Beaver County Humane Society offers discount on spay/neuter surgeries for cats
CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — The Beaver County Humane Society is pouncing into action to help cats get spayed or neutered, whether they have a home or live on the streets.
The humane society offered a big discount for World Spay Day, Feb. 27, and it's extending the offer in hopes of lending a paw to cat lovers who want to help but can't afford to.
"We had a mild winter, so a lot of cats have gone into heat. We're seeing a lot of cats come in for surgery that are already pregnant and we're seeing a lot of cats already having kittens," said Wendi Stafford, Beaver County Humane Society police officer and a certified veterinarian technician.
The shelter is offering $40 off feline spay/neuter surgeries. The discount is available for March appointments until they run out of 100 vouchers.
"There are families who can't afford $50 for a feral cat or can't afford $65 for an owned cat. Those are two least expensive packages and if you take that $40 off, it's only $10 to get a feral cat fixed and only $25 to get an owned cat fixed," Stafford said.
For animal shelters and rescues, it's a constant battle trying to lower the feral cat populations. Feral cats have colonies in communities across Western Pennsylvania.
"I would say every township, borough, jurisdiction, has multiple feral cat colonies. I think it's an issue that's unfortunately not going to go away ever. It's a managed problem," Stafford said.
If those stray and feral kitties aren't spayed or neutered, it quickly becomes catastrophic. Stafford said the only humane solution is trap-neuter-return. The key is to reach out for help before they start having litter after litter.
"They are going to keep reproducing and that number is going to go up. They're going to be susceptible to disease, they're going to get sick, cats are going to die, cats are going to suffer," she said.
Stafford said the humane society gets a lot of humane cases from hoarding situations. They've also recently had multiple cases with people who got overwhelmed because they can't afford care for their pets. In those situations, Stafford said they help with the care and try to keep animals in their home if it's a safe environment.
In 2023, the Beaver County Humane Society took in 1,200 kittens, around 1,000 cats and they had around 6,000 feline surgeries.
Now, the humane society is bracing for a busy kitten season and asking the community to help.
"I hope that it will open up the eyes to the public. Even if they get one cat done from that colony, it's getting their feet wet and opening a door for them for trap-neuter-return," Stafford said. "Hopefully with this discounted rate, we can reach out to some people that maybe weren't able to afford it otherwise."
If you want to take advantage of the spay/neuter discount, you can schedule an appointment for the surgery and vaccinations on the Beaver County Humane Society's website. Just use the special code "SPAYDAY."
The discount is available once per person or household regardless of where you live.
The humane society has different vaccinations and other services, three for owned cats and three for feral cats, which range from $50 to $150. The discounted rate will last until they reach 100 vouchers. About half have been used so far.
