Public Vet has been partnering with Pet Friendly Services of Indiana since 2020 to bring affordable spay/neuter clinics to under-served areas of Indiana. Public Vet will visit Decatur, Fayette, Franklin, Rush, and Union counties and offer the opportunity to have cats fixed at an affordable price, with a goal to have over 4,000 cats fixed in all five counties by the end of 2023.

"Pet Friendly Services reached out to us in November and said that they had applied for a grant with the Joanie Bernard Foundation as part of their Scooter's Spay-a-thon program and asked if we would have the capacity to add those areas to our schedule," said Sandi Petee, Administrative Director of Public Vet, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. "We were anxious to serve those communities and be a part of this life-saving partnership. The grant focuses on Union, Franklin, Fayette, Decatur and Rush counties. Once the grant award was confirmed, we reached out to the humane societies and animal controls in those counties to help us find buildings and help us get the word out that we were coming to assist those communities with improving the health of their cats."

The cost of surgery is $90 per cat. It includes:

•The medical exam
•All surgery costs (including pre-op and post-op pain medication)
•Any essential services ordered by the attending surgeon 
•Access to the surgeon by phone for three days after surgery 

Indiana residents seeking financial assistance can visit https://forms. gle/vgqgGnHRVqAYV3Ss7 and answer questions to see if they qualify. 

"We are very happy to be partnering with Pet Friendly Services, the Joanie Bernard Foundation, the Franklin County Humane Society, the Fayette County Humane Society, Rush County Animal Shelter and Decatur County Animal Shelter to help positively impact cats and the people who love them in these communities," said Petee. "We have clinics coming up in all five counties as soon as this weekend, and people are required to register on our website www.pub.vet." 

The Public Vet Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic dates and locations are as follows:

•April 7, Liberty - The clinic will be held at the Union County 4H Association Building, 411 Patriot Blvd., Liberty. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m. 
•April 8, April 21, Connersville - The clinic will be held at the Expo Hall, 2691 N. Park Rd., Connersville. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m.
•April 22, Greensburg - The clinic will be held at the Decatur County Fairgrounds Commercial Building, 1645 Park Rd., Greensburg. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m.

•April 23, 2023, Rushville - The clinic will be held at the Rush County Fairgrounds Community Building, 1299 Park Rd W., Rushville. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m.
•May 1, 2023, New Trenton - The clinic will be held at the New Trenton Fire Station, 5138 Depot Rd., New Trenton. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m.

The vet can spay and neuter over 140 cats/kittens at each location in one day.

"It is important for these communities to utilize this service because most communities are overrun with cats," Petee shared. "We are concerned with both the health of the cats and the humans who care for them. Cats can be carriers of zoonotic diseases that can adversely affect humans, so it is important not only to control cat populations but to educate owners on how a cat's poor health can affect their health as well as their cats." 

To register for the clinic, visit pub.vet, click the "Where we'll be" tab, and select the desired location. 

“Fixing your cat can also reduce unwanted behaviors such as spraying/marking, catfights, certain cancers, pyometra in females and noises associated with searching for a mate and breeding," Petee said. "Cats are also more likely to stay home when they don't have the constant urge to mate."