WHERE CAN I GET A CAT SPAYED OR NEUTERED CHEAPLY IN HOUSTON? The Houston SPCA provides free spay and neuter surgery exclusively to people with very low incomes who receive some type of government assistance. If that's not you, I recommend the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Heights. For feral cats, they do not require an appointment, due to the uncertainty involved in trapping. They do require that you bring in the animal, still in its trap, between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning. You must also provide a cat carrier for the cat to be put into following its surgery. You must pick up the animal that same day between 4:00 and 6:00 in the evening. Spay surgeries cost only $25.00, and neuter surgery is $15.00. The Spay-Neuter Assistance Program requires that every animal operated on get a $5.00 rabies shot. The Houston Humane Society also offers low-cost spay and neuter surgery, at $15.00 a cat. Keep your eyes out for monthly specials and coupons at various shelters and clinics.
WHAT ABOUT DISEASE? If possible, you should ask the person performing the surgery to test the cat for two serious diseases. Many feral cats have caught feline leukemia or feline AIDS from other strays, and if the cat in question tests positive for either, it is usually a good idea to go ahead and have it euthanized. The reason for this is that if released back outdoors, the cat can spread the fatal disease to other animals. If you are interested in protecting the cat from future disease, SNAP can vaccinate the cat for leukemia and respiratory diseases. Most feral cats have picked up intestinal parasites such as roundworms or tapeworms, and SNAP offers deworming treatment, too (for animals that can be handled).
WHAT IF THE CAT IS ALREADY PREGNANT AGAIN? I was unbelievably relieved myself to learn that there is such a thing as a kitty abortion. Considering the fact that so many kittens and young cats on the streets die of starvation, disease, cars, or die in shelters, aborting the current litter and spaying the cat so that she won't have any future litters is clearly the humane choice. The exception here would be if you live in a city like San Francisco where the SPCA has an active fostering program for stray mother cats and their kittens, and you are absolutely certain that the kittens would find homes.
WHAT ABOUT . . . FLEAS? While the cat is anesthetized for surgery, the vet can apply a topical flea treatment like Advantage. SNAP sells Advantage, but make sure that the vet will receive the instruction to apply it while the cat is out! This type of flea treatment has to be applied by parting the hairs on the back of the cat's neck, and squirting a few drops there, where the cat won't lick it off. Advantage should last for a month, and after that you are on your own as far as how to part the hair on the back of your feral cat's neck! A flea treatment which the cat takes internally is available, but it won't last if the cat is going to be released back outdoors and exposed to more fleas.
HOW LONG DOES THE CAT HAVE TO SPEND RECUPERATING? While SNAP recommends that the animals be confined to a small indoor space like a bathroom for a week, to make sure that stitches heal and there are no post-operative complications, this can be unrealistic for a feral. Many feral cat management programs release the cats the following morning. This can be risky for female cats, who have had a more serious invasive surgery, and can tear their stitches by running or jumping. Try to keep male cats in a small space for a day or two, and female cats in a small space for four or five days.
WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT EAR TIPPING? The feral cat caretaker and veterinary community has developed a method of identifying those feral cats who have received spay or neuter surgery. This avoids the problem of a concerned person trapping a cat for surgery who has already been altered. The method is to cut off the very tip of the cat's ear, so that a person can tell from fairly far away that the cat has already gone through Trap, Alter, Release. SNAP ear tips any cat that they receive in a trap, who appears to be feral while they are handling him. Some feral cat caretakers prefer not to have kittens or relatively friendly feral cats ear tipped if they are hoping to find homes for them. They feel that the missing ear tip diminishes the cat's cuteness to potential adopters. This is something to consider before taking your feral in for surgery.
TRAPPING A FERAL CAT