City receives grant for kittens

MEGAN GRAY

LANCASTER - The city has recently found themselves $600 richer to help inoculate all its cats and kittens for one year.

A grant from the Petfinder.com Foundation will be used to purchase the FVRCP vaccine which protects against three contagious feline diseases:  rhinotracheitis, calcivirus and panleukopenia.

"When these diseases occur in a shelter setting, the outcome is devasting," said Elizabeth Neuschatz, executive director of the Petfinder.com Foundation.

"Otherwise adoptable cats and kittens are often euthanized to stop the spread of the diseases."

The grants are part of the Petfinder.com Foundation’s Care and Feeding program. 

Funding is made possible through the foundation’s partnership with The Animal Rescue Site’s Click to Give program and individual donations. 

"It’s gratifying to be part of a program that can make such a difference for shelter pets," said Tim Kunin, CEO of The Animal Rescue Site.

"FVRCP vaccines have the potential to save hundreds, if not thousands of lives."

To qualify for a grant, a shelter had to be a member in good standing of Petfinder.com, the foremost online database of homeless pets. 

City of Lancaster posts its adoptable pets at www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX613.html.

"The key to stopping this scourge is prevention, and that’s the aim of these vaccine grants," said Neuschatz.