MANSFIELD — Diane Nolen has helped to spay and neuter about 41,000 cats over the last 33 years.
That's an average of 3.4 cats per day, every day, since 1989.
But after more than three decades of offering low cost spay and neutering, Nolen said the issue of cat overpopulation in Richland County is the worst she's ever seen.
"I turn down 10 or 15 people just about every day who want to give me cats," she said.
Nolen is a one of three founding members of Stop the Overpopulation of Pets (S.T.O.P.). She continues the organization's work from a facility at 1152 Lexington Avenue.
S.T.O.P. was originally founded in response to the thousands of cats and dogs being euthanized at local shelters each year. Local agencies like the Richland County Dog Warden's Shelter and Humane Society of Richland County have since become no-kill shelters, but the demand of spaying and neutering continues.
The Humane Society of Richland County offers low-cost spay and neuter clinics through the Rascal Unit, a mobile veterinary hospital based in Dublin, but animals at the shelter receive first priority.
Managing Director Linda Chambers said there haven’t been many appointments leftover in recent months due to a large influx of animals at the shelter. About 90 percent of the cats that come to the humane society need the procedure.
Forgotten Felines is another organization working to spay and neuter strays. “Our mission is to provide spaying and neutering to the community cats in an effort to help control the population and give them a much healthier lifestyle,” said Linda Swisher, a retired veterinary assistant.
Swisher volunteers as a trapper, transporter, surgical scheduler, feline foster parent and adoption advisor for Forgotten Felines. The organization has spayed and neutered 1,200 cats since it was founded by the late Anne Wendling in 2015. Each cat also receives a rabies vaccine and flea treatment at the time of neutering.
The organization has no office, but is currently looking for a location. There are no paid staff; the organization runs on foster families, donations, grants and nominal kitten adoption fees.
"Strays belong to no one, so often times we receive nothing towards the cost of vetting," Swisher said.
"We assist the public if they have taken in a stray or a litter and wish to provide a home or homes for them for a small donation, usually according to income."
Swisher is an advocate of the TNR method — trap, neuter and return — which she said reduces community complaints about cats and stops the breeding cycle. Nevertheless, Forgotten Felines does facilitate some adoptions and found homes for close to 200 since its founding.
S.T.O.P. takes in badly injured stray cats, nurses them back to health and adopts them out to qualified homes.
"The sad truth is people are throwing out their cats anywhere and everywhere," Nolen said.
"Many of those cats starve, get attacked by other animals, freeze, get hit by cars or have other outcomes that cause them to suffer. The abandoned ones who do survive continue to reproduce exponentially."
"If no one adopts them, we keep them. We spend a lot of money on vet bills and supplies."
The humane society is currently at capacity and cannot accept more cats. In the meantime, the shelter maintains a waitlist, offers pet food pantry assistance and refers callers to other organizations.
“We get between 10 and 30 calls a day from people who want to surrender their own cats or stray found cats,” Chambers said.
Chambers said the humane society does make exceptions for animals that need critical medical care.
Animal advocates across Richland County advise spay and neutering pet cats and if possible, strays, and keeping unsterilized animals indoors.
Nevertheless, finding an appointment is easier said than done. S.T.O.P. announced last week that its spay and neuter appointments are fully booked until the end of the year.
When local vet Susan Burkhart announced that her practice would have a one-day affordable spay and neuter clinic on Nov. 6, she was fully booked in a matter of days.
“Because we’ve had to turn away so many people, we’re already thinking ahead about how can we maybe do this quarterly?” said Burkhart, who recently began a non-profit of her own.
Nolen said the demand among pet owners may be higher in part because of the pandemic. More people adopted pets to keep them company at home, all while veterinary offices closed or limited their services.
"Many (veterinarians) considered spay/neuter to be elective surgery, not essential," she said. "Therefore, you have the people who would have had their pets fixed last year and the people who ordinarily would have had them fixed this year all competing for the same number of surgery slots."
"There are very few appointments available right now. Many vets are booking several months ahead."
Nolen said she'd like to see Mansfield have its own animal control officer. According to the National Animal Care and Control Association, these officers are charged with rescuing pets, assisting owners, educating the public on humane pet care and investigating animal neglect, cruelty, hoarding and abuse.
Swisher said she would like to see a permanent low cost spay and neuter clinic in Richland County.
"The need is there for a facility that is permanent if we are to gain control of the numbers," she said.
"Every day needless suffering and struggles with disease plague the unwanted litters that are born. We can prevent that and why shouldn’t we as a strong community?"