Operation Catnip celebrated a milestone of fixing 100,000 community cats by hosting a massive spay/neuter clinic Saturday.
Operation Catnip of Gainesville is a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 that traps, neuters, vaccinates and releases community cats. These are stray and feral cats that would not do well in a home.
The strategy controls the feline population, keeps cats out of shelters, reduces euthanasia and helps manage behavioral issues.
Veterinarians fixed 500 cats during the clinic hosted at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Overall, it cost $30,000, according to the organization's development director, Leah Hawes. Operation Catnip raises money through grants, donations and its collaboration with UF.
"Any cat that can't advocate for itself, that's what we try to work with," Hawes said.
Inside the clinic, hundreds of cats were cycled around by the 160 volunteers stationed at every corner, including 30 veterinarians.
Operation Catnip has volunteer opportunities for both the general public and veterinary students.
"It's nice to see them progress through the years," Hawes said, "and get more confident, and know the system, and know the cats and train others."
Meghan Hamberg, 20, is a pre-vet student at UF. Saturday was her first-ever shift volunteering with Operation Catnip.
She worked as a scribe in the prep room, where cats were going through the final steps before surgery.
"I felt pretty good about it," she said. "It's been pretty fast-paced, so it has not felt like I've been awake since 7 a.m."
The cats were organized using forms as they all received individual care from intake to recovery. Any health issues were also treated.
In the next room over, veterinarians occupied 18 stations where they operated on the cats.
The procedure is very quick, according to Hawes. An experienced veterinarian can neuter a cat in 2 minutes or spay one in 5 minutes.
From there, the cats are quickly put back in their crates and taken to recovery. The crates lined the hallways, and the cats waited to be picked up later in the day.
They had been dropped off starting at 7:30 a.m., but cars were still lined around the building until 10:45 a.m. Hawes expected the event would end at 6 p.m.
Megan Schwind, 24, brought in 10 cats, four adults and six kittens.
Schwind lives right outside of Gainesville. She said the adults had been dumped on her grandparents' property, and the kittens more recently showed up.
She plans to adopt one of the kittens, a blind, orange tabby.
Typically, Operation Catnip does not spay/neuter adoptable or pet cats. The exceptions are kittens and cats that cannot return to their original habitat.
The organization partners with caregivers of community cats to offer the Kitten Shelter Diversion Program. This helps keep underage adoptable cats out of shelters while making spay/neuter procedures more accessible.
Operation Catnip also has a Working Cat Program, which finds suitable outdoor homes for cats that cannot return to their original habitat.
According to Hawes, Operation Catnip has its own working cat named Choritz, who could not return to where he was found because he was getting bitten by other cats.
"Every cat is different," Hawes said, "and it is really important to allow them to have that autonomy and figure out what is best for them."
Operation Catnip hosts about three clinics per week at its main location, 912 NE Second St. Hawes estimated 60 cats are sterilized during a typical clinic.
To have a cat spayed/neutered, community members must make an appointment. Operation Catnip does loan out traps if needed.
The organization is based in Alachua County, but does receive strays from surrounding areas.
"In Alachua County we've been so successful in keeping the numbers down," Hawes said. "There are other areas that do need our help."
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