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^ Nine states require a written agreement but no deposit: AL, GA, IL, IA, LA, MO,
<br />NE, SC, and TX.
<br />^ Four states make lt a misdemeanor for a person to fail to comply with the
<br />sterilization agreement: AL, IA, TX, and WV.
<br />^ Eight states have programs to subsidize the cost of spay and neuter surgeries for
<br />low-income residents or residents who have adopted their pets from animal
<br />shelters: CT, IL, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, and VT.
<br />^ States have also looked to create new revenue sources to fund low-cost spay
<br />and neuter services such as voluntary income tax check-off programs (CO,GA,
<br />IL, ME,OK, UT, and VA), differential licensing (AZ, CA, CT, DE, IN, LA, ME, MD,
<br />MA, MI, MO, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, VT, VA, WV, and WI), and the
<br />creation of specialty license plates (AZ, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MD, MA,
<br />MS, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA and WV).
<br />How Dogs and Cats Benefit from Spaying or Neutering
<br />Pets who are spayed or neutered make better companions. Neutering cats makes them
<br />less likely to spray and mark territory. Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle.
<br />Female cats in heat can cry incessantly, show nervous behavior, and attract unwanted
<br />male animals. Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament
<br />problems than do those who have been spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering can
<br />make pets less likely to bite. Neutering makes pets less likely to roam the neighborhood,
<br />run away, or get into fights. Normal dog and cat behaviors that. people are unwilling oc.
<br />unable to resolve are the reason most offered by owners relinquishing their pets to
<br />animal shelters. Factors that increase a cat's risk of relinquishment include allowing the
<br />cat outdoors and having a sexually intact Cat;'s factors that increase a dog's risk of
<br />relinquishment include not participating in dog training and being sexually intact."
<br />Factors that increase all pets' risk of relinquishment include pet misbehavior or
<br />misinterpretation by the owner of normal pet behavior."
<br />Spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives. Spaying
<br />eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence
<br />of breast cancer, particularly when your pet is spayed before her first estrous cycle.
<br />Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.
<br />Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)
<br />Christine Benninger, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley
<br />(HSSV), now known as the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, says cats comprise
<br />roughly two-thirds of the animals brought to Santa Clara County shelters and are
<br />euthanized at a far greater rate than dogs or rabbits. This is because a majority of them
<br />are feral (wild), too young (unweaned), or too sick to be adopted. In Santa Clara County
<br />alone, Benninger says approximately 14,000 of these cats were euthanized each year at
<br />a cost of $2.4 million to taxpayers.
<br />To help address the homeless cat problem, HSSV spearheaded a Homeless Cat
<br />Coalition two years ago to bring together feral cat activists, county agencies,
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