On January 11, 2025, the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League hosted its first free Spay Day of the year for community cats. This one-day TNVR (Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return) event significantly impacted the lives of outdoor cats and helped prevent pet overpopulation, resulting in a total of 589 cats being sterilized. The TNVR program involves humanely trapping free-roaming cats, spaying or neutering them, vaccinating them against rabies and other feline viruses, ear-tipping them for identification, and then returning them to their outdoor homes.
The TNVR Spay Day was a massive community event that brought together over 250 people to ensure its success. It was a collaborative effort, involving 14 veterinarians and 10 veterinary students working alongside 52 veterinary nurses and support staff to perform lifesaving surgeries. Additionally, 102 volunteers assisted at various stations throughout the event, including check-in, surgery preparation, instrument sterilization, cat and trap organization, recovery, and more, all while working alongside the staff from Peggy Adams.
The teamwork doesn’t end there – countless trappers from all over Palm Beach County worked hard to humanely trap as many cats as possible over two days. This diverse group included over 100 first-time and veteran trappers who dropped off their community cats for surgeries and then returned the cats safely back to where they were found.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in this important TNVR Spay Day,” said Sue Berry, CEO of Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League. “Completing 589 spay/neuter surgeries on community cats is an incredible achievement that will have a lasting impact on the lives of many free-roaming cats in Palm Beach County. This effort will help control population growth and reduce the number of homeless kittens entering our shelters.” Berry also extended a special thanks to the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Fix the Future Program for assisting Peggy Adams in recruiting additional veterinarians for Spay Day.
TNVR has been shown to be the least costly, most effective, and humane way of stabilizing and decreasing community cat populations. This program is particularly important right now because Kitten Season is approaching here in South Florida. This unique time occurs from early spring through late fall when cats give birth to countless kittens. Kitten Season creates a strain on shelters, including Peggy Adams, due to the hundreds of newborn and young kittens coming into their programs.
Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League offers free TNVR services for community cats Monday-Friday, year-round. Learn more about TNVR services and Spay Days at peggyadams.org/tnvr.
For more information about TNVR, future spay day events, fostering animals in need, and to donate to help fund these services, please visit PeggyAdams.org.
