NORWICH – Dr. Teresa Mandracchia, Dr. Steve Culverwell and ten volunteers from Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital, 198 Grandview Lane in the Town of Norwich, participated in an event dubbed Spay-A-Thon earlier this month, an event organizers hope to make an annual occurrence.

The Spay-A-Thon was organized by veterinary technician Amy Constable and All Animals Matter, Inc. founder Diane Troxell.

According to Troxell, feral cats were trapped with Havahart traps – live animal traps said to be a safe and humane animal control alternative, offering ease of use and safer animal handling. In this case, the feral cats were transported to Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital (CCVH) to be spayed, neutered and vaccinated.

“We had 17 traps set at different locations but were only successful in trapping 13,” said Troxell. Those 13 cats were then returned to where they came from, according to Troxell, as they had good caregivers.

“On the whole, the ferals looked good and I made sure they got all the fluids after the surgery and a dose of Revolution for worms and parasites,” said Dr. Mandracchia. “Every female we spay keeps dozens of kittens from dying of starvation and disease.”

According to Troxell, the cat population in Chenango County – and elsewhere in the United States – has dramatically increased over the past several years.