Humane Society donation to help reduce stray cat population
Those who feed colony or feral cats, or those who lovingly care for their house cats, have the opportunity to have them spayed or neutered for free, thanks to a generous bequest by a Butler woman who loved all things feline.
The Butler County Humane Society received a large bequest in the will of the late Susan Eleanor Andre after her June 2021 death.
Per her request, humane society personnel created a program in which Andre’s funds would pay for spay and neuter surgeries for cats in Butler County.
The only requirements on getting a house cat or stray cat fixed is that the person bringing it in must live in Butler County.
Cari Ciancio, executive director at the Butler County Humane Society, said when Andre’s bequest was received, humane society personnel reached out to a number of veterinarians and animal clinics to see if they would collaborate by performing the surgeries.
The veterinarians would then be paid by funds from Andre’s bequest, which was dubbed the S.E.A. program to commemorate her generosity.
Ciancio said for about 1.5 years, the humane society has been collaborating with Mars Animal Depot, Moraine Grove Veterinary Clinic, PetVet 365 in Cranberry Township, Animal Friends in Pittsburgh and Cats in Knead in Butler, where hundreds of cats and kittens have been spayed or neutered.
The S.E.A. program in May began a collaboration with Operation Spay Neuter, a Butler group that began in 2004.
Operation Spay Neuter contracts with Fix’n Wag’n of Allison Park, Allegheny County, to perform the surgeries for the S.E.A. program.
Fix’n Wag’n deploys veterinarians in a mobile spay and neuter unit.
Butler County residents can bring up to three felines to be spayed or neutered when the Fix’n Wag’n mobile surgery unit parks at the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department at the intersection of Mahood Road and Route 8 in Center Township.
Fix’n Wag’n comes to the Unionville fire hall about three times per month, always on Fridays.
Operation Spay Neuter officials provide the necessary paperwork to those bringing in cats, and the organization is then paid by the S.E.A. program for the feline surgeries performed.
Karen Schmidt, clinic director for Operation Spay Neuter, said she used to get about 30 cats or kittens at each Fix’n Wag’n clinic before the collaboration with the S.E.A. program began in May.
She had 80 cats scheduled for surgery on Friday, Oct. 11, by the two veterinarians in the Fix’n Wag’n.
“Last week, we only had 40 cats, and it was a piece of cake,” Schmidt said.
In addition to the surgery, veterinarians will address any minor wounds on their patients, who also receive rabies and distemper vaccines, flea treatment, a nail trim, worming medicine and a plastic cone to protect their incision if they are a house cat.
Each cat or kitten also receives a notch in one ear to denote that it has been spayed or neutered.
“That’s a universal sign that a cat is fixed,” Schmidt said.
She said in the last Fix’n Wag’n clinic that drew 80 cats, about 30 were feral or colony cats, while the rest were house cats.
Ciancio said Operation Spay Neuter receives $90 per cat in S.E.A. program funds for Fix’n Wag’n veterinarians, although the cost to spay a small female cat can cost up to $500 at a regular veterinarian’s office.
“We try to be very responsible about the cats who are being seen, and very responsible about trying to limit this cat overpopulation,” Ciancio said.
Appointments for Fix’n Wag’n clinics, which are required to bring cats for spay or neuter surgery, are available by calling 724-287-SPAY (7729).
Schmidt said Operation Spay Neuter also lines up surgery for dogs, but owners must pay according to their income. Cats are always free, thanks to the S.E.A. program.
Operation Spay Neuter even has traps they will lend or deploy to trap colony and feral cats for spay or neuter surgery.
Ciancio is thrilled to have Operation Spay Neuter on board with the S.E.A. program.
“OSN came to the humane society and said, ‘We want to get as many cats spayed and neutered as we can,’” she said. “That’s their mission.”
Ciancio said the humane society also is funding a program in which people trap cats to be spayed or neutered through the S.E.A. program.
According to the National Feline Research Council website, cats can begin breeding at six months old and can produce an average of 1.5 litters annually with an average of four kittens per pregnancy.
Ciancio said cat colonies in neighborhoods hurt natural wildlife because feral cats feed on birds and chipmunks, and can spread diseases like rabies, distemper and panleukopenia, which is a fast-spreading feline virus that can be deadly to cats.
Cats spraying and urinating in neighborhood properties also can become a nuisance, and unvaccinated cats are more likely to develop cancer, Ciancio said.
“And it’s not fair to these poor cats who really could live longer lives,” Ciancio said of feral and colony felines.
She said there are no questions asked when someone takes a cat to the Operation Spay Neuter clinics.
They must only show proof that they live in Butler County.
“It’s as easy as dropping them off and picking them up, and OSN has made that possible,” Ciancio said.
She encourages anyone with cats roaming their properties, or those who feed feral cats, to take advantage of the S.E.A. program.
“We need those people who aren’t yet trapping their cats or who have cats on their property to start bringing in their cats,” Ciancio said. “Until that happens, we’re not going to see a decrease in the cat population.”
“It is my hope that through continuing and developing this program and reaching out to partners, that I can respect (Andre’s) memory and what she wished to see with the cats in Butler County,” she said.
