I wrote a letter some years back 2003 when I was staying in Oak Harbor to help care for my elderly grandfather. I wrote explaining how appalled I was at the amount of stray cats around and ended up rescuing about 10 of them and asked in my letter for people in the area to be more responsible for their pets.

Well, I have since moved to the area only to find the situation twice as bad. I recently rescued a kitten that had been wandering my apartment complex crying and begging for food. Since I already have a dominant female cat I took the stray cat to the shelter only to find cats stacked like firewood in every nook and cranny.

Folks, this is a devastating situation and calls for swift action. The people at WAIF do their best but they are overwhelmed! Please, if you adopt a cat get it fixed as well as its shots and if you are military think twice about adopting a cat. If you do take, take it with you when you get orders.

Please visit the Seaplane Base shelter or Coupville’s shelter. There are a lot of little souls seeking a good home and loving parents.

The number for the shelters are Oak Harbor 279-0829; Coupeville, 678-5816. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

Mark Gartner

Oak Harbor