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.

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UPDATED: Peterborough House Cat Named Chester Is Missing In This Extreme Cold

UPDATE, January 9th: It's a miracle! After several reported sightings over the week, Chester is now home safe, his jubilant owner reports on Facebook!

ORIGINAL POST

It's one week today (January 7th) since an adorable orange cat named Chester went missing from his home. He is a 4-year-old Tabby/Maine Coon mix.

Chester is normally a indoor cat so the outside world is foreign to him. He is a male and is fixed. He went missing from the Sherbrooke Street Clonsilla Ave area between Sherbrooke Street and Westmount Pharmacy.

His owners really miss him and are worried sick that he is outside in the cold. Please call Debra at 705.748.5604 if you know his whereabouts.

Georgie misses his buddy Chester

Georgie misses his buddy Chester

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Here's Footage Of The Cat On A Hydro Pole Being Rescued Yesterday

[CHEX Newswatch]

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The Owners Of A Cat That Was Shot & Killed By Someone With A BB Gun Speak Out

Anyone with information is asked to call Police or Crime Stoppers.

[chextvDOTcom]

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Someone's Pet Bird Must Be Missing (Here Are The Pictures)

[UPDATE: Some people are suggesting on Twitter—here and here—that it's a wild finch. Still, curious behaviour. And we don't know if they've called Humane Society. Oh, and someone is missing a bird, but it's not the one below.]

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These pictures were taken by Brad Crough from inside his house in Peterborough's West End. "This bird has been trying to get inside all day," he tweets. And Brad's cat obviously wants the bird inside as well. Not a good idea.


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