The cold weather is upon us and once again we are facing the sad issue of ZERO funding for the countless starving, abandoned homeless and feral cats in Plattsburgh and Clinton County NY. Irresponsible people adopt animals but do not sterilize them and very often abandon them. Thus the area is overrun by sick, injured, starving cats that keep multiplying because neither the City/Town of Plattsburgh nor the Clinton County have allocated ANY funds for TNR [trap neuter release] programs nor for an Animal Control Person that deals with felines and/or an Animal Shelter for the felines. There is funding and shelters for dogs but not for cats. The City/Town and County do not contract with any veterinarians to provide emergency TNR and medical care for injured or abused felines.

We only have one private small shelter in the area, Elmore SPCA, that is bursting at seams and doing all that is humanely possible to help but they only have 36 spots for cats.   Police call private citizens when there is a reported case of injuries and/or abuse and private individuals are expected to pay for the veterinary care themselves when others commit crimes. No contracted veterinarians in the municipality and again, no Animal Control that deals with felines. Clinton County is one of the worst in the State in terms of shelters per capita. Two [2] shelters for 82,000 people! We need, in the least, a new emergency/temporary shelter to house felines while they are recovering from TNR and/or medical treatment. An empty heated space where the volunteers could house recovering for a few days. But most importantly we need the municipalities to contract with local veterinarians to provide emergency care and TNR, as a bare minimum.

The present situation in our area resembles a Third World problem where one often sees hordes of starving, sick, abandoned animals roaming the streets, eating garbage and begging for food. As Gandhi said in one of his speeches: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.” 

Please sign this Petition and ask your friends to do it as well and share it. We need TNR and emergency veterinary care funding, we need our Police to enforce the laws against cruelty and abandonment of animals. Other areas do this! Why not Plattsburgh and Clinton County? 

A handful of very dedicated individuals in our area conduct Trap-Neuter-Return subject to the available funds they raise in the community. They are proposing to capture 25 to 50 cats per volunteer, twice a year, which would guarantee that the numbers of cats will decline! The main cost would be veterinary fees and cost of additional traps. Volunteers would do all the trapping. Tax payers money is needed badly to fund things like this and, as said before, a temporary shelter for the coming winter. An empty heated space needs to be designated and/or leased as a temporary feline shelter to help these homeless animals to survive the coming winter.

One of the volunteers just recently received calls regarding homeless kitties that desperately need help now:

-3 kittens 1 mother, Town of Altona
-1 mother 1 kitten, West Chazy
-1 mother 3 kittens, Miller Rd, Plattsburgh
- 2 older cats, Miller Rd, Plattsburgh
-12-15 cats, Peru
- 2 to 4 adult cats Hotel, Plattsburgh
-1 mother 2 kittens,  off Oak Street, Plattsburgh
-1 mother 2 older kittens, Montcalm, Plattsburgh
-1 tiger kitty, Montcalm, Plattsburgh
- Between 25-50 at Military Turnpike, Plattsburgh

Again, why is there funding for dogs and not for cats? 
The Animal Rescue and Welfare Services organization has a few foster people but they are full and cannot help. They have no space to conduct TNR either. And no contracted veterinary services. They just rescued a cat that was thrown out by a man who has PTSD, in downtown Plattsburgh.

The State of Vermont had a similar problem a few years ago. They were overrun by homeless cats breeding out of control. And then the municipalities introduced veterinary vouchers for TNR. Within 5 years the problem disappeared! Vermont shelters now import the cats from other states because they do not have any for adoptions! We need to emulate the Vermont's approach. Veterinary vouchers is the answer! It is a short term investment that  will pay off within a very short time!

Please sign this Petition addressed to our Mayor, City, Town and the  County.  Your signature will help hundreds of sick and starving animals! Together we can do it!

Thank you!!!

PS: The picture on this Petition is of Denver, a very tame, homeless cat that was captured with split open head and taken to a vet by a dedicated volunteer in September of 2021. Denver survived and is waiting to be adopted.