Operation Catnip Peterborough is on a Mission to Spay and Neuter All Feral Cats in the City

Operation Catnip Peterborough is looking for a warm space to house feral cats post-operation this winter.

Photo courtesy of Operation Catnip Peterborough.

Operation Catnip Peterborough is a non-profit organization working to reduce suffering of and to control the population of feral cats in the community.

Since the organization began in 2013 they have spayed/neutered over 1450 cats through their Trap, Neuter, Return program (TNR).

With the TNR program, Operation Catnip responds to calls around the community regarding feral cats. They set live traps, bring cats to the vet to get fixed then return the cats to the wild.

“If they’re truly feral, really wild, we return them to their colonies - with someone providing them food and monitoring them,” said Kristen Mommertz, a volunteer with Operation Catnip. “If they’re friendly we work with rescue partners to try to find homes for them.”

According to Mommertz, Peterborough has a lot of colonies of feral cats.

“We’ve noticed recently a huge increase of developing cat colonies in rural areas,” she said. “The biggest one we service has just passed it’s 100th cat. They can get out of hand really quickly. Cats can get pregnant three or four times a year and have a litter of four to six kittens and as soon as those kittens are four or five months old they can start getting pregnant.”

The Operation Catnip Logo was created by volunteer and Graphic Designer Kim Russell.

Operation Catnip works in partnership with veterinarians to lessen the costs associate with spaying/neutering a cat and pays for surgeries through fundraising and a grant from the City of Peterborough.

“In a perfect world we wouldn’t need to exist. If everyone got their cats spayed and neutered, if people cared more for animals, we wouldn’t need to be here.”

Mommertz notes that cost is a large barrier for some when considering getting their cats spayed or neutered. A new low-cost spay and neuter clinic is set to open in Peterborough in the next five years, Mommertz hopes that that will encourage more people to get their animals spayed and neutered.

As winter weather approaches Operation Catnip Peterborough is looking for a place to house cats for a few days while they recover from their surgeries.

Due to COVID, Operation Catnip has a long waitlist of cats needing to get fixed. In order to keep up with demand, they hope to find one space to temporarily house all of the cats, in hopes to be able to monitor them all at once.

If they cannot find a recovery space, the organization may need to temporarily pause their operation.

To volunteer with Operation Catnip or to offer a rehabilitation space contact them on Facebook or Instagram.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Animals of Peterborough: They Just Couldn't Get Enough Of Peterborough In 2017

It was a big year for animals hanging out around town. We feed you some of the evidence below...

A beaver on Medical Drive

Photo courtesy Pete Dalliday

An otter sliding across the frozen canal at the Lift Lock

Photo courtesy Steve Novak

Family of geese taking in the fireworks at Del Crary Park

Photo by Jeremy Biden

A duck family that lives in PRHC's courtyard

Photo by Aaron Elliott

That little dot is the deer swimming to the island after visiting the Silver Bean Cafe (Photo via Silver Bean Facebook page)

And an animal list is not complete without these chipmunks having a UFC match at King and Charlotte

Engage with us on social media on TwitterInstagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here. Watch our PTBOCanada Love video here.