More than 800 homeless cats have been spayed or neutered, tested for communicable diseases and vaccinated in the past six years by the Catalina Island Humane Society.

"We're very proud of the tremendous impact our organization has had in reducing the population of homeless cats," said humane society president Dianne Stone. Since a single unspayed female cat can produce two litters a year with an average of two surviving kittens per litter, it's easy to see that the society's cats has spared the island literally thousands of unwanted animals.

This achievement is particularly noteworthy given that all involved are volunteers, including the vets that offered have offered their services to come to the Island to help reduce the population of homeless cats.  It's also an incredible achievement given that the humane society has paid for each of the spay and neuter kits, vaccinations and blood tests-all on a small budget of private donations and occasional civic support.

The society's current board is actively planning for the future which they hope includes partnerships with the city and the Catalina Island Conservancy in working on a humane, Island-wide solution to the continuing issue of homeless (or feral) cats.

Not many Island residents know that the humane society, in many ways, acts as the primary animal control agency for the community of Avalon, but with extremely limited funding.  Most cities and counties on the mainland receive significant government funding to stem the tide of homeless animals and enforce humane treatment.  Our city receives little to no county funding for animal control but has, in the past several years, made occasional $10,000 annual grants to the humane society.  Every dime of those funds has been used to continue the society's important work in sterilizing animals.  But, as the Island's unofficial animal control agency, they also receive dozens of calls each month to deal with a variety of sick and injured animals (domestic and wild), vaccinate strays, and feed and monitor several controlled populations of homeless cats. 

"It's inspiring to see what we've been able to do with our limited funding," says humane society Vice President Ken Cline, "and the board is examining ways to increase our support so we expand our efforts."
They also hope to increase their volunteer pool. If you'd like to support the humane society,
donations are tax-deductible and can be sent to: Catalina Island Humane Society, PO Box 1584, Avalon, CA  90704.  If you have time to spare, the humane society has a job for you!  Help is needed to feed and care for animals, do office work, organize other volunteers, help build a website and do publicity.  Call Dianne Stone to volunteer or for more information: 310-510-1980.