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San Luis Obispo County is currently experiencing a very large feline overpopulation
problem. There are simply too many cats in our county and not enough homes. One of the main
causes of this problem is a lack of low-cost Spay and Neuter services throughout the county. The overpopulation
of cats in San Luis Obispo County has reached a saturation point. Over the past 18 months, our
shelter and other local rescue groups have seen feline adoptions decrease drastically, while
the demand to relinquish cats is greater than ever. At Woods, the number of dogs brought in
and placed have both increased over the past year, but the number of cats brought in and
placed is only 60% of what it was for the previous year.
There is a correlation between the increased cat population and the dissolution
of the only low-cost spay/neuter option in the area, the now-defunct Central Coast Spay
Shuttle. Rescue groups are no longer able to use the shuttle, and must instead contract
with local veterinary clinics. Woods Humane Society will fill the gap left by the demise
of the spay shuttle by offering feline spay/neuter to Animal Services and local rescue groups.
Spay/Neuter Program
In an effort to reduce the number of homeless companion animals in our community, we
implemented a mandatory spay/neuter policy for all animals we shelter in 1993. Now that our
Spay/Neuter Surgery Suite is completed, our ultimate goal is not only to serve pets in our
care, but to expand our spay/neuter program to include spay and neuter for county Animal
Services, rescue groups, and low-income pet owners who would otherwise be unable to afford
it. There is currently no low-cost spay/neuter option available in San Luis Obispo County, and
we consider filling the need for affordable sterilization an essential component of our larger
goal of becoming a no-kill county.
In recognition of the county’s cat overpopulation crisis, we would like to make
our first steps towards this goal by offering free sterilization for cats to local rescue
groups. By collaborating with local rescue groups, whose activities include Trap-Neuter-Release
and adoption programs, we will collectively deal with the cat overpopulation problem. Local
organizations that we would offer feline spay/neuter services to are: Cal Poly Feral Cat
Program, Feline Network, H.A.R.T., North County Humane Society, and P.O.U.N.C.E.
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