(Photo provided by Kaitlyn Hession/Cortland Voice).
Winter is here and so is the cold and freezing weather. While many people around the city are keeping warm in their homes, many stray or abandoned animals are left outside to suffer through the extreme weather until spring comes.
Out of all these animals, cats are most likely the ones you’d find outside looking for food, shelter, and anything else to survive. To help with this problem, CNY SNAP has helped these once homeless cats find their forever home through their non-profit organization. Their most recent effort was the CNY SNAP Adoption and Open House event on December 15th, where guests had a chance to adopt a new member of their family.
Guests who attended the event were given the chance to meet over 100 cats as they walked through the shelter while meeting the people behind SNAP and learn more about the organization. Some volunteers assisted guests with questions about the cats along with their many backgrounds.
SNAP (Spay Neuter Assistance Program) has been providing low-cost spay and neutering services to Cortland and the surrounding Counties for over 13 years, as their mission is to make a difference in our community by ending the overpopulation of cats and dogs in Central New York.
So far, the non-profit organization has serviced over 42,000 cats and dogs in their weekly clinics and have had 550 adoptions as of December 1st, 2017.
While most vets charge a good amount of money for treatments, SNAP is great with their low prices when it comes to spaying and neutering, micro-chipping, flea treatment, Ear mite treatment, and more.
With this, SNAP strongly encourages pet owners to spay and neuter their pets and adopt instead of shop. “If you want to adopt, we have the best cats here!” said Lisa Taylor, a volunteer at SNAP. “If you adopt, you’re saving a life!”.
While at the adoption event, Gidget Marshall and her family found their new family member as they are in the process of adopting Anna, a black and white cat.
“We’ve had a cat at our home for 4 years and we thought it was time to get him a friend.” Said Marshall, a resident of Cortland. “When I saw Anna, I fell in love with her personality. She does have a stubborn side, but I love it.”
The shelter advises those who see a cat on the street to make sure the feline doesn’t have a collar on them before they take them to SNAP. As the cat is brought in, a picture of them along with their information is posted on the CNY SNAP Facebook page to help find its owner. If the owner responds, they can come by the shelter to pick up their feline. If there’s no response, the cat will be spayed and neutered and kept at the shelter to be adopted. SNAP is a no kill shelter and will keep their cats at the shelter until they find a loving home.
If you’re interested in adopting, visit CNY SNAP of Cortland during business hours. For those interested in the clinic, call ahead of time at the number provided or drop in Tuesdays to Fridays from 8a.m. to 11 a.m. and Sundays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. hours vary, so please call ahead. Be sure to visit CNY SNAP’s outlets to learn more about them at www.cnysnap.shutterfly.com or CNY SNAP on Facebook!
Here are some more photos of yesterday's event (all photos provided by Kaitlyn Hession/Cortland Voice):
