Dear Shasta Lake City Residents
Dear Shasta Lake City residents,
FieldHaven Feline Center (in Lincoln) learned of your animal shelter several years ago when Margie Payne (from Glenn County) introduced us to Shad Boone and his big heart for animals. We would take cats and kittens whenever we could. At first it was just a few kittens and occasionally a cat. It hardly seemed to make a difference in the euthanasia rate but for those animals it did make a difference. It gave the staff hope that some could be saved.
There has never been any doubt that Shad and the rest of the folks there, including Cheri care so much and want to help the animals. It’s just that funding and resources were so very limited. So, we were grateful for whatever we could help save in your community. We pledged to do more as we can.
In late 2021 Best Friends Animal Society granted fund to FieldHaven that would provide us a small stipend for each cat and kitten we transferred from your shelter. It wasn’t a lot, but it would help offset FieldHaven’s expense to transfer and provide care for about 73 cats and kittens. 73 lives saved. That funding closed in late 2022. For 2023 something even better came along. We applied for a grant from the newly funded agency Cal for All Animals. We wanted to not just transfer cats and kittens out of your shelter but prevent the births of so many kittens that flooded the shelter during kitten season – and often not making it out alive. We received a grant for $50,000 – enough to fund almost 350 spays and neuters of local resident’s cats; up to four cats for each household in Shasta Lake City! In addition, a private donor pledged $10,000 to provide transfer and care for feral cats that had no place to go. Previously, ferals were euthanized in the shelter but for 2023, through the generosity of Mrs. Fischer, these cats will have a second chance at life as Rodent Rangers. We were beyond excited to get started on spaying and neutering well before kitten season started. A snag in veterinary resources left us frustrated watching kittens being born before we could get the program started.
But an angel came along in the form of Dr. Sargeant at Northstate Veterinary Clinic. He agreed to be our primary veterinarian for the program. May was his first month and he’s done over 100 spays and neuters already! But, alas! The female cats of Shasta Lake City have been very busy since the first of the year and they are popping out babies like crazy. We had hoped to get ahead of the kitten explosion but…. So, here’s where we need your help. The LAST PLACE we want to send kittens is to your small shelter. I can assure you the staff loves all the kitties, but they are a very small crew with not enough hours in the day to care for oodles of energetic, silly, messy kittens. Nor is there enough kennel space for kittens to have enough room to play and be far enough apart to not share germs. Think about kids in a crowded daycare. Holy sniffles and colds! That’s what happens to kittens too.
With not enough resources at your shelter the options aren’t great for sick kittens. We can avoid that – and save lives – if you, residents of Shasta Lake City, can foster or kitten-sit kittens. We are so close to really being on a life-saving path at the shelter that it’s heart-breaking to think about having to euthanize kittens. With your help, without violating city ordinance 6.04.30 Cattery definition, ordinance 6.12.030 licenses and 6.12.020 selling, giving away or auctioning animals, you can avoid that travesty. By agreeing to help raise kittens and not taking them to the shelter you will be a huge part of the life-saving efforts for these kittens. What is involved in Kitten Sitting? Well, we’re going to be working out the details as we go along because this is an emergency situation. With all of us working together we can make it work. Here’s where we’re going to start:
- You agree to be a Kitten Sitter for a litter your cat had, you found or someone else found and can’t care for.
- We (FieldHaven) will enroll you in our SLC Kitten Sitter program. What that means is that you’ll have access to kitten experts to answer any questions you have, guide you along the trials of kittenhood and help if there any medical issues until the kittens are of age to be spayed/neutered.
- This is an unfunded program, and we know that extra expenses of caring for a herd of kittens may be more than you’re able to sign up for so we will help as much as we can. We’ll start a fundraiser so people can donate for food, litter and other expenses.
These kids just need a good start in life and we’re hoping you can help. If you can’t Kitten Sit maybe you donate or help in some other way.
Donate to purchase kitten supplies for Shasta Lake Kitten Sitters
Use this link to register as a Kitten Sitter.
Thank you,
Joy Smith and Audra Murphy
FieldHaven Feline Center
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