Heartland Cat
Rescue & Adoption Society, Inc. would like to personally thank each and every person who takes the time to feed, care
for, spay/neuter the stray and feral cat population in Highlands County.
Since 2002, when our not-for-profit rescue and adoption society was started, more than 150
cats have been rescued by us from behind our local shopping centers and medical plazas alone.
Those cats and kittens were spayed, neutered, tested for feline leukemia and feline aids, given
their vaccines and then adopted into good homes. We have also rescued and vetted well into the hundreds of cats that
have been "dumped" for various reasons, along with countless litters of kittens that owners of un-spayed female cats find
themselves "stuck" with.
These numbers do not reflect all the cats that we have had to turn away because of lack of space
or homes to adopt into. On an average day, we take seven to 10 phone calls from people asking us to take in either a
stray cat(s) or kitten(s). It is heartbreaking that we have to turn people away. The fault lies with human beings,
but it is the animal that pays the ultimate price. The simple act of having yhour pets spayed or neutered will drastically
cut down on over population, not to mention keep your pet happy and healthy.
To make matters worse, as of March 1, 2006 the spay and neuter vouchers for Highlands County
residents have run out for this year. 206 vouchers, totalling $10,000.00 was allocated by the county for this
program this fiscal year. With the population of our County increasing on a daily basis, quite obviously this amount
is not adequate now, nor will it be in the future. Highlands County is sadly lacking resources when it comes to our
domestic animals and our wildlife. Our local Humane Society works very hard to place cats and dogs into good homes,
but they too are lacking space to house these animals and have to turn folks away.
We are advocates for all wildlife and found the recent article about feral and stray cats and
their impact on wildlife to be ludicrous.
To date, we can honestly say that we have never seen a cat driving a bulldozer to clear land,
forcing all wildlife to find another "safe for now" haven, walk around with a container of pesticide, herbicide or fungicide
on their back, which has been proven to be toxic to humans and animals, including birds (read the labels), set out traps intended
to kill or seriously maim one another, use a shotgun to kill or maim a bird, just because they were bored, or be involved
in a hit-and -run accident that takes the life of another animal while driving a car.
The list can go on and on. It seems to us that the paws should be pointing to human beings
and not the other way around. Enough said.
For more information on feral cats, there is an excellent article written by Nathan Winograd,
executive director for Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca, NY titled "Feral Cats on the firing line: For all the talk of cat predation,
science exonerates our feral friends."
We are always looking for volunteers and foster homes for the cats and kittens.
Donations are ALWAYS welcome as ALL of our costs come out of our own pockets.
You may call us at 863-382-7138
Our new Website address is:
