Neuter and spay stray cats and kittens in Miami

Have you ever wondered how to help neuter and spay stray and feral cats and kittens in Miami? The Cat Network has you covered. We interviewed Charlene Grall, the Chairperson of the Spay and Neuter Committee for the Miami Meow Mobile (part of The Cat Network’s efforts to reduce the overpopulation of stray and feral cats in South Florida through the humane practice of sterilization, vaccination, and release), about the ins and outs of helping our cat population. 

Visit The Cat Network to learn more and donate!

The Cat Network

The Cat Network is dedicated to reducing the overpopulation of stray and feral cats in South Florida through the humane practice of sterilization, vaccination, and release. Through their membership-based network, thousands of cats and kittens have been spared a life of neglect, cruelty, or euthanization. The Cat Network offers a low cost spay and neuter program and a community of support to help you help homeless cats.

In 2003, The Cat Network (CN) started a capital campaign to purchase a 26 foot van to serve as a mobile adoption venue and Spay/Neuter clinic. In 2004, after a very generous donation, they were able to purchase a completely furnished LaBoit van.  They held a naming contest, and the winner was Miami Meow Mobile (MMM). The first several years, it was mainly used as an adoption venue and it traveled to many outdoor and even some indoor events.

In 2009, CN teamed up with a talented young veterinarian named Dr. Marc Kramer, and his amazing vet tech girlfriend, Eliana Ardila. They started traveling around the county holding spay/neuter events for community cats. Most of the cats were feral and abandoned street cats which were sterilized, vaccinated and returned to the street. This is commonly known as TNR (trap/neuter/return). They joined forces with SOBE Spay & Neuter of Miami Beach and sterilized over 1000 cats from 2010-2012. In 2012, CN formed a 5 year alliance with Miami-Dade Animal Services and the Humane Society of Greater Miami under the auspices of the ASPCA. With the grant money from the ASPCA, and a large staff of contract vets and vet techs, they were able to spay and neuter over 3000 cats on the MMM in 2013. It was during this period that Charlene became a co-manager of the MMM, along with another woman, who had retired from the program in 2015. 

Today, the MMM only goes on the road on the weekends, yet in 2019, they still performed 808 surgeries in additional to vaccinating, testing, de-worming and microchipping hundreds more. Nowadays, many of their patients are owned pets and foster cats as well as the TNR cats. We truly feel we fill an important niche in the cat community of South Florida.

Equipaws Pet Services