Hamilton Burlington SPCA’s Community Cat Clinic treats 68 cats

The Hamilton-Burlington SPCA (HBSPCA) held their first Community Cat Clinic over the weekend on Dartnall Road to treat 68 free-roaming cats.

A team of six veterinarians, HBSPCA staff and 50 volunteers worked together from April 11 to 13, to treat 68 community cats from Hamilton’s downtown neighbourhoods.

The team was able to humanely trap the cats before spaying or neutering them, vaccinating them and treating their injuries.

19 of the cats were selected and entered into the charity’s adoption program.

The remaining cats were returned to where they were originally found in the community under the watch of local caregivers.

The HBSCPA says the clinic could have prevented over 150 kittens from being born into unsafe conditions this year.

“Four more dates are planned for upcoming Community Cat Clinics, with the first scheduled this May,” said Karen Reichheld, the HBSPCA’s director of animal care.

She says the clinic’s next steps will be educating communities about the cat clinics and ongoing cat care with a team of dedicated staff and volunteers.

“If you are feeding a stray cat, we want to know about it – we want to get as many people as we can registered as community cat caregivers to make sure we are in compliance with different by-laws within the city,” said Reichheld.

Anyone interested in adopting an animal or to be a foster home for one can look up details on the process on the HBSPCA website here.

WATCH MORE: Checking in on the animals at the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA