Over 100 cats were fixed last week at the JOY Clinic in Lebanon for Global Cat Day.
“One of the things I didn’t understand until I got into the industry of helping cats in the community is that cats can become pregnant at four months old,” New Leash on Life Director Angela Chapman said. “Cats can have up to three litters a year. Knowing that has really helped me to understand the importance of getting cats fixed as early as possible.”
Being proactive with spaying and neutering cats helps increase opportunities for them due to limited shelter programs, Chapman said. The JOY clinic fixes over 2,000 outdoor cats a year.
“This is a human problem: any cats that someone had and chose not to get fixed, or maybe just didn’t know the importance of getting them fixed,” Chapman said. “We domesticated cats, but we are responsible for them because we’ve domesticated them. Being able to fix them is honestly the best thing we can offer.”
New Leash on Life and the JOY Clinic first began working with Alley Cat Allies, who funded the event, after the March 2020 tornado. The national organization provided grant funding for New Leash on Life’s pantry program to help provide food to pets after learning about how the Wilson County community supports spay and neuter services and the Trap, Neuter and Return program, which allows outdoor cats to be fixed free to the public via city and county funding.
“It makes people choosing to fix cats that live outside more accessible,” Chapman said. “After talking with them about that, they asked about highlighting this community for Global Cat Day.”
Alley Cat Allies returned to Lebanon for Global Cat Day last week and helped fix 100 cats in the community. Cats from nine counties were brought to the JOY clinic.
“Some were indoor and some were outdoor, but they were all from communities of need or residents without the resources to fix a cat without support,” Chapman said.
In addition to the JOY Clinic’s team, a team of veterinarians came from Murray County to volunteer for the day.
“We were able to have two full surgery teams to coordinate being able to fix 100 cats,” Chapman said.
