Lancaster due to spay and neuter stray cats
LANCASTER — “Community cats” — those that roam without owners, but which are typically fed by caring individuals — will be spayed or neutered by veterinarians with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, working with a local cat rescue organization.
The event on Saturday is part of a pilot program, in which the Department is collaborating with existing animal care groups to provide needed veterinary services and help keep animals from needing to be housed at the care centers.
Rather than trapping and eventually euthanizing these cats, the goal is to instead spay and neuter them to prevent their breeding, Senior Veterinarian Dr. Maria Solacito said.
“We’re not going to be the ones trapping them; we are working with people who are more organized in doing that,
working with community members,” Solacito said.
The Department is providing the two veterinary teams to perform the procedures, who will be assisted by volunteers.
The Department is teaming with the nonprofit Forgotten Angels Cat Rescue, which has years of history in working with these types of cats, said Chris Cirar, Animal Control Manager at the Lancaster Animal Care Center.
“Being able to work with them has been a huge plus,” he said. “The missing link (for the rescue organization) was the shortage of veterinarians for the spay and neuter. We saw it as a great opportunity to partner with them, and also not reinvent the wheel for this process.”
The cats will be either spayed or neutered, given rabies vaccination and treated for fleas and ticks, Cirar said.
In addition, the cats’ ears will be tipped, so that they may be identified from a distance as having already been treated. Most of these mostly feral cats do not allow handling.
Organizers hope to treat 50 cats during Saturday’s event. As the pilot, they will see how well they can manage that number, and possibly expand for future efforts.
Another event is scheduled for July in Palmdale, she said.
The effort is funded through a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, according to Solacito.
It’s all part of a change in operating philosophy for the Department that seeks to work proactively and with existing outside organizations to lessen the number of animals in the animal care centers, Solacito said.
Previously, the department concentrated on the animals already in the system in its care. Now, it looks to find alternatives to impounding animals, which can face euthanasia when capacity is exceeded.
For the feral cats, in particular, the likelihood of adoption for these unsocialized pets is low. Studies show a 5050 chance that they would eventually be euthanized, Solacito said.
In their effort, the Department is reflecting nationwide trends in animal control to alleviate the issue of centers operating above their capacity.
“We don’t really need to reinvent the wheel of creating a program when there are already existing programs in the community. They just needed support,” she said.