Hamilton/Burlington SPCA celebrates 25,000 spay-neuter surgeries

A former stray-turned-house cat named Mr. Moose is the star of the day at the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA.

Mr. Moose was in for spay-neuter surgery on Friday morning, becoming the 25,000th such patient in the history of the companion animal hospital.

Karen Reichheld, the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA’s manager of animal care and adoptions, stresses that spay neuter “is good for all pets’ health,” and “reduces overpopulation of cats.”

Reichheld stresses that the subsidized program is thanks to donors and supporters, including for the third year in a row, a grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada.

She notes they completed 4,500 procedures last year and hope to reach 5,000 in 2018.

Surgeries are performed on homeless animals in care and the shelter, and are available to domestic pets as well.

Reichheld says Mr. Moose was “a stray cat that had shown up about two months ago, living under this family’s porch, and looking very much in need of a loving home.”

She adds that “they heard about our program, took advantage of that and luckily, Mr. Moose has become a house cat now.” Reichheld stresses that they see similar stories every day.