Dailia is 2-months-old, spunky and playful. Courtesy
Dailia is 2-months-old, spunky and playful. Courtesy

Farmington Regional Animal Shelter has partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to provide a proven, effective, humane alternative for stray cats called a community cat program. When eligible, cats are trapped and taken to the shelter.

They are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, treated for parasites and ear-tipped. An ear tip is the universal sign that an outdoor cat has been spayed or neutered.After recovery, the cats are returned to their neighborhoods and the number of cats in the community are reduced over time.

The benefits of spay/neuter include:

Prevents unwanted litters, reducing community cat populationsSaves taxpayer dollars by keeping cats out of municipal sheltersDecreases the number of cats dying in sheltersHelps improve the health of outdoor catsReduces nuisance behaviors like spraying, fighting, howling and roamingCreates safer and healthier neighborhoods by reducing the number of unvaccinated cats

The value of TNR: Whether you love or loathe community cats, trap-neuter-return (TNR) is the most effective and humane way to effectively reduce the number of community cats and also reduce nuisance behaviors. In a TNR program, cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and then returned to their communities to live out their lives. Because they have been fixed and can no longer breed, the number of cats is reduced over time.

Being spayed or neutered also stops nuisance behaviors. Male cats are no longer competing or fighting with each other, spraying urine or roaming blocks away from their neighborhood. Females no longer yowl to seek a mate and no longer have kittens, of course. These behaviors are typically reduced immediately and eliminated completely only a month after surgery. Additionally, TNR provides vaccines, so the cats are healthier and do not pose a threat to public health.

For more information about the Farmington Community Cat Program, check on-line at https://www.farmingtonnm.gov/748/15600/Other-Services and/or email afrancisco@farmingtonnm.gov.

Pet of the Week: Dailia

Pretty little Dailia is here to let you know that kitten season has arrived at the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter. This two-months-old little lady is spunky and playful. Picked up as a stray, she spent a little time with a foster family to get some proper nutrition and is now ready to brighten someone’s life with her kitten antics. She has proven herself to be very friendly with other kittens and actually even dogs at her foster family. AI guesses she is a Siberian cat, a domestic cat that got its start in Russia but is now found around the world. If you are in need of some reasons to smile, come check out Dailia or any of the other kittens now available at the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter.