UPDATE: 2/22/2011 — I just received this message from Cheryl, who says (and I quote) “Humane Society for Southwest Washington is a member of ASAP and is also performing low-cost surgeries. 360-693-4746”
Thanks, Cheryl!
I’m lifting this text in toto from the Oregon Humane Society‘s Web site, but somehow I don’t think they’ll mind too much. (and if they do I’m sure I’ll hear about it and this post will go away)
2011: A Spay Odyssey
500 Cats Fixed In One Week, One Lucky “Cat” will win $500
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| For Spay Day, ASAP and the Oregon Humane Society boldly sets out to perform 500 surgeries in one week. |
In honor of Spay Day USA, and to prevent unwanted litters of kittens from being born this spring, the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP) is offering an additional 500 low cost ($10) spay/neuter surgeries the week of February 21st in five locations around the Portland/Vancouver metro area.
The Oregon Humane Society has committed to doing a record-breaking 222 of these surgeries on Spay Day, Feb. 22. To encourage participation, all cats coming through program during the week of Spay Day are eligible to be entered in a prize drawing for a $500 Fred Meyer gift card.
Spay Day USA is an annual observance on the last Tuesday of February that was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1995 to bring attention to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem. Caretakers of stray or feral cats can take advantage of this offer as well.
Qualified cat owners can have their unsterilized cats or kittens spayed or neutered for only $10. Surgeries are performed by licensed veterinarians and subsidized through charitable donations.
How to Qualify: For a cat owner to qualify, they must receive government assistance (such as Medicaid, WIC, food stamps, SSI, Section 8 public housing, AFDC, or TANF) and live in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, or Clark County. Those feeding unowned feral/stray cats need not meet income requirements.
Where: Services are being provided at the Oregon Humane Society by licensed veterinarians and caring surgical teams. Transportation may be available for those unable to take advantage of this offer due to travel issues.
How: Call: 503-802-6755 for a cat you own; or 503-797-2606 for feral cats to schedule an appointment for $10.
Low cost surgeries are being offered through the Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland’s Spay & Save program thanks to generous donations. This vital program is funded through private donations as well as grant monies. Special thanks to PetSmart Charities http://www.petsmartcharities.org for their grant support. See http://www.spaysave.org for details on qualifying, addresses of surgery locations and more.
The Wandering Mind 
Damn, that’s great. I got an excellent deal on Kitty’s operation, many years ago, thru a state-funded program for shelter animals, but it was nowhere that cheap. I admire everybody who takes in strays and looks out for ferals, but this is really the best way to keep animals from suffering.
I think I got some money off on Gracie’s spay operation, but like you said, nowhere near this cheap. I get so frustrated with people who insist on their animals breeding at least once before spaying them. It is not cruel to keep unwanted kittens (and puppies, for that matter) out of shelters where the life expectancy is 3 days. If this was done on a nationwide basis every year, there wouldn’t be all these unwanted pets being euthanized in overburdened shelters. I thought about papering the train stations and bus stops with flyers for this, but I’d probably get busted.
I know – it bugs me how people want to let their animals breed so the kids can witness the “miracle of birth” – they should be forced to take them to the overcrowded shelters the following winter, where all those poor homeless cats get dumped, to witness the miracle of euthanasia. The worst is people who dump the whole litter and the mother as well b/c they’re too cheap to spay her – the babies usually find homes, but the poor breeding moms, who are often pretty young themselves, get the worst of it. I think I’ve just persuaded myself to adopt an abandoned mommy cat next time I’m looking for one.
Right?? Gracie and Charlotte (RIP) were both adopted from the Humane Society. All my other cats were just strays that came into my life and stuck around, and they were all neutered/spayed.
Most people just should not be allowed to own pets.
Besides that, they’re so much more manageable after they’ve been fixed. Kitty is mercurial enough; I don’t need to deal with her going into heat and yowling and trying to jump out windows and the like. (BTW, do cats go thru menopause? At the age of 16, would she still be going into heat and having “change of life babies”??)
Huh, that’s a good question. I have no idea! 🙂 I sort of doubt it, though. Since I’ve never had a cat that wasn’t spayed, I really have no idea how long they are able to have babies.