Pawmetto Lifeline: SNC Feral Cat Policy

ANNOUNCEMENT: Until further notice, we will only accept 5 feral walk-in surgeries per day. All other surgeries are by appointment only. Please contact communitycat@pawmettolifeline.org to schedule your appointment!

Feral Cat Policies

Thank you for choosing the Pawmetto Lifeline Spay/Neuter Clinic. We are an NSNRT certified Spay/Neuter Clinic and follow all standards of care set forth by the Humane Alliance, the gold standard in high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter.

Our mission is to provide affordable, high-quality spay and neuter surgery to help reduce the amount of unwanted pets that end up euthanized in municipal shelters. Each year in Lexington and Richland Counties over 3,000 dogs and cats are euthanized due to the pet overpopulation epidemic and over 60% of those euthanized are cats. Feral cats in municipal shelters are automatically euthanized, and the only way to put an end to this tragedy is to spay and neuter every Feral possible. We are committed to working with groups and individuals working on trap-neuter-release (TNR) and hope that our flexibility and pricing will allow you to help more cats in your community.

What is a feral cat?

A community cat (feral cat) is any cat that lives outdoors and is unsocialized.

Community cats typically live in colonies where they have access to food and shelter. An unmanaged colony can become a problem, with rampant breeding, and the onset of problem mating behaviors (fighting, yowling, etc.). However, community cats should not be taken to the animal shelter, as they are not adoptable and can only be euthanized. Catching and killing the cats does not work. When cats are removed from an area, survivors breed to capacity or new cats move in (This is known as the “vacuum effect,” and is well-documented).

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the most humane and effective method available to end the severe community cat overpopulation crisis faced by this country. This method has been endorsed by national animal welfare groups, as well as many animal control departments, as the best option for community cats and the communities they inhabit.

Appointments for feral cats

Feral cat surgeries are on Monday through Thursday only.

Our feral cat surgery price is $50 which includes: surgery, FVRCP vaccine, Rabies vaccine, ear tip, and tattoo.

One feral cat does not need an appointment; however, 2 or more on any given day does require an appointment.

Feral cats must be checked in at 8:00 am and must be picked up the following morning at 7:30 am. We do assess late fees for late pick-up.
We only take 10 walk ins per day on a first come, first serve basis.

Requirements for feral cats

Physical Requirements

For the sake of their health, all kittens must be 2 pounds before they can be altered. It is sometimes difficult to tell if they are of weight just by looking at them. Please understand that we cannot weigh the kittens until they are anesthetized and must cover our costs associated with that procedure.

Transportation Requirements

All feral cats must come to the clinic in a secure, live-release trap. No exceptions. This is for the well-being of the cats and the safety of our staff. Please totally cover the trap with a towel or sheet upon capture and keep the trap covered until drop-off for surgery. Please do not put bedding or toys inside the trap.

Any cat that arrives in a live-release trap will not receive a physical exam to determine fitness for anesthesia prior to receiving anesthesia.

Feral cat policies

We will only conduct combo tests on feral cats if requested. Alley Cat Allies does not support testing feral cats for FeLv or FIV. Considering the cost of the test in conjunction with the low rates of disease (1-2% of feral populations according to ACA), low likelihood of transmission between adult cats, poor viability of the virus, the fact that we will not euthanize an asymptomatic positive cat, we believe that funds are more effectively invested in providing spay/neuter services. For further questions, we encourage you to visit www.alleycat.org.

All feral cats will receive an ear tip as part of the spay/neuter package.

Please contact Pawmetto Lifeline Spay and Neuter Clinic if you have any questions about these policies at (803) 465-9100 or communitycat@pawmettolifeline.org.

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