The HSVC would like to give a shoutout to our amazing Clinic staff for reaching their goal of fixing over 100 cats in the month of January! According to Director of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Christina Sisk, this hefty goal was made possible thanks to our $25 January Feline Fix Promotion, Community Cat program, and spay/neuter fund. Great job Clinic staff!

"I am eternally grateful for my hardworking staff… even our Director, Jolene, stepped in to help! We would like to thank all the generous members of our community who have donated to our “Spay it Forward”, among other funds, that support programs like these," said Dr. Sisk.

January is considered a very important month for getting cats into our Clinic. This is often the time of year when female cats will start going into heat, preparing to have their litters in the spring when the weather warms up. It is also a time when shelter and rescue groups are not full of kittens needing our services. Just think, 56 of the 100 cats our Clinic fixed in January were female. A female cat can have on average of 2-3 litters per year, with an average of 4-5 kittens per litter. That is 560 kitten births that were potentially prevented for the year in just one month! Think of how that can add up over the lifetime of the cat!

Our Clinic will fix kittens as young as two months of age. While this seems young, surgery on small kittens actually causes much less discomfort and has a very quick recovery. The conventional wisdom is that cats should be spayed or neutered at six months of age, but research has shown that some cats are coming into heat and even getting pregnant before that time. Major veterinary organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and ASPCA all support the “Feline Fix by 5” campaign to encourage sterilization of cats by five months of age. This helps prevent hormone-related behavior issues such as spraying in males, reduced risk of mammary cancer in females, decreased risk of complications, reduced recovery time, and most importantly, preventing unwanted pregnancies! Even if you think your cat is “indoor only” you might be surprised by a desire to find that open door or window when puberty hits!

At HSVC, we recommend ideally scheduling a spay or neuter appointment for your kitten at four months of age, when they are finished with their series of kitten vaccinations. Remember, we provide vaccination services also and those last boosters can always be performed at the same time as surgery. If your cat does have kittens, please give us a call and we can offer financial assistance to get mom fixed when she has finished nursing and fix her kittens before you find a home for them. Don't forget to help the community cats in your neighborhood – they are always fixed and vaccinated for FREE at HSVC!

According to the ASPCA, approximately 920,000 shelter animals in the US are euthanized each year, the majority of which are cats. Ventura County is privileged to have many great organizations working together to save every life. For more information, go to felinefixbyfive.org or call our Clinic at 805-646-6505 for an appointment.