Beatrice Welles and the beatrice welles collection 
WTPC Rescue  sponsored the first Free Cat Spay Month
in Sedona and the Verde Valley.

Press Release

Free Cat Spay Month: A Huge Success

This spring the number of kittens dropped off at both the Sedona and Verde Valley Humane Societies should be significantly lower thanks to the WTPC Rescue Free Cat Spay Project and two local veterinarians. In just 4 weeks WTPC Rescue's Free Cat Spay Month stopped 1264 domestic cats in Sedona and the Verde Valley from reproducing. This unprecedented program ran from February 23rd through March 21 and was available free of charge to the public due to the sponsorship of WTPC Rescue.

Every spring is "kitten season" and shelters quickly become overloaded with mothers and their offspring. Each year hundreds of thousands of cats and kittens are killed across the United States because the influx of kittens is so overwhelming. In the United States there is an estimated 30 to 100 million stray and feral cats.

Based on figures from catsnap.org, WTPC Rescue’s Free Cat Spay Program this last month prevented 1264 unwanted kittens from being born this year. In five years the number would jump to 3,587,504.
By decreasing the number of euthanasia's at local shelters there is a substantial savings to the taxpayer. Animal Control Statistics for the US in 2009 showed that it costs an average of over $270 to house, kill and dispose of an animal.

WTPC’s 1264 cats and kitten figure saved the taxpayer this year an estimated 346,336 dollars.

Spearheaded by Beatrice Welles, the WTPC Rescue Organization rescues kittens and adult feral cats by implementing T. N. R. (Trap Neuter Release) programs in Sedona and the Verde Valley. Welles has been an animal advocate since childhood and is one of the founders of the first low-cost spay and neuter clinic in the United States. This Las Vegas clinic was a model for other programs around the world. When she organized a similar Free Cat Spay program in Nevada, according to Welles the amount of kittens surrendered at local shelters that spring was reduced by a staggering 40%.

“I wanted to make a difference in Sedona and the Verde Valley and the solution is very simple: prevention. By offering Free Spays to the public, most of which who could not afford to get their cats spayed, we were able to stop kittens from needlessly being euthanized because of the discrepancy between too many kittens and not enough homes,” says Welles, “Cyndi Sessoms, Chief Executive Officer of the Verde Valley Humane Society will be reporting to us how many kittens will be turned in to their shelter in the next few months . We are hoping the figures will be substantially lower than in previous years.”

Two local veterinarians were an integral part of WTPC's Free Cat Spay Program: Dr. Chris Bertch of the Bell Rock Veterinary Clinic in the Village of Oak Creek and Dr. Adrienne Mulligan of Camp Verde Veterinary Clinic in Camp Verde.

“I want to personally thank both Dr.Bertch and Dr.Mulligan,” says Welles. “Without their support, expertise and willingness to provide this much needed service at a reduced rate, the Free Cat Spay Program would never have been possible. Our goal is to be able to continue to offer this service twice perhaps even four times a year. Funding is our only obstacle in stopping this very needed service to the public.”