Giving That Makes a Difference

Supporting animals means helping both national organizations and local rescues, each with a unique and important role.

Organizations like the ASPCA create nationwide impact through rescue, disaster response, advocacy, and education, with about 60% of their spending supporting animal-focused programs, while 40% goes directly to animal care.

Local rescues such as Save-A-Pet or Paws Unite People provide hands-on care in our community. As a volunteer-run organization, over 95% of donations go directly to animal care, including medical treatment, food, rehabilitation, and adoption support.

For this reason, NY DIVINE DOLLS proudly contributes locally, helping ensure donations make an immediate, meaningful difference for animals in need — while also encouraging support for national efforts that protect animals on a broader scale.

A Long Island Maine Coon breeder has been arrested and charged with animal neglect and unlawful confinement. On January 21, more than 100 cats and kittens were rescued from conditions so deplorable that the home has since been condemned. The animals are now receiving treatment for severe skin infections, flea infestations, and upper respiratory and ocular infections—conditions that speak to prolonged suffering and systemic neglect.

According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the New York State Pet Dealer Licensing Law became effective July 1, 2002. Breeders must be licensed as a pet dealer if their facility sells or offers to sell nine (9) or more dogs and/or cats per year. One cat can have between 4 to 6 kittens on average, and while uncommon, up to 12 kittens in a litter; likewise for dogs. Breeders must also be licensed as a pet dealer if they engage in the sale of more than twenty-five (25) dogs and/or cats, born and raised on their premises, per year to the public. Pet dealers may include pet brokers, breeders, and non-incorporated rescues and are inspected at least once per year. They are required to maintain a specific standard for the living quarters of the animals, and are mandated to have medical records, contracts, and other paperwork educating the public about spay/nueter, Rabies, and Article 35-D. As of December 15, 2024 under the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act, New York pet stores were no longer licensed as pet dealers and are no longer permitted to sell dogs, cats, and rabbits. 

My heart breaks for those Maine Coon cats. My anger is tempered only by the knowledge that they are now safe, receiving appropriate medical care, and that accountability is being pursued against the individual responsible. Justice, while overdue, is finally underway.

 

 This case underscores the absolute necessity of due diligence when selecting a breeder. Verify that pet dealer licenses are current and valid. Request references. Review public feedback and search for complaints. If unethical practices are evident, report them to the state’s  Department of Agriculture, notify local Animal Control (Suffolk, Nassau, NYC) and support international organizations such as the ASPCA, or local rescue and rehabilitation centers such as Save A Pet or  Paws Unite People.  Engage your local elected officials, such as City Council Members, County Commissioners/Supervisors, Mayors, and Town Board members, to ensure that laws are enforced and that adequate funding exists to protect animals who cannot advocate for themselves.

Support early spay and neuter initiatives. Approximately 80 percent of cats entering rescue are not spayed or neutered—a fundamental driver of neglect and overpopulation. 

It is also, much to my chagrin, disheartening to see some respond by reflexively chanting “Adopt, don’t shop!” That refrain, when used indiscriminately, is a slap in the face to ethical breeders who work tirelessly to ensure the cats they produce are healthy, of sound temperament, and bred in strict adherence to established breed standards as well as local and federal laws. Conflating responsible breeding with abuse only undermines those who are part of the solution rather than the problem.

Last September, I personally housed five adult cats for another breeder who was facing serious health challenges, while that breeder responsibly placed other cats into permanent homes at no cost to ensure their welfare. That is what ethical, responsible breeders do. There is no justification for what occurred with that Maine Coon breeder—not illness, not mental health struggles, and not financial hardship. That situation was preventable, and it is inexcusable.

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Would you like to become an ASPCA Guardian, too?

Did you know that monthly giving is an incredibly efficient way to support the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)? ASPCA Guardians, such as NY DIVINE DOLLS, are a group of dedicated friends of the organization who provide a consistent, reliable income stream through monthly gifts. This allows the ASPCA to focus more resources on their lifesaving programs, and less on raising the necessary funds. Members like it because it is easy to budget—and because it feels great to be making a difference for animals every month of the year. Click on the following website link below to become an ASPCA Guardian today!

www.aspca.org  

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99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing

State of the art health care now includes genome sequencing of the DNA from all the chromosomes in the body.  Cats should have the same health care opportunities as any other species, and this is taking place at the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine by Dr. Leslie A. Lyons. DNA sequencing allows the identification of all the variation that makes a cat different from any other species and each cat unique in the world. For many individual birth defects or inherited conditions that affect health later in life, responsible DNA variations can now be identified in any individual cat.  Help make genome sequencing the standard of health care for cats! NYDIVINEDOLLS is currently a donor for the study, identification of genetic predisposition, and prevention of uterine/renal aplasia in Ragdolls. 

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NY DIVINE Dolls is a Member of the
RECURRING DONOR SOCIETY FOR BIG CAT RESCUE!

Would you like to become a recurring sponsor, too?

The Most Important Thing YOU Can Do to Save Big Cats…is to check out the most recent Mews-Letter. See what is happening today, or this week, at Big Cat Rescue. Get this month’s edition of the AdvoCat, a monthly big cat e-zine. Get the most recent copy of the Big Cat Times, a quarterly print newsletter.

Big Cat Rescue, one of the world’s largest accredited sanctuaries for exotic cats, is a leading advocate in ending the abuse of captive big cats and saving wild cats from extinction.  They are home to about 80 lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars, servals and other species most of whom have been abandoned, abused, orphaned, saved from being turned into fur coats, or retired from performing acts. NYDIVINEDOLLS recently sponsored a beautiful female tigress, Amanda, who was born in 1996 and was rescued from a bankrupt sanctuary. Now, the cattery donates monthly to help feed the tigers remaining in the sanctuary. If you shop smile.amazon.com you may choose to have part of your purchases donated to Big Cat Rescue, simply make the selection from your account settings as your preferred charity!

Amanda the Tiger

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  • Big Cat Rescue has many species of cats, many of whom are threatened, endangered or extinct now in the wild, including:
    • Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Cougars, Bobcats, Lynx, Servals, Ocelots & Caracals
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  • The non-profit organization is:

  • The sanctuary is situated on 67 acres in the Citrus Park area of north Tampa, Florida. Click on the link below to become a sponsor today!
 

 www.bigcatrescue.org