On a sunny Wednesday in late November 2023, FixNation, a groundbreaking non-profit based mostly in Los Angeles, celebrated the sterilization of its 250,000th cat.
With a mission to offer free spay/neuter companies for neighborhood cats (feral, deserted, and free-roaming felines) and reasonably priced companies for companion cats, FixNation has performed a pivotal position in decreasing feline overpopulation in Southern California with its high-volume/high-quality clinics and Entice-Neuter-Launch (TNR) program.
Given its nice local weather and concrete sprawl, Los Angeles is residence to a persistent and uncountable stray cat neighborhood. Emphasizing the significance of sterilization, FixNation govt director Karn Myers mentioned, “Of these 250,000 cats, our efforts prevented every feminine from giving beginning to a number of litters of kittens, in addition to the generations of offspring that unneutered males would have fathered.”
She added, “Over time, that provides up to an enormous, mind-boggling quantity—thousands and thousands of cats that in any other case would have been born and struggling to outlive on the streets.”
A Mission of Compassion
Based in 2007 by Karn Myers and her late husband Mark Dodge, FixNation began as an all-volunteer program in 1999, sterilizing six cats on opening day. At present, the clinic performs over 100 surgical procedures every day, sparing thousands and thousands of cats from a lifetime of hardship.
Meet Cloud, the 250,000th Cat
To honor this milestone, a pleasant feminine neighborhood cat named Cloud was chosen because the 250,000th cat spayed or neutered at FixNation. Dr. Kiyoko Ishiwata carried out the surgical procedure. Luxe Paws founder Jacquie Navratil, the trapper who introduced in Cloud, was offered with cat-themed merchandise donated by FixNation board members Jackson Galaxy and Kimberlie Hamilton, and a provide of meals to help avenue cats in downtown L.A.
“Shelter Me” Episode
Earlier in 2023, FixNation welcomed two-time Emmy-winning producer/director Steven Latham, who introduced a movie crew and spent the day filming for an upcoming “Shelter Me” episode on PBS. The episode documented the sterilization of 222 cats in a single day, and captured the dedication of FixNation’s crew.
“Whereas different teams are reducing funding for spay/neuter,” Latham mentioned, “FixNation is working into the burning constructing to assist…. The love, compassion and respect that each single particular person at FixNation provides to those cats will restore your religion in humanity.”
Funding Setbacks vs. Excessive Demand
With wherever from 50 to 100 million stray cats roaming the streets and neighborhoods within the US, each main metropolis has a feral cat inhabitants. The disaster will proceed so long as our communities battle to allocate the assets for animal management packages.
“It’s a irritating state of affairs, because the clear resolution for the cat inhabitants growth is mass sterilization. There merely aren’t sufficient houses on the market for all of the kitties that want them. Los Angeles won’t ever undertake its means out of this disaster,” Myers defined.
Regardless of the group’s staunch dedication to its mission, FixNation is presently going through critical funding obstacles. The clinic is anticipating to repair over 17,000 cats this yr, and is experiencing a surge of appointment requests. This funding disaster has been exacerbated by financial challenges and a pivot in donor preferences towards foster and adoption packages.
“Grants and personal donations enabled us to repair 250,000 cats so far, but now—at a time when our companies are wanted greater than ever—our funding has plummeted,” mentioned Myers. “Solely with sufficient funding will we be capable to proceed our compassionate mission utilizing probably the most pure technique of inhabitants management, sterilization, the one humane and efficient different to mass euthanasia.”
Trying Ahead
FixNation’s pioneering Entice-Neuter-Return (TNR) program stands agency on the frontlines of the battle towards feline overpopulation. Primarily based on the ideas of high-volume/high-quality spay/neuter companies, free TNR coaching, and loaning humane traps to the general public, the group will proceed its mission a method or one other.
If you’re enthusiastic about contributing towards their trigger, go to www.fixnation.org
