Return to the previous page, “Our Spay/Neuter Clinic”

Please review the following clinic criteria and practices for our TNR clinics before you use our services.

Click here for pdf version, of the following, that you can print out.

1. ELIGIBILITY:  Our clinic is intended for feral/homeless/ community cats that are being returned to their colony. Owned cats, or cats you intend to adopt out are ineligible for this clinic.
2. TNR TRAINING COURSE: Prior to using our services, you must complete the TNR training course offered through Community Cats Toronto .
3. CANCELLATIONS: If you need to cancel one or all your spots at a clinic email torontostreetcats@gmail.com as soon as possible.
4. FASTING: If possible, cats over 6 months should be fasted (no food) for a minimum of 4 hours; no fasting required for cats under 6 months.
5. HEALTH OF CATS: All cats brought to the clinic must be in good health. Under no circumstances should a cat be brought to the clinic if they have obvious signs of an infectious condition like Upper Respiratory Infection (ie sneezing, nasal discharge, etc). Cats presented to the clinic in poor health will not be operated on and will be returned to the caretaker unaltered.
6. WEIGHT: All cats must be at least 900g (approximately 2 pounds).
7. DROP OFF: On the date oft the clinic, cats must be dropped off at the Toronto Humane Society’s Spay/Neuter clinic by the caretaker who booked the appointment or an individual they advise us will be delegated the task. The individual dropping the cat(s) off will be required to sign a surgical consent form
8. EACH INDIVIDUAL CAT MUST ARRIVE IN A TRAP (PREFERABLY A 2 DOOR,REAR RELEASE TRAP) OR TRANSFER CAGE. Cats brought in a carrier will not be accepted
9. AVAILABILITY: All caretakers must be reachable by phone at all times throughout the clinic. Should any medical concerns arise about the animals, we need to be able to reach you immediately. If you are unreachable, our veterinarians and staff will proceed to treat the animals as they deem appropriate
10. EUTHANASIA: If the examining veterinarian believes a cat is suffering or believes that the cat is in such poor health that it is inhumane to return the cat to a free-roaming lifestyle, euthanasia will be considered. We will try to contact the caretaker before euthanasia, unless the cat is in severe distress and immediate euthanasia is the most humane option.
11. MICROCHIPS:
    a. All cats are scanned for microchips. If one is found, we will attempt to contact the chip registrant– if we are unable to locate the chip registrant, the cat will be returned to the caretaker unaltered.
    b. All cats will be microchipped. The details of the cat, including the microchip number, will be input under the name of the colony caretaker into the Toronto Humane Society’s data management system
    c. We do NOT register the microchip with the microchip company (the caretaker can register the microchip themselves if they wish to do so).
12. TREATMENTS:
    a. After administration of an anaesthetic, cats will be examined, vaccinated for Rabies and FVRCP, treated with Revolution (a topical flea/worm prevention treatment) and spayed or neutered.
    b. ALL CATS WILL BE LEFT EARTIPPED (to identify them as an altered free roaming cat.)
    c. All female cats will receive a small green tattoo beside the spay incision to identify that the cat has been spayed.
13. PICK UP:

    a. Post surgery, once the cats are awake and we’ve confirmed there are no medical concerns, cats will be returned to the caretaker to take home the same evening as the clinic.
    b.  PICK UP TIME:  until the evening of the clinic, we are unable to determine when any given cat will be ready to be taken home.  We first need to take a final count of how many cats were brought in and how many of each gender (in general we spay females first, then fix the cats of “unknown” gender, then neuter males last)
    c.  All cats must be picked up from the clinic by their colony caretaker, or an individual they advise us will be delegated the task, at the designated time/day of surgery. Cats not picked up will be considered abandoned and handled in accordance with Toronto Humane Society policies and procedures.

14. RECOVERY: After surgery male cats should be recovered for at least 24 hours and female cats for at least 48 hours, in a warm dry and secure location (click here for our “Post Operation Recovery Info/Instructions” sheet)
15. INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR: Toronto Street Cats reserves the right to refuse future services to any person who engages in inappropriate treatment of staff, property or cats, or any individual who knowingly registers a cat that does not meet the above criteria

Last updated September 13, 2025