Introducing Snip N' Chip
A program for pet cats -- aimed at improving their life quality, strengthening the cat/human bond and reducing the number of socialized cats/kittens euthanized at sheleters as unclaimed or surplus pets.

Rarely do you have the opportunity to do not only what's best for your own cat -- but also for the many homeless cats in our community.  With our 2- step Snip N' Chip approach, you can.  Here's how:

Step 1.  Sterilize your cat.  Sterilized cats have better temperaments, live longer healthier lives and are more affectionate companions.  Sterilization virtually eliminates unsavory cat behaviors like fighting, yowling and urine spraying.  An intact cat is a litter about to happen.  If you delay or decide not to sterilize your cat, you increase his/her chances of having or causing a litter.  Sadly, in our community, only 1 in 3 cats available for adoption find homes -- the rest are euthanized.

Step 2.  Microchip your cat.  No matter how careful you are with your cat, there is always a risk she'll get lost.  Without identification you stand only about a 6% chance of getting her back.  Collars and ID tags help, but are frequently lost by the time the cat makes it to a shelter.  Animal control shelters hold lost cats for only about a week for guardians to claim, so a cat without ID is frequently euthanized within days of getting lost.  Typically, only those that are very young (under 6 years) and very friendly are put up for adoption -- and then, only if the shelter has space.  If no one adopts them within a short time, they too will be euthanized.

Today vets can safely implant a tiny microchip -- the size of a grain of rice -- into the rear neck of the cat.  This microchip contains a unique ID number that can later be read with a scanner.  Over 20,000 shelters nationwide -- including our local animal control shelters -- routinely scan for these microchips as a part of their intake routine.  The ID numbers are stored in national data banks and can easily route your cat home to you.  No other form of ID is this effective.  This is your best -- quite possibly your only -- way of ensuring your cat's safe return.

We believe so strongly that snipping and chipping is the key to keeping your pet cat safe and healthy while immediately lowering the number of cats and kittens turned into shelters, that we will pay the cost for those that want "to do the right thing" but haven't the income to do so.  Contact us for program details.

Sterilization is the most humane way to limit cat numbers -- and, coupled with ID microchipping -- is the only way to stop the daily euthanasia of healthy cats in our community.  Won't you help by getting the cats you care for "snipped and chipped"?

Feral Cat Program Grows
1,450 Sterilized Cats in 290 Colonies
Our Plan Year ended September 30th on a bright note -- we funded the vaccination and sterilization of 517 managed outdoor cats in Washtenaw County -- this was up 29% over 2002 when we sterilized 400 cats.  Since the program's inception in 2000, we've worked with 290 cat caregivers who provide daily food, water and minimal shelter to over 1,450 unowned outdoor cats.

While we plug along in Washtenaw County -- we are impressed with the development of similar programs in communities adjacent to us.  The City of Tecumseh recently established a nonprofit corporation called the Community Cat Coalition to TNR (trap/neuter/return) the feral cats in their community.  The program is being funded through private donations.  In South Lyon an animal control officer is working with a local bank to set up a nonprofit also for the purpose of sterilizing and returning the managed feral cats in their city.

We are taken by the involvement of the local municipalities in endorsing these programs, adding more credence to the use of humane measures to limit and control feral cat populations.  Instead of focusing on antiquated practices of cat licensing and pet limit ordinances, these communities are taking the lead by setting a humane example for their citizens.  This use of "carrots" instead of "sticks" is very effective in getting cat overpopulation under control -- it's nice to see the practices so close to home!

Cat News You Can Use
Cats and Allergies.  At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (March, 2003), Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills, head of Allergy and Asthma at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville stated: "Contrary to what's long been advised, people who suffer from the itchy eyes, sniffling and sneezing of allergies need not get rid of their feline companions...  You usually hear that families (with allergies) should get rid of their cats.  But we do not have enough evidence to say to families with allergies and asthma that they should do this."  Source: MSNBC.com/news

New FIV Vaccine.  Although there is no cure for Feline FIV, a vaccine is now available to help prevent cats from catching it.   Feline FIV is a retrovirus that shares many biological similarities to the human HIV, but FIV is not as easily transmitted.  About two percent of the cats in the U.S. have it.  The primary transmission occurs through bite wounds but in rare instances it can be transmitted from an infected mother to her kittens during gestation or by the newborns drinking her infected milk or by blood transfusion.  There is no evidence of any humans infected with FIV.  Source: Catnip Magazine, October 2003

Note: If you vaccinate your cat for FIV be aware that the cat may then test positive for the virus.  Since many veterinarians still recommend euthanizing positive cats, it's a good idea to microchip your cat just in case she gets lost and turns up at a shelter.   Making sure your cat is neutered and permitting only supervised outdoor access may be sufficient for preventing the disease instead.