Groups Eager to Help Find Homes for Felines

Cindy Nealer went shopping for groceries and wound up with a cat.

Nealer, 33, noticed a bake sale outside an Ojai market and was drawn to a photo of an injured tomcat. A group named SPAN (an acronym for spay and neuter) was holding a fund-raiser and also trying to find a home for the abandoned animal, but there was a catch: The cat needed expensive surgery for a broken leg.

“I loved the picture of him--it hit my heart,” Nealer said. “I was told the operation would cost from $800 to $1,800, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want him to be put to sleep.’

Nealer, a masseuse who works in Ojai and lives in Oxnard, got the OK from her boyfriend to get the cat, their second, and was willing to pay the price for the surgery. SPAN, however, was able to find a vet who would do the operation for about $350. SPAN volunteers chipped in more than $250, the couple holding the cat made a contribution, and Nealer had to pay only $40. That was about two months ago. Today, the cat, a 4-year-old named Smokey, is healed, thanks in part to Nealer’s massages.

“Cats have such unconditional love for us,” Nealer said. “We can learn a lot from them. But they’re a lesser species. We have to take care of them.”

Most cats aren’t as lucky as Smokey. Nationwide, only one of 10 cats in shelters gets adopted, says Joyce George, president of the Humane Society in Ojai.

Organizations in the county that can help you adopt or place a cat: SPAN (646-1919), Animal Emancipation (652-1910), Adopt A Pet (527-8238), the Humane Society (646-6505), Ventura County Animal Regulation (388-4341), Humane Animal Rescue Team (524-4542), Pet Assistance Foundation (583-6143).