photo by: Emma Delk

Tiffany Dlesk Spay-Neuter Clinic staff perform sterilization surgeries on stray cats in the community through their new feral cat program. From left, Veterinary Assistant Lilly Stanley, Clinic Director Jana Howe and Veterinary Assistant Pammy Henry.

MOUNDSVILLE — The Tiffany Dlesk Spay-Neuter Clinic is striving to reduce the stray animal population in Marshall County through its discounted spay and neuter surgeries for low-income community members and its new feral cat sterilization program.

Clinic Director Dr. Jana Howe said the nonprofit aims to reduce barriers that low-income residents encounter, including the high costs of performing these procedures, that prevent them from getting their pets spayed or neutered. The clinic offers spay and neuter surgeries for dogs and cats at regular pricing and discounted pricing for households that earn less than $75,000 a year. Clients must show paperwork to demonstrate they meet the income requirement.

Howe noted the importance of pets undergoing these surgeries, as dogs can have anywhere from three to 11 puppies in a litter twice a year and cats can have four to seven kittens per litter every nine weeks.

The procedures also provide pet health benefits, such as preventing feline mammary cancer.

The clinic also performs wellness exams, including routine vaccinations and rabies vaccinations; heartworm testing for dogs and the “triple test” for cats, which tests for feline leukemia, heartworm and feline immunodeficiency virus.

Every Monday at the clinic is dedicated to performing wellness exams and vaccines as a way to encourage more residents to get these treatments for their pets.

“Our prices for those (wellness exams and vaccines) are much lower than most veterinarians, too,” Howe said. “We’re here to serve the low-income clientele.”

In addition to offering discounted spay and neuter surgeries, the clinic launched its feral cat program this year to reduce the stray population in the county. Howe said Marshall County has a “problem” with stray cats, and a county animal control officer approached her to apply for a grant to fund the new program.

“I don’t know if they’re (the Marshall County Animal Shelter) at capacity, but there are quite a few dogs over there and some cats,” Howe added. “The more dogs and cats we can get fixed, spayed or neutered, the more we can limit the amount of stray animals in the community.”

A Best Friends Network grant funds the program. To qualify, a resident needs to catch a feral cat in a cat trap and bring it to the clinic for sterilization surgery. After the procedure, the resident will pick up the cat and release the animal back to where it was found.

In addition to sterilization surgery, the clinic will give the cat a rabies vaccine and cut the tip of its left ear off so community members can see from a distance that the cat has already had its surgery and does not need to be trapped.

“We want these cats to be released and live the rest of their lives happily while also not being able to reproduce and cause an even bigger problem in the community,” Howe said.

Howe noted that the grant funding for the program strictly covers performing these procedures on Marshall County cats. The program will run until mid-December of this year.

The clinic also lets residents make a $100 deposit to rent a cat trap to catch feral cats. When the residents bring the trap back in “good condition,” according to Howe, they will be given their $100 back.

Howe said the clinic has already taken care of “quite a few feral cats” since beginning the program this year. She said it typically has a couple of feral cats to perform surgery on daily.