M.E.O.W.

I saw so many skinny little cats running around on the island of Zanzibar. They were everywhere-- in the alleyways and the marketplace and the beaches. I even found nests of kittens like this one, tucked under an overhang by the overgrown ruins of a sultan's palace.

I love cats (and have two of my own--neutered and spayed) but seeing so many hungry and unwanted saddened me. It would be impossible to feed them all, but preventing the population from growing any more would be an enormous help. Alas, I'm sure the vet fees for that would be well out of reach for the average African.

But here where I live, on the west coast of Canada, the same problem exists: too many animals having kittens like crazy. And the vet fees are not very palatable for some people here either.

My friend Fireweed and her partner, both dedicated ecologists and pet-sitters, have recently formed a society called Denman Island M.E.O.W. (Make Every One Wanted) to run "cat clinics" in partnership with some local veterinarians so low-income families can have their cats neutered or spayed at a reduced rate, and also a catch-and-release program to sterilize feral cats on Denman. It's a small island so curtailing the population here is a forseeable goal.

I think it's an excellent idea, and it's been quite successful as over seventy cats have been sterilized since the end of August.

I've been out selling raffle tickets for MEOW and just sold my last one yesterday. I found it quite easy to sell them, and not just because the prizes (all made by local artisans--quilts, art prints, photography, cushions)are rather nice.

My theory is the tickets sell well because a) if a person likes cats they want to help them but b) if a person dislikes them, well, it means less cats roaming about. Something good in it for everyone.

If you are from the Vancouver Island area and plan on going to the Denman Christmas Craft Fair (Dec. 4th and 5th), you can pick up your own ticket there. :)