Community Cat Program

We currently offer FREE spay/neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations for community cats trapped in Buncombe County, North Carolina. It is estimated that there are approximately 28,000 community cats living in this county alone. With the community’s help, we hope to humanely decrease the number of unwanted cats and kittens in this area.

What's the process?

1. To loan a trap and/or make an appointment for spay/neuter surgery for a community cat, fill out this form.

2. Once you have set up an appointment with us, safely trap the cat(s) and bring them to us.

  • For the safety of the cat (and our staff), all cats must be delivered in a humane, live-release trap. Only one cat per trap, and do not use a small rodent trap. We have traps available to loan. Please email [email protected] to set up a time to collect traps if you need them.

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3. All patients will receive a spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccination (dependent on age), FVRCP vaccination, Ivermectin and an ear-tip. Ear-tip is required for this free package! 

  • Tipping the cat's left ear is a universal indication that the cat has had spay/neuter surgery.
  • We hold all patients for one night after their surgery for recovery.

4. You will then pick them up the day after surgery, so they can be returned to their original location.

What is a community cat?

“Community Cats” is a term used to describe outdoor, unowned, free-roaming cats. These cats could be friendly, feral, adults, kittens, healthy, sick, altered and/or unaltered. They may or may not have a caregiver. By this definition, the only outdoor free-roaming cats who are not community cats are those that have an owner.

I found a cat—is s/he eligible for the program?

If the cat lives primarily outdoors and is not known to be an owned pet, then yes!

Read more about the ASPCA’s position on community cat programs.

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