Behind the dumpsters of almost any restaurant, a stray cat can be found waiting for food or attempting to stay warm. As animals continue to repopulate, many are left abandoned or sent to shelters that euthanize when they outnumber the willing adopters.
Louisiana nonprofit Cat Haven tried to reduce the population of stray cats by holding Spay Day, a low cost spay and neuter option hosted in cooperation with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine on Sunday.
Cat Haven Executive Director Wendy Decker works with the Vet School to coordinate Spay Day each year.
Animal care groups such as Spay Baton Rouge and the Feliciana Animal Welfare Society participate in Spay Day by bringing animals from their respective areas to be spayed or neutered.
During Spay Day, an average 140 cats are treated by the volunteer doctors with assistance from pre-vet and Vet School volunteers, Decker said. She said watching the outpour of volunteers who come out each year to help control the animal population is a gratifying feeling.
“We know what a difference it makes to the community,” Decker said. “We know a lot of the people who can’t afford to get their cats spayed or neutered are in a pickle because they’re going to end up with 30 cats they can’t afford instead of just the one cat. There are also people who are just doing a good deed by bringing in a community cat to avoid their neighborhood being overrun by strays.”
Decker said about 20 percent of Cat Haven’s adoptions come from LSU students. She said many students come to volunteer and end up adopting cats of their own. Once students and others realize the great need for adoption, spaying and neutering, many change their minds about spending large amounts of money on pure breeds.
Philip Stelly, a first-year student at the Vet School, has volunteered at Spay Day since his sophomore year as an LSU undergraduate. He said he began serving to gain experience from doctors and meet Vet School students to ask them questions.
Over time, Stelly became one of the established veterinary students who offers guidance. He said now that he’s more involved in the program, he wants to give back to the Vet School students.
“One of the things I do at my prep station on Spay Day is make sure there is a pre-vet and a Vet School student right next to each other so they’re forced out of their comfort zone,” Stelly said.
Nathalie Rademacher, assistant professor of diagnostic imaging at the Vet School, said the students learn how to handle cats, administer medications, prepare for surgeries and other essential veterinary skills.
She said the experience the students gain while helping with Spay Day is perfect because they deal with stray and domesticated cats.
With a veterinarian for a father, Stelly has always been taught the importance of rescuing and adopting animals when possible.
He said while purebred animals are great to have, they often come with a specific set of problems whereas mixed breeds are generally easier to care for if placed in the correct environment.
“Even fostering animals helps,” Stelly said. “Although some may not have a lot of time to dedicate to, giving animals that temporary human interaction makes them more adoptable in the long run.”

Gallery • 7 Photos

Nicholas Martino

Cat Haven Adoption Center takes in public cats for discounted spay and neutering on Sunday, November 22, 2015, at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.