The Park County Animal Shelter has been struggling with the issue of feral cats, most notably in certain Cody neighborhoods, for years now. 

Now the Cody shelter is partnering with a local animal clinic to get to the root of the problem.

Spring is kitten season and right about now those kittens are old enough to be spayed or neutered, said Dr. Rebecca White, whose Cody Veterinary Hospital is partnering with the shelter for a low cost spay and neuter clinic for cats July 21 and 30 at the hospital. 

White said she hears all the time of people who are “adopted” by a cat who will start to frequent a certain house and then, over time, become part of the family.

“People end up in those situations, of course. With the excess cats that seems to be something that we hear rather frequently, was like, ‘I didn’t really pick this cat out, but it adopted me.’”

Sometimes, that cat turns out to be pregnant from its former feral life. 

“Mid summer, those kitties are getting old enough, for the most part, that were born in the spring, so it’s a great time to offer spaying and neutering, especially those, we’ll just call them unplanned cats … where the cat adopts you.”

Each cat will receive a mandatory rabies vaccine and ear notch with their procedure.

Feline neuter costs $55 and spay $80. Cats can also be microchipped for $32, receive a broad-spectrum dewormer for $24 and additional vaccines cost $28–$56 per cat. 

Cats must be over 2 months old and weigh at least 2 pounds and they must be healthy and brought in individually secured carriers. 

Presigned sedation forms and payment due at signup and same-day pickup is required. 

To reserve a spot, call Cody Vet at 307-587-3151. The program will return in November and March. 

White said low cost doesn’t mean low quality: The cats will still be intubated and given anesthesia, clinicians will still be using sterile instruments and “everything procedure-wise is going to be the same.” 

In past years a clinic was held at the Boot and Bottle Club, and Dr. White said that was a good effort, due to it not being at a hospital she saw complications from those surgeries herself. 

The vet hospital then decided to start the service they call Farm Cat Frenzy last year. She said it stemmed from seeing how many new litters of kittens were popping up. 

“Let’s provide a midsummer option that we can get these guys spayed and neutered,” White said they decided. “And if we can give it for a bit of a discount, hopefully we can help people with multiple cats get that accomplished.”

She said shelter Operations Director Ryan Johnson reached out to offer support for this year’s program, as he’s been working on ways since he started in January to reduce the amount of animals in the shelter. 

Board member Katina Koller said partnering with the clinic is part of the shelter’s goals. 

“This is to do what we can to make sure the population is healthy and stable,” she said, adding that the shelter is planning on doing more low cost clinics for microchipping and vaccines in the future in addition to another spay/neuter clinic. 

“Ideally we would do a community needs assessment to see what other services could be needed,” she said. 

“We are delighted to support events like Farm Cat Frenzy that reflect our deep commitment to animal welfare and our commitment to serving our community with impactful services,” said Joelyn Kelly, board president of Park County Animal Shelter, in a release. “Strong partnerships like this one with Cody Veterinary Hospital demonstrate what’s possible when our community works together for the greater good.  We are grateful for Cody Vet’s commitment to animals and our shelter.”