This month, we’re highlighting our satellite spay and neuter clinic, Smoky’s, which provides sterilization services to municipal shelters and private rescue organizations as well as free-roaming, unowned community cats.
Every spring, animal shelters across Virginia and beyond brace for a period affectionately referred to as kitten season. This surge of vulnerable kittens strains shelter space, medical resources, and foster capacity. Behind the scenes, Smoky’s Spay & Neuter Clinic is continuously working to mitigate the impact.
Shelters, rescues, and community members all play an important role in caring for vulnerable kittens and finding homes for them quickly. At the same time, clinics like Smoky’s are doing their part to humanely manage the community cat population year after year through Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return programs. Spaying and neutering free-roaming and feral cats proactively reduces the volume of litters born homeless each season. During this process these cats are also vaccinated against rabies and FVRCP, giving them the best chance at a long, healthy life outside.
Our colleagues at Smoky’s are educating the community on the importance of TNVR year-round. Did you know:
Cats can go into heat and get pregnant as young as 4 months old.
One unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce over two million cats in 8 years (source).
Female cats can come into heat and get pregnant while a previous litter is still nursing.
Cats can be sterilized while nursing as long as the vet knows how to do a flank spay.
The team at Smoky’s is full of talented, compassionate professionals, making a huge impact on Greater Richmond. While they specialize in high volume spay and neuter, their commitment to their clients and the animals they care for is unmatched.
In April, one of their trapping partners approached the staff with a concern about a past TNVR patient at Smoky’s that developed a debilitating eye injury after release. It was determined that the cat required the eye be removed to avoid infection and relieve pain and discomfort once released. The team was able to help the trapper set up an appointment to perform the enucleation procedure at our Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital. This otherwise feral, unowned cat’s quality of life has been made significantly better because of the efforts of both Smoky’s and SMVH veterinary teams.
Stories like this demonstrate why proactive community cat programs matter for both population control and the health and wellbeing of the animals in our community. Learn more about the importance of TNVR with these recommendations from Smoky’s staff.
