SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Two Indiana Veterinarian Associations have joined in on a campaign to help control the overpopulation of pets.
The Indiana Veterinary Technicians Association and the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association have signed on in support of the Feline Fix by Five initiative.
This initiative is encouraging any and all cat owners to have their cat spayed or neutered by the age of five months. Dr. Whitney Whistler is a vet at JP Petcare in Sullivan, and she says that getting your kitten spayed or neutered at this age isn’t harmful, but it is necessary to do so at such a young age.
“It really doesn’t, honestly, sometimes in cats they can even go into heat as early as 5 to 6 months and have unwanted litters,” Whistler said. “So, they’re sexually mature at that age. So that’s why we’re trying to kind of you can come at it before that happens so we can help keep the population down.”
She also mentioned that this can help shelters not be overcrowded and can even give older animals a chance to find a home.
“The pet population is just skyrocketing, and we’ve got to do something to try to help control that as much as we can,” Whistler said. “It’s not that we don’t want pets and animals out there for people to adopt, but the ones, you know, the older pets that are sitting in rescues and adoption centers don’t get adopted as easily as kittens do. So, we really encourage people to go and try to adopt those older animals too, so they have a chance to get nice homes.”
JP Petcare is accepting new clients at this time. To schedule an appointment, just visit their website or call them at 812-268-2222. To learn more about the Feline Fix by Five initiative, just click here.
