100 cats sterilized & vaccinated in a single day.

We’re fortunate to meet so many compassionate people who love their cats deeply, but it breaks our heart to hear the stories some tell about how proper veterinary care isn’t accessible to them and their feline companions. They often live in underserved communities where there are no vet clinics or animal hospitals, and other times the standard cost of vet care is simply too high. 

One way we reach out to these kind people and their cats is by finding ways to offer low-cost or free services. Last week we sponsored three free spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics in partnership with Angels of Assisi, the Roanoke Valley SPCA and Cats Unlimited in Roanoke, VA. Our goal was to spay or neuter and vaccinate as many cats as possible and when the community heard about the event, they signed up and filled every appointment. The demand for these services is so great in the area that Angels of Assisi filled 100 appointments in a single day from one social media post!

From young to old and feral to friendly, each cat who arrived at the clinics received a health exam, was spayed or neutered, and then also vaccinated for rabies. For some cats, this was the first vet care they’d ever received. Many of them have at least part-time access to the outdoors so staff applied a lot of flea and tick preventative. While the cats were sedated, they got a complimentary nail trim too.

In particular, it was an exciting day at the Roanoke Valley SPCA, as this was their first ever event held specifically for feral cats. There are unique aspects to working with feral cats that clinics and staff must consider and plan for and we’re so excited that they’ve stepped forward to be a resource for feral cats in their community. 

​Our work and partnerships with clinics in Roanoke has now resulted in 998 cats being spayed or neutered and vaccinated at no cost to cat caretakers.  Thank you so much to the staff at Angels of Assisi, the Roanoke Valley SPCA and Cats Unlimited for their dedication to cats and their help making these events so successful. We can’t wait to visit again!