When the Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary became aware of the terrible plight of the feral cats in Las Vegas, our Board of Directors decided right away that our organization would not idly stand by. We began researching the extent of the problem and scoured the Internet for groups that were successfully addressing this issue. In October 2001, HCWS officially declared W.A.R. (War Against Reproduction) and launched the Feral Cat Clinic, a community wide program to control the overpopulation of feral cats and eliminate their suffering. We are pleased to report that in the two years that our project has been underway, 4700 feral cats have been spayed or neutered.

On January 17th, 2003 we launched our second spay/neuter program called Ground Zero in an effort to help those who can't afford to get their pets fixed. The goal of Ground Zero is to reduce the number of unwanted pets by preventing reproduction. Each week we target a certain neighborhood that needs assistance. With the use of a mobile vet clinic, many people can now have their pets fixed.

We have since launched two more spay/neuter programs: our Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic, which is a referral program for people who can't afford to get their pets fixed, and It's the Pits.

The W.A.R. project will help Las Vegas in two ways. First, our efforts will greatly reduce the number of feral cats, and unwanted pets born each year. Second, less feral cats will be captured by City and County Animal Control and placed into overcrowded animal shelters. The shelters will have more space for homeless domestic cats who are ready for adoption.

HCWS would like to thank PetsMart and the many volunteers who make the W.A.R. project a reality every month. Our special thanks go to the following veterinarians who lend us their time and expertise:

• Mark Dolginoff DVM
• Terri Koppe DVM
• Lesley Tomko DVM
• Anthony McCorkle DVM
• Karen Goodman DVM
• Heather Goldsboro DVM
• Susie Costa-Fakler DVM
• Tonia Desautel DVM
• Phil Caldwell DVM
• Carissa Engram DVM
• Kimberly Donahue DVM

If you would like to learn more about W.A.R. or volunteer with us, call HCWS at (702) 227-5555.