[at-l] Felix gets fixed

[rhymworm@pop.mindspring.com (Robert Rubin)]

At 9:57 PM -0800 2/18/02, Ron Winchester wrote:
>   
>
>Robert Rubin wrote:
>
>"Felix gets fixed"
> 
>
> I did this years ago when my wife decided she didn't want any more kids.
>
> 
>Read all about it at:
>
><http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3304935&BRD=1289&PAG=461&dept_id=156
>62>http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3304935&BRD=1289&PAG=461&dept_id=15
>662
>7&rfi=6
>
> Sorry, but the page for this link can't be displayed.
>
>RonW

Hmm. Here's the story:

Felix gets fixed

By Boris E. Hartl, Times Staff Writer February 18, 2002

Michaela Stitely touches the cage where her 6-month-old cat, Duncan, is
recovering from surgery during the fixathon at Finksburg Veterinary Center
on Sunday.
Brendan Bush/Staff photo

FINKSBURG - Eight-month-old Tux rested inside a plastic pet container for a
Sunday afternoon drive to a veterinary office.

The trip would prove to be an important one, but the tuxedo Persian cat
probably didn't think so at first.

Finksburg resident Wanetta Black, the cat's owner, took advantage of a
low-cost, all day spaying-and-neutering session at the Finksburg Veterinary
Center on Sunday afternoon.

Tux didn't seem too frightened at the prospects of undergoing a five-minute
surgical procedure to remove his testicles in an effort to curb animal
overpopulation and protect the health of the animals.

"My daughter sat with him in the backseat and he was relaxed," Black said.
"It was like he was home."

The center became the temporary home for around 100 cats Sunday as six
veterinarians from Carroll County, Catonsville and Baltimore, among others,
spayed and neutered them. The veterinarians also administered shots and
offered worm medication for the cats.

Pet carriers filled the clinic's waiting room as the owners answer consent
forms and taped identification cards to the cages. Denise Stitely walked
into the center with her 6-month-old cat, Duncan. The Finskburg Feline
Fixathon offered the Westminster resident a chance to neuter the cat, at a
low expense, she said.

The majority of veterinary clinics offer spaying (to remove the ovaries)
and neutering (male animal castration) for up to $150 for the procedure.

It's a procedure that Finksburg veterinarian David E. Vaughan has performed
an estimated 6,000 times in his career. Removing the reproductive organs of
the cats helps reduce overpopulation while preventing health complications,
such as testicular cancer in the males.

"We're trying to pitch in and help put a large dent into the problem," he
said as another veterinarian performed the surgeries in front of a
television showing the Maryland-Duke game.

Overpopulation results in euthanizing animals who can't find homes,
according to the Humane Society of Carroll County, which reports that more
than 60,000 animals were put to death in Maryland in 2001.

That's a statistic that Colleen Feld wants to change. The Westminster
resident organized the event. Feld, who is paraplegic, wore a T-shirt that
read "Get The Picture" and showed dogs sitting on a couch with signs of
either "spay" or "neuter" affixed around their necks. She greeted the
owners and helped them to answer consent forms.

The evidence of animal overpopulation showed up in the waiting room.

A Frederick County woman brought in six cages of abandoned cats.
Westminster resident Lou Rosenberg brought in his three young kittens -
Gizmo, Smack and B-boy - to prevent any more unexpected litters.

In the end, Feld wants to enlist businesses to help financially support
another round of the spaying-and-neutering clinic.

"If we can get the businesses in the area to pitch in, we'll do another
one," she said.

Reach staff writer Boris E. Hartl at 410-751-5902 or bhartl@lcniofmd.com.

©Carroll County Online 2002