Barb Boca of Barnhart said the kitten she found abandoned in front of her house a few months ago illustrates the need for people to spay or neuter their pets instead of “dumping” them.
Eleanor, now 4 months old, was in terrible condition when she turned up at the Boca home after someone released her in the vicinity, Boca said.
She said Eleanor is a Torbie, “a half tabby cat with the stripes and half tortoiseshell cat.”
“When we found her she weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, was full of ticks and fleas and had a bacterial infection from eating anything she could scrounge up,” Boca said. “She goes about 5 pounds now. She’s feisty. She’s in a very loving home now.”
Boca, a volunteer with the Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs, said even those in the low-income bracket can find economical means to get their pets spayed or neutered.
“Open Door does low-cost spaying and neutering, but you must be under a certain income level,” she said. “There are many options for low-cost spaying and neutering.”
Boca said it saddens her that people abandon animals.
“My kitten, if I hadn’t taken her in, would have died on her own or become feral and produced a couple of litters a year, adding to the already growing cat overpopulation,” Boca said. “Dumping animals is not the solution as they don’t always have a happy outcome like our new kitten.”
PET SPOT invites readers to tell a story about their pets or nonprofit animal adoption agencies to write about an adoptable pet and submit it, plus an attached photo, to news@leaderpublications.biz. Please include a phone number and city of residence for submissions from individuals and contact information for organizations.
