P.A.C.—Proyecto Animales de la Calle
Project for Animals on the Street

By Ruth Clarke & Janica Lynn
Whether you like them or not,
cats are an important link in the urban animal food chain. House cats are good mousers. Street cats kill not only mice, but rats and cockroaches as well. On their own, cats colonize, as can be seen in various parts of Mazatlán. Within these colonies, populations explode with at least two litters a year, multiplying exponentially; fights are inherent, as is disease. When the cats are neutered, their populations stabilize. They are healthier: their coats grow shiny, females can spend more time grooming instead of yowling in heat, nursing and raising babies; there are no fights, and they continue to kill vermin.
The first neutering project began about five years ago, with a colony known as Blanca’s cats living in a vacant lot on Carvajal off Constitucíon, and Proyecto Animales de la Calle(PAC), Project for Animals on the Street was formed. Jan MacDonald coordinates PAC with Susan Reynada and about 10 other concerned individuals, of whom half live here year-round. PAC has identified nine colonies in Centro, others in Playa Sur, Cerro de Vigia(sp), Playa Norte, the Golden Zone and beyond. A colony at the restaurant La Puntilla, is the latest to be identified. Last summer alone they dealt with (neutered/spayed and released) 100 cats in various parts of the city. Overwhelming, but word has spread about PAC, and various angels have appeared and gotten involved.
A couple of years ago, Loretta Gallacci, artist and coordinator of the Mazatlán Membership Library was smitten by a kitten that came into the library. Instantly, she became a cat person, started feeding a colony on Campania and then grew concerned about their growing numbers. She contacted PAC, and the neutering process began. That wasn’t enough for Loretta though. Last year she started collecting kittens and her son built a palapa-like dwelling on her roof, where she cares for them and offers them for adoption.
Last year on a Sunday morning, Jan got a call from a woman named Violeta. She was in tears, calling from near Cocina de Ana, a popular lunch place in the Golden Zone.
“It was out of our area,” Jan recalls, “but she was so upset, we went to check it out.” There was a pregnant cat, still with its previous kittens: a recipe for disaster. She introduced Violeta to another woman, Xochitl, a chemist who owns a lab in the area. She receives donations from people in the area; as well, she receives surgical gloves, cotton, syringes and antibiotics from a surgical supply company. Jan armed the women with traps, and they worked together, trapping and transporting the cats to the vet, returning to get them, and
releasing them back to their area.
“We still get people dropping off kittens to these colonies, and we have to get to them right away,” says Jan, “but generally, the project is working and we are seeing results.” PAC is also attempting to expand the program to deal with dogs, but trapping them is much more difficult.
“The whole process takes longer,” Jan explains. “ You have to become friends with the dog before you can ever hope to trap it, and that takes time.”
The other method of dealing with overpopulation of cats or dogs here is poison. However, despite this prevalent approach, a growing number of Mexican women are coming to PAC, and asking if their mature cats can be neutered.
“They are beginning to understand that this procedure can be done, and they’ve already seen the positive changes in their communities. Many save their pesos so that they can make contributions to PAC.”
Jan MacDonald is a permanent resident, and Susan lives part of the year in British Columbia. Every October in Canada, Susan organizes a dance, the proceeds of which go to PAC. For the past two years in March here in the city, Danny Irvine and Marshall Mason have hosted sellout fundraisers on the spacious terrace of their condominium. The first year, some of the proceeds went to Amigos de los Animales for a similar project, but this year PAC needed all the funds that they raised.
To catch the cats, they use kennels or live (release) traps, which are always in demand, and often loaned out, so they always need more. Neutering male cats costs 200 pesos, 400 for spaying females, done by veterinarian Rafael Aguilar Santiago, who often receives two or three cats at a time, and in addition to performing the operations, while he has them, he worms the cats and rids them of ear mites.
Jan says that many people that winter here and feed cat colonies, often leave money so that the cats will be fed while they are gone.
“But feeding them is not enough,” says Jan. “They need to be neutered or spayed for the colonies to become healthy.” Rumor has it that Westjet flights out of Canada (to Mazatlán at least) allow a piece of luggage coming here for humanitarian purposes to fly for free. Jan suggests that if Canadians using this airline want to help, they should bring a live trap or kennel, and fill it with things that kids at the orphanages might need.
To donate or help, contact Jan MacDonald at:
jan1mac@hotmail.com or call Xochitl at 983-0053

 

 

 

Email Us Your Comments or Suggestions
Copyright 1999
Mazatlan's Pacific Pearl
All Rights Reserved