Change Lives: Spaying & Neutering Cats Works!

Hello, friends –

It’s been a tough summer for those working hard to make life better for community cats everywhere, including our project location, central North Carolina. It seems this year more intact cats are being dumped, resulting in more kittens being born in the colonies and ending up in animal control facilities or in the hands of local rescue groups. In our area alone, we’ve rescued more than a hundred kittens and given them to reputable groups to find them homes.

Despite this situation, we soldier on with your help in our work to alleviate suffering and end multiple litter births. Working with TNR volunteers, we’re doing our best for the community colonies in our area. The good news is that, at this point in the year, we can predict how many cats we’ll be able to spay or neuter in calendar 2024. We’ve done 1,950 so far this year and are on track to reach 2,600 by December 31. Your support is critical to this work and we thank you!

I’ve included some photos in this update, so you’ll see what we see working in this program. The first is a photo is of 36 traps used by one of our TNR volunteers. I’ve often said that the TNR workers are really the heart of our program since they know where the community colonies are and, in cases where there is a caretaker, the people caring for them.   As you know, we focus on large and small colonies wherever they are - from forests to trailer parks. This very dedicated volunteer is a great example of the care they show for the health of the cats they trap. She power-washes and sanitizes each trap after its use so the cats don’t share any communicable illnesses.

Two photos show you a very common condition we see called entropion. This painful condition results when a cats eyelids turn inward and rub the cornea. The Siamese cat’s left eye cornea was in such bad shape that his left eye was removed. The other photo shows a cat post-entropion corrective surgery. After the surgery the cat’s eyes will function normally and won’t be irritated any more. If entropion is not surgically corrected, it will lead to blindness.

Entropion is just one of the many medical situations the cats bring when they come in for a spay/neuter procedure. Even though our focus is spay/neuter, we treat all injuries and conditions the cats arrive with – from broken bones and injured eyes to flea infestation and ticks. We also give them a rabies vaccine when they are with us and any medication needed for treatment. Our goal is to alleviate the cats’ suffering.

The final photo shows two heart-tugging levels of compassion. The woman in the photo was in hospice care and her dearest wish was to hold a kitten before she passed on. We had in our care a very tame, loving and healthy trapped colony kitten that we were helping to find a home. This sweet one was the perfect candidate for this job and when he met the patient, he snuggled right up in her arms, and they shared some wonderful comfort and happiness together. 

You’re the reason every cat who leaves our clinic faces a healthier future and one with much less pain and suffering. You’re the reason so many kittens do not end up euthanized. The care and love for these cats that you share with Dr. Linda and the TNR volunteers lifts them up every day.  Thank you.

Dr. Linda, Sam and the Cats