There is an explosion of baby kittens here in Lake County and presumably everywhere. Certainly on my own street.
It’s worrisome. Because with neglect they will continue reproducing and on and on and on.
I’ve already rescued three abandoned kittens and was able to get them spayed and neutered through a foundation and then adopted out.
The lack of veterinarians has caused the once free spay and neuter clinics to have mostly disappeared. The last one I remember was held at Robinson’s Rancheria. A vet there told me it took less than six minutes to spay a female cat. So why is that procedure so expensive at a veterinary clinic?
Jameson Humane, located in Napa, contacted me about a free vaccination and microchip clinic happening in Lake County on Saturday, October 6; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clearlake Senior Community Center, 23245 Bowers Ave, Clearlake.
This is a free cat and dog vaccination and microchip event. First come, first serve.
My own cats are due for vaccinations and I intend on queueing to get them updated on their shots. I love my vet but I love free stuff even more. Especially since I have four furballs. All rescued, mind you.
Only one has to go to the vet for regular visits as he has kidney disease and has lost too much weight and has other symptoms of the disease. I’m hoping that the vet visits will help him go through this disease as painlessly as possible. He still loves affection and loves to climb on my chest to sleep and even though he doesn’t weigh much, it’s a bit much.
When there are clinics that pop up to help animals (and their cash-strapped owners) it’s important to get the word out. As early as possible for people to make plans to care for their pets.
My cats entertain me, in their own way. Such different personalities. They came to my door seeking help. The youngest one came from the neighbor who didn’t give a damn about her and abandoned her. A little black and white kitten, she loves more than anything to roll around in the dirt. The other day she rolled in weeds that covered her in over 500 little round burrs that stuck like Velcro. She let me brush them, comb them and pick them off until only about 20 of them remained. She took care of those.
That was not entertaining but once clean, she was back to her silly self of standing on her head on the small platform of her cat scratching post, grabbing for her tail. That was and always is entertaining.
The white polydactyl (six-toed) cat who was pregnant when she showed up at my door, delivered her babies in my hall closet, during the pandemic. The antics of those kittens entertained people on social media as I posted their daily lives.
Those posts led them to be adopted when the time came. Lake County resident, Laura McAndrews Sammel and her family adopted one of the babies. She recently told me, “Moony came to us at the height of the Covid lockdown and brought so much joy to our family. She adjusted beautifully and can often be seen playing with our other cat, Harry, climbing trees, rolling in the dirt, and even tolerating our dog Daisy. She is sweet, vocal, and loves spending her evenings curled up at the foot of my bed with Daisy.”
Sammel then added, “Can’t imagine my life without that little girl. We love her so much!”
That’s a definite benefit of adopting little animals. There are so many around – just look at social media – they are everywhere. Which is why it’s so important to try and quell the situation; the rampant breeding of strays and even pets in the home. I got a commitment from Sammel, to spay Moony upon adoption. This recent batch of three abandoned kittens, I had them spayed and neutered before I adopted them out.
The problem of strays is crazy. Keeping them healthy isn’t easy but clinics (although far and few between) like the vaccination and microchipping by Jameson Humane clinic in October is one part of the solution.
What’s a girl to do?…keep talking about it, get the word out and hopefully some strays and family pets will get help.
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
