Interview! Kaleel Sakakeeny, Founder, The Other Me Coaching
March 10, 2018
Interview! Dr. Lynn Bahr, Feline Veterinarian and Owner of Dezi and Roo
March 17, 2018
March is one of my favorite months, as it is usually the calm before the spring and summer storm of trapping, fostering, and transporting.
In March, many communities hold town-sponsored rabies vaccination clinics. These clinics are a good way for the community to come together to care for and celebrate their love for animals. Rather than having these clinics be routine, boring events, however, we could make them just so much more fun! I also think every clinic should encourage microchipping. I know there have been some questions about the value of a microchip for a community cat, but I believe that the veterinary, animal control, and shelter communities — and general public — have become so much more educated about the use of the microchip and the importance of having scanners available (even though they are still pricey).
Some folks will say that only dogs will come to vaccination/microchip clinics and no-one will bring their cats. Well, I have been working with a small group outside of Boston and we hold two clinics yearly, each of which attracts about 200 animals. Guess what the breakdown is? It’s 50/50! If your clinic is marketed right, you will get cats (and a lot of them won’t be spayed/neutered, so you have a great audience for your low-cost programs there!). Our group outside of Boston is able to book surgeries for those cats at the vaccination/microchip clinic so that we can take that important step right then and there to prevent Adam and Eve from starting a colony.
Even if you are a small organization, running a vaccination/microchipping clinic isn’t hard to do. You can even use it as a fundraiser too. If you are an organization that currently runs a clinic and has a guide, we would love to share it. Feel free to send it to me at stacy@communitycatspodcast.com.
We spend so much time in the spring doing fundraising walks and other events — but please think about doing a vaccination/microchipping clinic. It is the best way to get to know your community and help the cats.
Please consider holding a clinic this year. Try it and let me know how it goes!
