Operation Catnip Helps Feral Cats Nationwide

Extending the Outreach

Credit: Operation Catnip

The operating room during the 2014 Community Cat Management Course, a week-long training event in partnership with Operation Catnip and the Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida.

There were a number of resources available to community members wanting to humanely trap cats — "Alley Cat Allies, ASPCA Pro, Neighborhood Cats in New York, just to name a few," Dr. Levy says. But, she saw a real gap for veterinary professionals who wanted to do their part in assisting with TNR. Now those vets can find the resources they need with just the click of a button. "Our website focuses on enhancing surgical capabilities for professionals, like veterinarians, technicians and program managers," she says, which helps them handle large-scale TNR operations.

This has already proven effective in a few cases, including that of Dr. Catherine McManus, who is now operations manager for Dallas Animal Services (which made headlines not long ago as the facility providing care for Bentley, the dog of Ebola patient Nina Pham, during his quarantine). She's an Operation Catnip veteran and uses the skills she learned in the program to help feral cats in Dallas.

Thanks to this grant, many other community cat-loving vets will have the chance to do the same.

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