GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Operation Catnip is celebrating the spaying and neutering of 100,000 cats by hosting a celebration clinic.
“The challenge is to spay and neuter enough,” shared Dr. Julie Levy, founder of Operation Catnip.
This event drew in hundreds of cats as well as volunteers and alumni from the UF veterinary program.
“Back in 1997, 80% of the cats going into the shelter were euthanized,” said Levy. “It really was a tragic, emergency situation, and we already knew the solution for it, and so we just implemented it here at UF. It took off in a really big way.”
Levy founded the organization back in 1998 to advocate for the cat community and their caregiving.
“There are always a lot of community cats. These are unowned, feral, and stray cats that are in the community,” shared Levy. “They always overpopulate our shelter this time of year when we have kitten season, and so the best way to control their numbers and improve their welfare is to spay and neuter.”
She has now fulfilled her vision of establishing a humane environment for community cats.
A big part of this organization is training future veterinarians by providing hands-on experience. This is why alumni from UF’s veterinary program were welcomed back to help perform surgery at the event.
“Makes a huge impact overall to the cats and the caregivers because people who are feeding the cats, they care about those cats, and when you can help the cats, it eases a lot of stress on them,” said Operation Catnip Executive Director Audrey Garrison.
The event helped others in North Central Florida as well. Seventy-nine cats were brought in from Putnam County for this clinic.
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