KAPA‘A — The Kaua‘i Community Cat Project mobile clinic crew had their hands full with 28 cats on the calendar, Tuesday during the mobile clinic’s appearance at the All Saints Gym parking area in Kapa‘a.
“You should be here in the morning when the cats come in,” said Susan Scott of the KCCP. “Mornings are always crazy when the cats arrive. We have another 32 cats scheduled for Wednesday. We’re pretty much full up.”
Tuesday was the first day the KCCP got use of a new donor-provided mobile clinic that arrived here, last week.
“It’s new, but not new,” said Scott. “It used to be used as a spay and neuter facility on O‘ahu before we got it through the generosity of a donor. We need to wrap it with our logos.”
The mobile clinic is scheduled to be in Kapa‘a through Wednesday afternoon before being moved back to Kekaha where it is being housed after arriving here.
“Eventually, we would like to see it visit different parts of the island,” Scott said. “But for now, we’re alternating between the Westside (in Kekaha) and the Eastside (in Kapa‘a). We need to get the word out that we can use more veterinarians — the more we have, the more we can do.”
Prior to the arrival of the mobile clinic, Scott said KCCP was restricted to two veterinarians — Dr. Bryce Ahana on the Eastside, and Dr. Craig Nishimoto on the Westside — to take care of neutering cats under the Trap-Neuter-Return program, the Fostering program, and adoptions.
Kaua‘i Community Cat Project estimates there are between 15,000 to 20,000 “community cats,” or animals that are stray, abandoned, homeless, and feral on the island.
Its mission of looking after the welfare of these cats through the advocacy of Trap-Neuter-Return was further aggravated by the loss of the Spay Pod, a project started in January, 2019 between Animal Balance and the Kaua‘i Community Cat Project, after the property on which it was located was sold.
With the arrival of the mobile clinic, KCCP is back with its Spay Neuter program.
“We had our first clinic in Kekaha last Thursday and Friday,” said Gigi Chandler of the KCCP. “During those two days, we took care of 51 cats.”
Scott said the next rotation will probably start at the end of this month, starting in Westside and moving to the Eastside. More information on the KCCP Spay Neuter program is available on its website at www.kauaicommunitycats.org, or its Facebook page.
“There is such a need,” she said. “We need to get more veterinarians involved.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
