Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project

Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project provides affordable spays, neuters, and select services to both feral and companion cats

1997 – Our founding: Dr. Christine Wilford, along with several other dedicated volunteers, formed a 501(c)3 to provide free spay and neuter surgery for free-roaming cats. Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project began with monthly clinics in a donated space at a medical assistant training school. Soon FCSNP was spaying and neutering up to 160 cats per clinic session. An average clinic required eight veterinarians and 50-60 volunteers, who would perform 125 surgeries over the course of 11 hours. 2000-2001 – ESTABLISHING OUR IDENTITY: FCSNP began compensating some of the veterinarians, added surgery days, located a rental space for a dedicated clinic, and hired Lea Lucky, a founder of FCSNP, as paid part-time Executive Director. 2003-2004 FCSNP’s First Facility: FCSNP opened a dedicated clinic in a subleased space on Roosevelt Way NE in Seattle—the first facility in the area dedicated to free spay/neuter services for free-roaming cats. We added our first paid support staff in addition to veterinarians, while continuing to operate with a large number of volunteers, and weekly clinics began immediately. Within a few months, six clinics were being held each month. A pilot program offered low-cost spay/neuter surgery for a limited number of rescue groups serving tame cats and kittens that would not be ear-tipped. In 2004, its first full year in the free-standing clinic, FCSNP altered more than 2½ times the 2,048 surgeries performed in 2003. FCSNP hired a full-time Executive Director. Organizations contacted FCSNP requesting information about the clinic’s operation, from all over North America and as far away as Romania. 2005-6 Recognition and Cat #20,000: In 2005, FCSNP held its first annual Sexless in Seattle spay/neuter event in recognition of National Feral Cat Day. This milestone event sparked letters of commendation from Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, from the City of Seattle Mayor’s office and from national organizations such as Best Friends Animal Society and the ASPCA. We celebrated the 20,000th cat to come through the clinic. In 2006, PetSmart Charities selected FCSNP to receive a grant to become a National Mentoring Organization. We hired a full-time veterinarian, and for the third year in a row, FCSNP altered more cats than any other organization in Washington State. 2007-2015 Growth and Milestones: During our tenth year, FCSNP added a fifth surgery day per week during the peak of kitten season, thanks to a generous grant from the Handsel Foundation. On July 17th, 2008, the last clinic was held at our Roosevelt location, and on July 20th, we began surgeries in our new larger clinic in Lynnwood. In 2009, the Clinic Manager position was created. FCSNP developed an online presence on Facebook and began a monthly electronic newsletter to complement our printed newsletters. In 2010, an auction component was added to Sexless Soiree, and in its first year, the event more than doubled its budget goal. We hired a full-time Executive Assistant, and Cat #50,000 received his neuter. 2016-2019 Clinic Remodel and Cat #125,000: In 2016, we were able to add additional square footage to our existing space. A clinic remodel provided more lobby space for clients as well as dedicated space for office staff. We altered our 100,000th cat. In 2019, we altered Cat #125,000. 2020-2021 – COVID-19 Challenges: Like so many other organizations, we had disruptions in our operations due to COVD-19. In March 2020, we shut down for six weeks while we figured out how to safely continue operating, reopening in May. 2022-2023 - regrouping and 150,000 spays and neuters: FCSNP hired its first designated Volunteer Coordinator. More than 9,000 cats passed through our doors, from locations as near as our immediate neighborhoods and as far away as Grays Harbor to the west and Onalaska to the east. 5,519 cats received services at our Lynnwood clinic and 3,630 at our Renton clinic/collaboration with South County Cats. Community cats were 18% of patients before the pandemic, growing to 37% of the total in 2023. In December, we altered our 150,000 th cat. 2023 - Present: In 2023, a developer acquired the property where FCSNP’s Lynnwood clinic was located. FCSNP and collaborator organization Bella’s Voice Thrift Store were forced to move that summer, and FCSNP worked the rest of the year out of a temporary space. Working in collaboration with Bella’s Voice, FCSNP found a new home a mere three miles from the previous location that allows both organizations to continue to work together for the betterment of animals in the community. What was once a Bartell Drugs store has been renovated into a new space better suited to the needs of FCSNP’s veterinary staff, volunteers, clients, and community. The new clinic will also allow for additional opportunities in the future

Mission — Our mission is to save the lives of homeless cats by providing access to high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgery in a safe and humane environment, collaborating with others and mentoring like-minded organizations to increase spay/neuter in their regions