Feral Cat Resources
Trap/neuter/return, managing a
colony, getting support from your
community, vet care, and more.

Feral Cats

Catnippers

Catnippers is part of Best Friends' outreach activities in Los Angeles. Founded in 1999, Catnippers is an all-volunteer program designed to help feral cat caregivers by providing free spay/neuter clinics and related services throughout the Los Angeles area. The feral cat population in Los Angeles County alone is estimated to be over 2 million.

The program has grown over the years to include TNR training, trap "depot" services, a community hotline, and, most recently, a sponsor program to reimburse vets who provide spay/neuter surgeries and post-op vaccinations and medications (similar to the Maddie's Fund FCAP program in California).

Volunteer vets, usually three or four per clinic, perform surgeries under strict standards established by Bill Davies, DVM, of the Petsville, USA hospital in Los Angeles.

This year, Catnippers is holding its quarterly spay/neuter clinics at various donated facilities on the first Sunday of February, May, August and November. Catnippers averages over 80 surgeries per clinic and over 100 surgeries per month under the vet sponsor program. To date, Catnippers' operations have been responsible for over 2,500 feral cat sterilizations.
 

Catnippers is funded entirely by private donations, non-government grants and local fundraising efforts. There is no cost to feral caregivers who want to participate, but you must call in advance to schedule clinic and sponsor program appointments.

For more information about Catnippers, call (818) 377-9700, e-mail catnippers@bestfriends.org, or visit their website.

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