“I felt if this cat shouldn’t have been born and if there weren’t such a surplus, they’d all have a better shot at a good life.”

After her first experience losing a beloved stray to overpopulation in a Bridgeport, CT shelter, Esther’s passion for improving the quality of life for community cats across the country was ignited. Her grassroots efforts began with soliciting spay/neuter discounts among nationwide veterinarians while chartering her toll-free hotline in 1990. By 1993, she was fielding twenty-three thousand calls a month, leading to expansion programs including United Say Alliance and Spay USA. Esther discusses how her campaign, “Fixed Felines by Five”, educates the public on the positive impact that pediatric spaying and neutering has on not only feline overpopulation, but health and behavioral issues as well. Programs in countries including Panama, Costa Rica, and Australia have been modeled after Esther’s programs.

For more information visit SpayUSA.org.