Every month Diane and I hope to highlight a charity or rescue. This month we are talking with Deanna at Second Chance Pet Adoptions in Westminster, California.

1. Who founded Second Chance Pet Adoptions and when?

Second Chance Pet Adoptions was founded in 2001 by a couple of cat loving ladies, who have since retired from rescue.

2. What made you (the founders) decide to start Second Chance?

There are no “No-Kill” shelters in Orange County and since the kill rate at our shelters is about 80%, Second Chance was started to save some of the cats destined to die due to lack of space and to promote Spay & Neuter.

3. Where are you based and how far will you go to rescue a cat?

We are based in Huntington Beach, but rescue all over Orange County.

4. No-Kill shelters are becoming a larger part of the animal rescue scene, how hard is it to manage a No-Kill shelter?

It’s difficult to run a No-Kill rescue, because we constantly have a long waiting list and we don’t euthanize for medical reasons that are treatable. We survive on donations and our medical bills are continually growing. We are all volunteers and most people don’t understand that. They expect us to instantly solve their problems. We spend a lot of time trying to get people to help themselves while keeping the best interest of their cats in mind. Unfortunately, we can help everyone, as we don’t kill our cats to make room for new ones. Therefore, a lot of cats are brought to the shelters, because their owners are impatient and not willing to explore other options.

5. Where do you find most of your cats?

They find us. Some are left in boxes, others are found in industrial areas or parks. Most are abandoned by their owners or are kittens born to irresponsible pet owners who didn’t spay or neuter their pet that “only got out once” and came home pregnant.

6. What are some things that pet owners can do to protect their cats and help with the cat overpopulation problem?

1) Spay and neuter! It’s a simple, inexpensive ($35) solution. Unfortunately, most people don’t think to do until after the first or second litter of kittens are born. They all say “I found them good homes,” never comprehending that for every “good home” one of their kittens went to, another kitten at the shelter died, because there now wasn’t a home for it.

2) Trap-Neuter-Release. Feeding a stray cat is wonderful, but unless you get it spayed or neutered you might end up with a bigger problem. Contact a rescue or a vet that will do Trap-Neuter- RELEASE. Traps can be borrowed and it is a relatively easy process. Do not let anyone who says they’ll RELOCATE or move a feral cat to a SANCTUARY take the cat. They will probably euthanize it. A stray cat is perfectly fine outside in the area it knows as long as it’s fixed and being fed.

7. What can people do to help you and Second Chance Pet Adoptions?

Second Chance needs financial support and volunteers. Those two things allow us to continue to helping the abandoned, injured, and neglected animals under our care.

8. Is there anything else you would like to say or let everyone know?

Please spay and neuter your pets and any strays that you know of and don’t buy animals from breeders. There’s plenty of wonderful, sweet animals in our rescues and shelters that need loving homes.

If you would like to help Second Chance Pet Adoptions directly we encourage you to donate to them directly on their web site at http://www.secondchancepetadoptions.org/ or you can use their coupon code A101P here and an additional 5% of your purchase will be set aside for them plus you get a 5% discount on anything you buy!

Diane and I want to thank Deanna and all of the volunteers at Second Chance for the great work they are doing. Please support your local animal rescue in any way you can. these little guys are often tought of last in times like this and they could use all the help that they can get.