To the Editor:

My name is Jennifer Christman. I met Marcia a little over 10 years ago now. I have become very good friends with Marcia and Chuck Scott.

I have fostered and adopted cats from Happy Cat Rescue. I have personally volunteered for Happy Cat Rescue many times over the years. Marcia and her husband, Chuck, have dedicated their entire lives to helping homeless cats and kittens when no one else would.

They both have huge hearts and want nothing but the best for every single cat or kitten that they rescue. It needs to be understood how hard it can be to rescue cats and kittens in this day and age when so many people do not think twice about abandoning or neglecting their cats.

I am a licensed veterinary technician with a valid New York State license and have seen firsthand how people can be so cruel and neglectful to animals. Marcia and Chuck have volunteers who help cats and they do a lot of it on their own.

The cats’ cages are cleaned with the bedding changed and litter boxes cleaned two times a day, or more when needed. The cats are fed and given fresh water two times a day, or more as needed.

They provide the necessary medical care to sick and injured cats or kittens; they rely on donations, but they do spend a lot of their own personal money when needed. They get the cats or kittens, when of age, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus, and dewormed.

They have an adoption process, which includes an in-depth application that any potential adopter needs to fill out and must be approved before they can adopt a cat or kitten from Happy Cat Rescue. They also charge an adoption fee, which is more than reasonable and barely covers their costs.

They don't get back much of the medical costs from adoptions. They do this so people can afford to adopt these cats. They wanted nothing more than to get them a forever loving home.

They want to make sure that each and every cat or kitten that they adopt out has a loving and caring forever home. Without Marcia and Chuck rescuing these cats and giving them a second chance at life, they would most likely starve to death, freeze to death, be hit by a car, or euthanized for being a “stray” cat.

I would have always adopted from Happy Cat Rescue, knowing that they are the only rescue that I really trusted and know that the cats are in the best care. There has been slander from members of the community, unfortunately also between other animal rescue organizers towards Happy Cat Rescue.

Too many people are putting their egos in the way and not thinking about the animals. Now that Happy Cat Rescue can no longer exist, hundreds of cats will starve to death, freeze to death, get sick and scrounge for food and die.

They won't have anywhere to go, because all rescues and shelters get filled up very quickly. If they do get picked up, they will most likely be euthanized at the shelter for lack of space.

I would like to know: Who is going to take on rescuing the cats that Marcia and Chuck would have rescued? What happens to those cats that are out there right now?

Kitten season is right around the corner. Is there a new rescue group opening up to take care of all the abandoned or stray mother cats and kittens? The animals are the ones who suffer here and that should be addressed by the public.

Jennifer Christman LVT