Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Services

Cat on a couchTens of thousands of animals are euthanized in the city’s shelters every year. Spaying and neutering is the most basic way to make a dent in these terrible numbers. The following organizations provide low-cost spay/neuter services, as well as veterinary care in some cases.

Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition Rescue Clinic located inside Brooklyn Cat Cafe.

ASPCA
Mobile vans, free spay/neuter and vaccination for low income pet owners
Tel. (877) SPAY-NYC

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return)

A feral cat in Brooklyn who has been eartippedWhat is TNR?

Hundreds of thousands of stray cats live on Brooklyn’s streets. Some are friendly, but others have been on their own too long to go back to living with humans. They live in colonies, surviving as best they can. In the past, these unadoptable animals would often be caught and killed. But that’s not only cruel, it simply doesn’t work: more cats arrive to fill up the vacuum. So what can be done?

More and more municipalities, including New York, now endorse “Trap, Neuter, Return,” or TNR. Neighborhood volunteers, aided by animal rescue organizations, trap the cats in a colony and have them neutered or spayed. They are then “eartipped” – the tip of one ear removed painlessly – for identification as part of a TNR colony. Young kittens and friendly animals are adopted out. The rest are returned to wherever they were found – often a backyard, building courtyard, park or alleyway. Volunteers “manage” the colony, ensuring that the cats are regularly fed and warm shelters provided. Because they are not reproducing, the colony will eventually reduce naturally.

Get Involved!

BAA volunteer Jennie Anne traps a catTNR works, but it depends on the efforts of volunteers. Brooklyn Animal Action members are involved in TNR work around Brooklyn.

If you would like a fun way to inform people about the benefits of TNR, we encourage you to pass out these illustrated flyers. PLEASE NOTE that these are intended to be printed together, as one double-sided flyer. (It’s best to avoid handing out the “Hate Cats”?” flyer alone – we wouldn’t want to promote hatred of cats without a positive counterpart!)

  • BAA Love Cats? flyer – intended for those who love cats, feed strays, or wish they could do something more to help the feral cats in their neighborhood
  • BAA Hate Cats? flyer – intended for anyone you know who complains about the feral cats in their neighborhood

We’ve also created a textual flyer that describes the problem of feral cats, and explains how TNR helps both the cats and the communities they live in: Feral Cats Flyer. For more information on TNR and how you can get involved, check out the following organizations: