About Us

Volunteers and animal advocates join forces to help feral cats and the communities in which they live

Spay and Stay is made up of a diverse group of people who all agree on one thing — that together we can make a difference in the lives of feral and stray cats in our communities. We have a small staff of only one full-time person and one part-time employee. The rest of our TNR force is made up of amazing citizen-volunteers. They include the folks who give their time to help at our spay/neuter clinics, the people who help us reach out to the community through our educational programming, the volunteers who work on events and other fund-raising projects, and, most importantly, the amazing citizens who agree to manage their feral cat colony 365 days a year. No matter how busy or tired these caretakers may be, the cats in their colonies are fed, and given water and shelter every single day.

There are now 468 registered caretakers that have gone through Spay and Stay's TNR program. (The map on the right shows the location of their colonies.) These caretakers are ordinary citizens who have stepped forward and taken the time to help clean up a community problem that they did not create.

These street cats may be abandoned formerly domestic cats or they may be house cats that were allowed outside and have gotten lost. A majority of these cats were never sterilized and are now breeding, creating a large population of feral and stray cats. Feral cat caretakers work to get these cats sterilized and vaccinated in an effort to stop the breeding, while they are improving the quality of life for these cats. Their efforts are also aimed at resolving neighborhood nuisance issues and insuring their communities' public safety.

Why would these people spend their time and money doing this? Because they have seen first-hand how quickly cats can breed and how overwhelmed our local shelters are with kittens and adult cats. Feral colony caretakers want to see fewer cats on the street. In the past, some of the cats in their colonies may have been trapped and killed by local police or animal or pest control agencies in an effort to alleviate nuisance issues, only to see the remaining cats over-breed to fill the void. The feral colony caretakers needed a way to finally stop the breeding and TNR has given them the solution.

Programs

Spay and Stay offers two primary programs: spay/neuter services and educational outreach.

SPAY/NEUTER

Any citizen of Lake County who is caring for a feral cat colony can have access to Spay and Stay's spay/neuter services. A prospective caretaker needs to fill out an application to become a registered caretaker. If the situation fills the criteria for Spay and Stay's spay/neuter services, the application will be approved and the newly registered caretaker will receive a call to arrange a date for trap pick-up and surgery.

Every cat that goes through the TNR program receives the following services:

• sterilization
• vaccinations: rabies and distemper
• microchipping
• eartipping
• treatment for internal and external parasites
• minor wound care

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

Humane Education

In addition to its outreach programs for local governments, Spay and Stay offers humane educational programs to school groups, community organizations, and local clubs. Contact Spay and Stay for more details and to schedule a speaker for your group.

Kids4Cats

Spay and Stay's Kids4Cats program has brought exciting hands-on and educational experiences to the children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lake County as well as the Lake County Juvenile Detention Facility, through a feral cat winter shelter building project launched in November 2005. Through this winter shelter project, the children gained understanding and compassion for this underserved and often neglected animal population while they sharpened their reading and hand coordination skills.

If you have a group of kids looking for that special project, we can suggest other fun ideas. Contact us for details on the Kids4Cats program.

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