Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, East Boston Colonies Targeted

This week the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) conducted a large-scale spay and neuter clinic for community cats from neighborhood colonies in Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, and East Boston. The day-long clinic took place at ARL’s Dedham Animal Care and Adoption Center’s state-of-the-art surgical suite, and among the approximately 30 cats to have surgery was a 13-week-old kitten named Liam, found with ulcers affecting vision in both eyes.

If left on the street, Liam likely would not have survived long-term due to his condition. Along with being neutered, one eye had ruptured due to an untreated viral infection and needed to be removed; the hope is that with medication, Liam’s vision in his remaining eye will improve over time. He will be made available for adoption once he recovers from surgery.

Out of the 30 cats that had surgery, about half, including a dozen kittens, will find loving families and forever homes – the undersocialized, or feral, cats will be returned to the field. The surgical clinic was the culmination of several days of trapping in known colonies from the aforementioned neighborhoods, and ARL is planning for more clinics in the near future to serve communities in need throughout the greater Boston area and South Shore.

A Community Issue

There are approximately 700,000 community cats living in Massachusetts, about 70,000 in Boston alone. Since 2017, ARL has served well over 700 community cats, with just 18 percent being returned to their colonies; however ARL has never conducted such a large-scale community cat spay and neuter clinic.

“Over the past year, we’ve increased our focus on community cats and have helped them as they’ve come to us,” ARL’s Medical Director of Community and Shelter Medicine Dr. Kyle Quigley said. “But with this effort we strategically targeted large, known colonies and the goal is to have a bigger, immediate impact for these communities.”

Change the Lives of Cats at Risk

ARL is excited about our commitment to help keep community cats safe and healthy in the habitats in which they live, but we need your investment in order to provide the best outcome for these cats. To fully support these innovative programs and help more than 1,500 cats lead healthier lives, we need to raise $204,000 annually. Please donate now to help these animals in need.