Thanks so much for putting out the great article on “The Queen,” by Marvin Mackie, DVM. It seems that a large number of people including too many vets are fuzzy about the topic – I know I was.
As you know, for over two decades now we have worked on the creation of a national network of spay clinics and programs, public and private, with some success. It has been truly heartening to see the spread of the idea from coast to coast and the zeal with which many people have embraced the idea of prevention, the public health approach.
After all that time, I have now come to see that spay delay has been as bad an influence (especially for cats) as the lack of resources. In fact if we can reduce the baseline of breeding felines, we have hope to end the pet surplus (which I personally believe is still very real and very much with us)So Fix Felines by Five was born.
Attached is our new logo and ten points about the campaign thus far. Now we need to recruit people who DO believe there is still a problem and that it can be solved if we prevent those first litters that fill our shelters. If we could just mainstream the concept that between two and five months is when to spay or neuter cats, we would see a nice drop in those unplanned litters. I have always been astounded at how surprised folks are that by six months their kitty could be a ‘mom’! and how many vets refuse to spay prior to six months!
Thank you for keeping us informed!
––Esther Mechler, executive director
P.O. Box 365, Brunswick, ME 04011
Phone: 207-798-7955
<esther@mariansdream.org>
[Involved in animal advocacy since 1974, Esther Mechler either founded or helped to cofound nine organizations of national prominence, eight of which either still exist or have active descendants. Founding Spay/USA in 1990, Mechler retired as executive director in 2008.]