Agencies working together to save cats
The goal is to save the lives of cats. The East Idaho Spay and Neuter Coalition are having its annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser, and the proceeds go to lower the cost to spay and neuter cats. They hope to control the overpopulation.
The overpopulation of cats is having a big impact on the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter.
“We are euthanizing still 20 to 30 percent of the cats that come into the shelter. And it’s really unacceptable so we’d like to get less cats in and less cats in the community,” says Irene Brown, Animal Services Manager for the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter.
“There is no reason that cats and dogs and many other animals need to be euthanized if it’s only for overpopulation, that’s a sad reason, that’s the one we’re trying to eliminate and we will,” says Brian DeRusha, member of the East Idaho Spay and Neuter Coalition.
They want to control the cat population to help them get to their end goal.
“A number of groups that we are associated with nationally have adopted a no-kill mission by 2025. I wasn’t sure that that was possible a few years ago, now I’m positive that we’re going to get there thanks to the community with their help in these fundraisers,” says DeRusha.
The annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser helps provide low-cost spay and neuter to the community. They say becoming a no-kill shelter will benefit employees and the community.
“So that the staff here doesn’t have to put down animals on a daily basis. I would love to be put out of a volunteer job, we pull animals from them and if they become no-kill that means we don’t have t pull as many cats and dogs,” says Brandy Skaar, Humane Society of the Upper Valley.
“Knowing that there are not animals getting killed for really no reason and it’s hard on the staff to have to do that, to have to euthanize animals for no reason,” says Brown.
The annual “Spay-ghetti” fundraiser will be Thursday 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tautphaus Park Ice Hockey Shelter at 390 Rogers Street in Idaho Falls. You can come anytime, and it’s not a formal event.
Tickets cost $12 per person, $35 for a family of 3-4 or $50 for a family of 5 or more.
You can purchase your tickets in advance at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter, located at 2450 Hemmert Ave, Idaho Falls.
