And bonus, if your animal is not fixed, you have to pay to get them back from the animal shelter. (There's a $150 license to have an unfixed animal.) If the shelter ends up with your unfixed animal twice, you don't get it back at all.

On a related note, the City has a free chip program and free personalized tags until July 3

Do you have a link to sign up for this? My pets are fixed. But one of them could use a chip.

I texted my gal that volunteers there and she said: "Just go to the east side shelter during operating hours 930 to 6, now until July 3, no appointment needed."

Thank you so much!

I want to second this, and add some resources. The city is currently providing [free pet microchips and tags](https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-residents-can-get-free-microchips-and-tags-for-pets/) until July 3rd. Although, even the [normal price is only $15](https://www.cabq.gov/pets/education-resources/microchip) with the possibility of the fee being waived for low income or seniors. The [city of Albuquerque](https://www.cabq.gov/pets/community-outreach-programs/spay-neuter) and [Bernalillo County](https://www.bernco.gov/animal-care-services/spay-neuter-assistance-program/) both have spay and neuter assistance programs where you can get your pets fixed for free or low cost. There are also [other resources](https://apnm.org/what-we-do/building-foundations-to-keep-animals-safe/new-mexico-spay-neuter-resources-directory/bernalillo-county/) to help you out if you need. Please. I don't know as much about dogs, but the majority of stray and feral cats result from escaped or outdoor unfixed parents. These animals suffer and live very short lives compared to their pet relatives. Just getting your pets fixed could truly reduce a huge proportion of animal suffering.

Thank you for sharing this 🫶🏼

If you wind up with an animal that isn't fixed somehow... Like I did... Vetco can do it for super cheap. I think I paid about $50 to have my cat fixed a few months ago. It's kind of like an assembly line... You drop your animal off while everyone else is and they do them all at once then you pick them up that day. You don't phone calls or all the cutsey stuff other vets do. But they do a good job and get the job done. My cat recovered fine.

i work in animal welfare (not the department, but a high volume spay/neuter clinic) and i cant tell you how many microchips have phone numbers not in service. when you change your number, update your microchip info, too!

and ADOPT DONT SHOP ! and STOP breeding dogs I didnt realize that there was a shortage !!

Dog breeders are nothing but lowlifes 

Not true at all. There are some very good breeders out there. Don’t need no virtue signaling here.

People who make a living forcing animals to give birth and selling their young is ethical?

Yes there are ethical breeders. And many of us choose pure bred dogs. Your virtual signaling is a bore.

So only a pure bred dog is deserving of love?

I didn’t say that. Try some logic.

You said you only choose pure bred dogs. 

I chose what I want. It is called freedom. Try it.

I choose not to be a piece of shit who takes advantage of animals 

There are some professional breeders who are actually ethical. They specialize in just one or two dog breeds; do genetic testing for hereditary health problems; cross their dogs with ones from different populations to increase genetic diversity; and refuse to breed animals with physical characteristics that could lead to health problems for their descendants. Good breeders will vet potential buyers, and will even take back a dog if the new owner can't keep them in the future. Most importantly, they fix every dog they sell, unless it's got solid genetics and is going to another breeder they know and trust. Unfortunately, the ethical ones are far outnumbered by puppy mills, backyard "breeders", and people who care more about conformation to show standards than they do about the health of the dogs. Generations of this has led to massive problems in purebred dogs, and given all breeders a bad name.

Impregnating another living creature for monetary gain doesn’t seem ethical to me at all. Humans just have an egotistical sense of superiority and that’s why the planet is doomed. I feel sorry for any more life that’s forcefully brought into this world. 

There is not a shortage in sight, just capitalism at its finest!

We ended up with a great cat because he wasn't chipped. He was neutered though, so that was weird. He's the sweetest boi. As long as you're not another cat. Trying to introduce him to our other two cats has been... not going well.

Does he have a clipped ear? Sometimes the city spays or neuters cats and releases them to help with pest control. 

Nope. Ears are intact and adorable. Not that tipped ears aren't, but his ears and just his entire face is impossibly cute. https://imgur.com/gallery/OuP6Pv7

Same. My new guy is such a sweet cat to me but is a terror to my resident cats. Don’t give up! It’s slowly getting better for me and I’m sure it will for you too

If they would just tolerate each other I would be so happy. Our big, grey, floofy boi just wants to be left alone and new guy seems sort of willing to do that after getting some swats in at him. The big problem is the void. He's extremely strong and poorly socialized (our fault as first time cat owners at the time for not adopting one of his siblings with him), and of course aggressive, as is new guy. But new guy is smaller and not near as strong. They fight kind of bad. We've been trying to set up a time to bring in a much more experienced cat owner we know to work with them but that has also proven a challenge.

A couple you might try (if you’re not already doing some version of this) 1. Shared feeding time, no free feeding. This shows the cats there isn’t a struggle for resources if they each have their own bowl and makes a positive association with each other. Free feeding is a no no so that they’re adequately hungry and focus on food not a fight during meal time 2. Play. Buy a couple wand toys and play with both near each other. Make sure to gently separate them if any one gets bored or irritated 3. Smells. Swap where each one is at often so they get used to each others scent 4 More positive associations. Spend time petting and loving on them and give adequate treats. It’s an adjustment for everyone One thing that has worked for me was spraying the new cat with a tiny bit of water when he got aggressive. I don’t think this is generally recommended but it worked for me to get him to stop fighting my other cats What’s worked for me might not work for you. But I do recommend the Jackson Galaxy methods, that where I learned most of the advice. Good luck!

We never free feed. If we did, the void and the new cat would both be immobile due to extreme obesity. We've tried the Galaxy methods. Partner's former coworker (who has like, six or seven cats) says they may just need to fight it out and decide who's dominant (with clipped and capped claws for safety). Problem with that is the void won't let us clip his fucking claws. He's a real pain in the ass in so many ways.

We can’t clip our new guy’s claws either! Someone told us about this cat grooming orb helmet thing. It’s been a game changer. We found ours on Amazon. It looks like an astronaut helmet

It's not his teeth we have to worry about. He's not really a biter. It's the other claws that haven't been clipped that he gets us with.

Have you tried the pheromone sprays?

We have sprays and vaporizers. He's still aggressive. Our void is still aggressive. It's tough.

Hugs. It’s so hard to see them suffer.

It really is 😔

Thanks Bob Barker!!! We’ve missed you!

Ok, thanks. I will now