If you live within 25 miles of Ann Arbor (see map below), you live in a very unique area.  This is one of the few places in the United States that provides totally free spay/neuter help for cats in committed, long-term relationships -- whether they live outdoors in yard-or-barn colonies regardless of caregiver income, or indoors as individual companion cats in lower-income families.

Through our TLC/for The Love of Cats Programs, qualified cats are sterilized, vaccinated once for rabies and distemper, and -- if the cats live outdoors -- treated with parasite medication and ear-tipped to identify them as sterilized outdoor cats.

In addition to being free, our spay/neuter programs are unique in many other ways, including:

• Convenience.  Our vouchers are issued within a few days of application -- we do not maintain a waiting list.  We pay local veterinary clinics their standard fees -- less professional discounts -- to do our sterilizations and this allows us to do many cats simultaneously.  It also allows us to sterilize cats where they live and often by the caregiver's own vet.  Rarely does someone drive more than 15 minutes to get to a clinic.  Our cats are integrated into normal surgery schedules.  Vouchers last 30 days so coordinating schedules with the clinics is easy.

• In-Place Caregivers.  Most TNR programs set up volunteers to go in and identify cats, trap them to sterilize, and then return them to limited (if any) care.  Our program identifies outdoor cats that already have in-place caregivers -- and property owner permission to live on the land for the rest of their lives.  We simply empower these caregivers to sterilize their cats by providing vouchers.  This is important because these colonies have long-term caregivers who monitor them daily, work longer on trapping hard-to-catch cats, and identify newcomers that need sterilization as they appear.  This ensures their land remains kitten-free well into the future.  About 25% of the cats we sterilize annually are from colonies established in earlier years.

• Includes Lower-Income Pet Cats.  We know that many of the offspring of outdoor cats pass to lower-income families as pets.  They have the resources to feed them, but not the front-end money to sterilize and vaccinate them.  By giving these families free spay/neuter vouchers we prevent the birth of more kittens to their pet cats -- the second largest source of kittens born each year.  As a bonus, if the guardians pay to micro-chip their cats, we'll rebate part of the cost.  If a micro-chipped cat gets lost, the odds of getting him/her back go up dramatically.

• Grass Roots Advantage.  With independent clinics doing the surgeries, and the community providing the care, we can expand our program's service area simply by adding more clinics to the periphery.  And, without paid employees or other fixed overhead our donations go directly to our veterinary costs.

• Broad-based Veterinary Participation.  Partnering with many clinics -- instead of setting up our own or working through one clinic -- results in many referrals.  Vets are the community's authority on spay/neuter and are often the first call made by someone looking for help.  They know we help and so refer the callers to us.

"Thank you so much for the voucher, allowing us to get our beautiful cat, Duncan, fixed. He seems so much happier and calmer, and in return it makes us happier and calmer as well." -- Jessica, Ann Arbor

"We just used the last of the six vouchers you sent us. Without your help we couldn't have helped these cats. We'll make sure they all have food and shelter for the rest of their lives. God bless you for helping cats." -- Gary & Karen, Farmington

"We are grateful to be a part of your statistics. Not only did you help to spay/neuter our cats, you have taught us the importance of doing so. All of our cats are "fixed" and any more that wander our way will also be taken care of." -- Peggy, Willis

"I wanted to thank you for your TNR program. You truly are a wonderful organization. You recently sent me two vouchers to have my barn cats neutered and I still can't get over the fact that I didn't have to pay a dime. Raven and Cole are doing very well and I have you to thank for it." -- Carrie, Munith