From the Director's Chair - Spay/Neuter Pop-ups!

For the past few years, we've been hosting one, two, or even three surgery pop-ups a month. Even before COVID—and especially after—securing quick, low-cost spay/neuter appointments has been like finding a needle in a haystack. The amazing clinics we work with are constantly backed up, with wait times stretching weeks or even months. This becomes even more challenging during kitten season when our intake numbers skyrocket. Since we don’t adopt out pets until they are spayed or neutered, these delays put us at a standstill. Foster space is invaluable, and when animals are waiting on surgery before they can be adopted, intake has to pause.

So, we had to get creative.

With 3,000 to 3,500 pets coming through our rescue each year—most requiring spay/neuter—and an ongoing need for TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) in the community, we had to find an alternative to relying solely on low-cost clinic appointments.

That’s where pop-ups come in.

Another rescue originally had the idea to hire a company that brings in veterinarians and vet techs to perform surgeries in a mobile spay unit. But they struggled to meet the county’s minimum cat quota to justify the cost. That’s where Rescue Pets of Florida stepped in—when it comes to cats and kittens needing spay/neuter, we never have a shortage.

However, mobile units proved too costly for us, even just covering the fuel to get them here. Instead, we started borrowing surgical centers that weren’t in use on Sundays.

What began as a one-time effort to clear the backlog for rescues quickly evolved into something bigger. We streamlined costs, divided our pop-ups between TNVR and adoptable cats, and now directly hire veterinarians and vet techs to make it all possible.

We could never do this without our incredible friends at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. For the past few years, we’ve been hosting our pop-ups at their smaller surgical center in their adoption building. And now, we’ve expanded to include puppies as well!

Since there’s no financial return on TNVR—no adoption fees, as these cats are released back into their original communities—we rely on sponsorships to cover the costs. Every single TNVR at our pop-ups has been funded through a combination of a Friends of Animal Stray grant, fundraising, and the generosity of like-minded local cat rescues. We firmly believe TNVR is essential because we will never adopt our way out of the pet overpopulation crisis. The key is stopping reproduction in the community.

Our pop-ups are primarily volunteer-run. We start at 7:30 a.m. and work until the last pet is finished, usually wrapping up by 3 p.m. Think about that—our volunteers, the same people who foster and run the PetSmart adoption centers, also dedicate their time to making these pop-ups happen. From check-in to pre-op, surgery, recovery, and final processing, they handle everything with precision and care.

Since September, we’ve been holding one pop-up per month, but as kitten season ramps up, we’ll be increasing to two per month in March—and possibly three per month by June if needed.

At our most recent pop-up, we vetted 109 animals:

🐾 46 TNVR cats

🐾 54 adoptable cats and kittens

🐾 9 puppies

And we wrapped up by 1:30 p.m.!

Our work wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our volunteers, supporters, and rescue partners. Together, we’re making a difference—one surgery at a time.