NEW YORK (1010 WINS) Kitten season in New York City. Sounds cute, right? It's not. And it's not just a season. It's a year-round process of cat loving rescuers scooping thousands of kittens and lost or dumped house cats off the streets of the five boroughs.
It's a problem that has Animal Care Centers of New York City so overcrowded, they made the tough decision to temporarily close their three shelters to cat intake.
It's also a problem that Flatbush Cats founder and Executive Director Will Zweigart says can't be solved without tackling the root cause. "We cannot rescue or adopt our way out of this", he told 1010 WINS. "Spay/neuter is the solution to our overcrowded shelters."
To that end, Flatbush Cats is opening Flatbush Veterinary Clinic, a not-for-profit low cost spay/neuter clinic at 1460 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn that will also provide wellness exams, vaccinations and microchips for both cats and dogs, by appointment.
"We have an affordability crisis now for everything, and veterinary care is no different", says Zweigart. "Right now, more than fifty percent of U.S. households can no longer afford a vet visit, so we are at risk of becoming a country where only the wealthy can even afford to have a pet, and that's just not acceptable. A non-profit model, like we've built here, allows our Vets to focus on people and their pets, not profit."
Celebrity supporter Rosie Perez says she can relate, having grown up in Brooklyn "in abject poverty, not having enough money to take care of a pet or even own a pet." She told 1010 WINS her husband introduced her to Flatbush Cats, and once she learned about the plans for the clinic, she cried "happy tears" knowing how many people --- and pets --- would be helped.
Flatbush Veterinary Clinic will also serve as 'spay/neuter central' for thousands of the feral cats being TNR’d (trap-neuter-release) by rescue groups throughout the city, through the use of its state of the art surgical suite as well as a designated post-surgery holding and recovery area.
That's something TV's 'Cat Daddy' Jackson Galaxy told 1010 WINS he's thrilled about. He says the clinic will "amplify the messaging that community cats are part of the community... and have a place where they have equal dignity to any other animal. That's a huge message, and one that needs to be embraced, so this becomes a model, not just for New York, but beyond."
Also at the ribbon cutting on Monday, August 21, was New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Alexandra Silver, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, and Brooklyn Councilmembers Justin Brannan and Farah Louis. Brannan, who presented Flatbush Cats with a $150,000 city-funded check, acknowledged that New York's government needs to do more to help solve this problem.
"I want to get to a point where there's places like Flatbush Vets all over the city, where the city is also invested," said Brannan. "We're taking great strides in opening a place like this. The next step is to get the city to really identify the fact that they need to be helping out and subsidizing this."
Zweigart not only concurs, but also issued a challenge. He called the $150,000 gift a great start, but said he's already told Councilmember Brannan, who agreed, that they need to "10 X that, and then 10 X it again".
A full list of services and fees is expected at FlatbushVet.org in early September. They're currently seeking donations, both to meet their goal of opening in mid-September, but also to fund continuing operations. Visit FlatbushCats.org/build.