Behind-the-Scenes: A day-in-the-life of our spay/neuter clinic

Take a closer look at what we’re doing for cats!

When the clinic opens at 7 a.m., there’s usually a line of cat lovers outside, eager to bring in their homeless cats and pet cats. Looks like a busy day ahead!

Armando Lopez swiftly checks in everyone and assigns a number to each cat. Homeless cats go to one intake room, pet cats to another.

In the intake room for homeless kitties, each cat is scanned for a microchip, weighed, evaluated for sex and age and given an antibiotic and eye lubrication.

“We also give them love. That’s just as important,” says Lead Technician George Sifontes. “We have only one day with these cats. One day to provide the only love and care these little guys may ever receive.”

Each cat receives pain medication and anesthesia, then it’s prepped and shaved for surgery. There’s one area for female spays and one area for male neuters. Every homeless cat also gets an “ear tip” on their right ear, is the universal sign of a “fixed” homeless or feral cat.

FixNation’s state-of-the-art OR has three tables so multiple vets can work at once. The OR is also where all other surgeries take place, such as amputations of legs or tails, eye surgeries and so forth. This is Dr. Samantha Shone and Dr. Gary Latos hard at work.

This is Echo, a cat who needed extensive surgery on his eyes. Today he’s back to have his stitches removed. This little champ is a big hit with FixNation volunteer Joe Federico.

Here in the clinic’s post-op recovery area, each homeless cat gets vaccinations, flea treatment and a shot to reverse the anesthesia. The cages are kept covered as the cats slowly wake up, which helps keep them calm and as stress-free as possible.

FixNation’s Lead RVT Vanesa Diaz has helped care for dozens and dozens of cats since the clinic opened at 7 am. Once all surgeries are finished for the day, she and the other staff continue to closely monitor their furry clients.

According to Karn Myers, FixNation’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, today was an average day at the clinic, with about 80 cats treated and released. “On busy days, there’s often more than 100 cats,” Karn says. “Now that kitten season is here, we’re busier than ever.” What’s the single day record? 147 cats!