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October 6 – NORWALK – This is certainly not a new problem in town.
Stray cats.
The Huron County’s Humane Society is currently addressing a hot topic. The stray cat population is overwhelming and “we want everyone to know that we are aware of this problem and are working hard on possible solutions,” said managing director Darla Gow in this quarter’s newsletter.
“HCHS is a small, three-room facility designed to house cats, and the safety and comfort of our animals is our top priority,” said Gow. “With the cages and rooms we have we can comfortably accommodate 30 cats at a time, but often we have more than that. We have a garage area on the building that new cats go into when they come into the facility while they stay they recover from the stress of the shelter and wait for their vaccinations, disease tests and health assessments. “
Gow said society is accepting the handover of owners and accepting abused and neglected animals.
“We regularly have a list of people waiting for space to only record owner handovers,” she said. “When it comes to abused and neglected animals, HCHS has the only humane agent in the district. When we have more significant humane cases, we do not dismiss the comfort and safety of all animals in our facility.
“When it comes to taking in stray cats, our facility, staff and funding (as we are only funded by donations) do not allow us to house them safely and comfortably. Street cats are at higher risk due to their lack of infectious diseases. Because our cats are vaccinated against diseases, vaccinations are not always 100% effective. “
Gow said there are also highly contagious diseases and conditions that cannot be prevented by vaccinations that can spread like wildfire and cripple a shelter. She said that things like respiratory infections and ringworm can spread so quickly and easily when you are home to dozens of animals.
The story goes on
“These issues are complex and take weeks and sometimes months to resolve once they spread through the population,” said Gow. “We have a garage area to quarantine new cats; however, it is still attached to the building and does little to stop the spread of these diseases. The shelter is similar to a school or daycare center – it’s so easy, even with sanitary protocol, to spread disease. “
Gow said Huron County is partnering with Humane Ohio in Toledo.
“We offer appointments for transports to and from your facility for inexpensive castration and neutering,” she said. “Humane Ohio offers a community cat package for $ 29 that includes neutering / neutering, earplugs, and rabies vaccination for stray cats. A shipping fee of $ 5 brings these services to $ 34, which is a very reasonable price. “
Gow said 40 stray cats were spayed / neutered through the program in early August this year. The company is also developing a partnership with the Firelands Community Cat Coalition (FC3), a local non-profit trap / castration / release (TNR) organization. The FC3 runs on donations.
Call Darla at 419-663-7158 for more information.
REMARKS:
-Huron County Humane Society Bingo, tonight at the Eagles Club.
– Society yard sale, October 15th and 16th.
– Wine and food, November 13th.
