Saving lives with SNIP

Some local animal-lovers are hoping to convince the SPCA and the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association to expand its spay services for feral and stray cats.
Donna Munizza-Shields is the founder of Operation Cat SNIP (Spay Neuter Immunize Protect), which holds a monthly spay-a-thon at a trailer located off Torresdale Avenue in Holmesburg.
On Nov. 18, Drs. Don Shields, Christine Polaneczky and Sal Espejel spayed 35 feral cats.
Activists humanely trap the cats, which generally live on the streets or in "colonies" in fields, woods, alleys and yards or anywhere near food and shelter.
At the trailer, technicians clean, groom, vaccinate, spay and feed the cats for a relatively low cost of $20. Then, the kittens or domesticated cats are put up for adoption.
The untamed cats have their ears tipped as a sign to trappers that they were spayed and put back outside, with food and shelter provided by a caretaker. The spaying cuts down on the population.
Right now, the SPCA and PACCA perform the same procedures, but members of Operation Cat SNIP want them to do more. A summit will be held next month, and Munizza-Shields plans to lobby both agencies to step up their activity.
The activists are also working to convince the Bucks County SPCA, located in Lahaska, to spay feral and stray cats.
It is estimated that there are 73 million feral and abandoned cats in the United States.
To adopt a cat or for more information on the feral- and stray-cat issue, call Munizza-Shields at 215-355-5940 or Susan Zimmerman at 215-357-4946, or visit www.alleycat.org
Meanwhile, the Spayed Club and Forgotten Cats sponsor spay/neuter clinics in Willow Grove and Clayton, Del. They spay and neuter up to 600 cats per month. To volunteer, send e-mail to felcross@comcast.net ••