bearing a striking resemblance to Elvis Presley. This mature gal was an owner surrender to a public shelter. She was suffering from a painful mouth condition called stomatitis, so painful she couldn’t eat. CatPAWS got her dental surgery, and now she needs a home to call her own. Be advised—Chompers is not a “starter cat.” Whatever experience she had with her former owners has turned her into somewhat of a challenge. She can be sweet and playful, but her new human will need patience and understanding, and her furever home should be without children or any other pets.

 

Just fur fun and fur-ther education

Celebrate World Spay Day with two animal-welfare organizations, Feb. 23, 5 p.m., free event, register here

Join Helen Sanders CatPAWS and Fix Long Beach for a virtual educational event on World Spay Day! Your optional donation to participate will support both organizations. All participants will also be entered to win a $100 American Express Gift Card. Read more about CatPAWS’ namesake, Helen Sanders, and the event and its organizers here.

Help wanted, help given

Feline Good Social Club needs willing subjects for its bewhiskered nobility

Feline Good Social Club needs volunteers in key areas to help get things ready for reopening. Want to be part of a kowtowing staff to cats, because cats expect it? Email [email protected].

DIY Kitten Care Kits available free at Long Beach Animal Care Services

Kitten season is just about up, but kittens still enter shelters. It isn’t unusual to find nests of young, seemingly abandoned kittens during kitten season. It is a natural reaction to want to help, to save them. But before you jump in, consider these steps outlined here. If you are interested in obtaining a Kitten Care Kit made possible by Helen Sanders CatPAWS, please email [email protected].

Spay/neuter vouchers available at shelter

Long Beach Animal Care Services has spay/neuter vouchers available. They’ll take a healthy nip out of the cost of a procedure. Residents of any of the five cities served by the shelter can telephone the general number at 562-570–7387 to request a voucher.

 Spay/neuter appointments are available at SNP/LA

The Spay/Neuter Project of Los Angeles (SNP/LA) is back in business for free and low-cost spay/neuter services, and they’re extending the hours of their vaccination clinics. The San Pedro clinic, located at 957 N. Gaffey St., will give shots every third Thursday between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Call 310-574–5555 to see if you qualify for services.

If you can see the bottom of the kibble bag

Helen Sanders CatPAWS offers, through specific private donors, e-gift cards for people struggling during the crisis to buy food for their pets. The CatPAWS Spay/Neuter Fund, also privately funded, has vouchers available for anyone not able to go to the shelter for them. They also accept donations.

Pets of the Homeless‘ home page gives a self-description as the only organization focusing only on providing food and care for pets belonging to homeless people. Businesses and other organizations across the country receive in-kind donations of food and other needs that the dogs and cats’ human families can pick up at outreach locations. The following Long Beach businesses will accept your donations:

Trendi Pawz, 3726 E. Seventh St.

Belmont Heights Animal Hospital, 255 Redondo Ave.

Paw Shoppe Pet Center, Inc., 6416 E. Spring St.

Food and supplies are available at Beacon for Him Ministries, 1535 Gundry Ave. Long Beach, Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m.; and at Christian Outreach in Action, 515 E. Third St., Long Beach, Thursday from 9 to 11:00 a.m. Donations will be gratefully accepted at these locations as well.

Adopt, adopt, adopt

Pet Food Express Cat Adoption Center: weekdays and Saturday 10 a.m.–8 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, adoption fees apply.

This adoption center is a much-needed satellite operation of Long Beach Animal Care Services. Julie and her team pull adoptable cats—”adoptable,” to these guys, means any cat in a shelter kennel! The team socializes the kitties until they’re adopted, which takes less time than you could imagine!

 Helen Sanders CatPAWS adoption center: viewable daily during store hours, PetSmart, 12341 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, adoption fees apply.

Window-shopping’s a neat pastime and likely has become more common during the pandemic. Helen Sanders CatPAWS has applied window-shopping to cat adoption; you can peer at several of the fine felines through the windows of the PetSmart adoption center in Seal Beach. Sadly, no ear scratching or chin rubs at this time, but volunteers can answer questions and provide you with adoption information! Be sure to wear a mask. You can find adoption applications and all the kitties here.

Links to loveables

The following pet-related businesses regularly feature cat, dog and rabbit adoptions, but as of now, adoptions are mainly by appointment. Click on the links for each rescue in case of updates or changes. These organizations operate through donations and grants, and anything you can give would be welcome. Please suggest any Long Beach-area rescues to add to the list.