On a typical spay and neuter day, Dr. Chantel Raghu and her husband, Dr. Chris Reagh spend an entire Saturday spaying and neutering the cats that were brought in by the community.
The pair work together at Oxford Veterinary Hospital and took over the spay and neuter program from Reagh’s father around three years ago. This program is non-profit and depends on community donations and fundraisers to be able to afford the supplies.
“It’s been going on for decades,” Raghu said. “My father-in-law would just volunteer his time doing spays and neuters of feral cats for different community members.”
Many community members who work with Raghu have been helping since her father-in-law’s time in charge of the clinic.
“I kind of call them the ‘Cat Queens of Oxford,’” Raghu said.
These community members help with trapping cats and bringing them to the clinic, but also feeding and taking care of cats before and after they are able to be brought in.
The pre-vet club at Miami University also helps the program by fundraising and trapping cats.
“I didn’t realize how large the feral cat population was before I went trapping,” Kydan Young, a member of the club said. “We would get 20 plus cats in the span of two hours.”
Trapping is done right before the spay and neuter days. According to Raghu, of the 20 cats that are brought in, usually 15-16 are healthy enough to go through the procedure. They try to hold a spay and neuter day once every three to four months, depending on funding and available time.
“It’s so rewarding to go out and meet the community members who are putting in their time and money to feed and support the cats,” Grace Kemmerly, another member said. “Like everybody noticed the issue and they’re all doing their best to help it without anybody asking.”
Another program helping address the problem locally is Ohio Alleycat Resource, a non-profit, dedicated spay and neuter clinic in Cincinnati. According to chief operating officer Blair Caviness, the program’s goal is to spay 45 cats each day.
Through their program, the Neuterville Express, makes these services more available to people throughout the Cincinnati area.
“It takes our normal spay and neuter service and makes it accessible to people who might not have access to transportation or who live far away,” chief operating officer Blair Caviness said.
Cats are picked up from various dropoff locations and transported to the clinic, eliminating the barrier of transportation for the process. This program provides support for local veterinarians who aren’t able to do spay and neuters as efficiently as a high volume clinic like Ohio Alleycat Resource.
“Because of our specialized way of doing surgery, we are able to do many more,” Caviness said. “This allows us to make it more affordable while still giving cats the same level of attention and care.”
The Neuterville Express picks up 25 cats per drop off location and brings them to their clinic in Cincinnati for spaying or neutering. The cost is $60 and is subsidized to $25 for certain counties.
Oxford Veterinary Hospital is a dropoff location for the Neuterville Express the first Thursday of every month.
For community members looking to help make a difference with the cat overpopulation in Oxford, Raghu had a few suggestions.
“People can do their part spaying and neutering their animals, but the best way people can help is making sure they adopt their animals from shelters,” Raghu said. “Shelters and vet organizations make an effort to spay and neuter as many animals as possible so being a supporter for them is important.”
“The difference in health of cats that have been spayed or neutered is amazing,” Caviness said.
“They have beautiful coats, they’re chubby, they’re healthy,” Caviness said. “Stray cats who have not received treatment are leaner, they have scrapes, they’re spraying and fighting.”
For community members looking to donate to the Oxford Veterinary Hospital’s spay and neuter program, a gofundme run by members of Miami’s Pre-Vet club can be found here, or they can contact the Oxford Veterinary Hospital about donating to the “feral cat fund.”
To donate to the Ohio Alleycat Resource or to sign up for their next visit to Oxford on the Neuterville Express visit their website found here.
