FCCO Spay/Neuter Clinics for Feral and Stray Cats

As we wrap up FCCO’s 30th year, we’re thrilled to share record-breaking results and a major milestone just around the corner. In our last fiscal year, which ended September 30th, our spay/neuter clinics cared for an incredible 8,681 cats (averaging 59 cats per clinic), surpassing our previous record of 8,540 set four years ago.

This achievement reflects the unwavering commitment of caregivers, volunteers, and donors who make our work possible. FCCO’s mission to reduce feral and stray cat populations continues to serve as a vital safety net for vulnerable cats across our communities.

And we’re not slowing down — we’ll help our 150,000th cat early next year! Thank you for being part of this journey. Together we’re creating a safer, healthier future for cats!

When FCCO was founded in 1995, we borrowed vet hospital space to hold monthly clinics in the Portland area. In February 1998, we held our first clinic in our mobile hospital, which was a big move for our little nonprofit. This gave us our own surgical and prep space, plus let us serve more cities throughout the state.

At the beginning of our second decade we rented warehouse space which gave us a permanent Portland location and let us expand to hold more clinics. In 2008, we rented a building and opened our first free-standing clinic where we held even more clinics. These steps allowed us to help twice as many cats in our second decade.

Our third decade began with the purchase of our current building in 2015. Clinic capacity continued to grow, with the number of cats helped this past decade exceeding the total of the first two decades combined.

This year, as we embark on the next decade of improving the lives of cats, we are seeing a steady increase in the need for our services. This spring we helped 2,167 feral and stray cats – a record for that time of year - and helped 816 this July alone. A combination of a shortage of veterinarians, increased costs, and a backlog of surgeries still due to the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of intact cats across the country.

As we work to improve the situation in our region, we are forever grateful to you, our dedicated donors and volunteers, for giving us much-needed support so we can offer our life-changing services to feral and stray cats for a donation – not a fee. This is a remarkable gift. You ensure that FCCO remains a vital part of the safety net for cats and we thank you for your compassion and commitment. With you by our side, this winter we will celebrate our 150,000th cat! Just think about what we can achieve in the next 30 years together.