KILAUEA — From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day through Friday, four surgeons are working methodically to sterilize up to 400 cats a day at the Ahuimanu Shopping Center in Kilauea.
This is all part of Greater Good Charities’ Good Fix Program offering free spay and neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and microchipping for both pet and feral free-roaming cats.
The surgeons have dozens of people working alongside them and behind the scenes. Veterinary technicians prep the animals for surgery, make sure animals are vaccinated and microchipped, and provide care for cats in recovery after their procedure.
Outside the operating room, staff and volunteers in-take the cats and make sure that every animal has the proper paperwork to ensure they’re accounted for.
Pet owners do not need an appointment to drop off their animals at the former Kilauea Lighthouse Shopping Center.
For landowners with free-roaming cats on their property, Good Fix has a team of eight professional trappers to help safely capture and transport feral cats. Trapped animals are returned once the procedure is complete. Trappers must be invited by the property owners and can be texted at 651-9021 to arrange trapping.
Trapping feral cats in addition to providing services for owned cats is an important part of Good Fix’s goal to help control the cat population on Kaua‘i.
“We believe that systematic high volume spay and neuter leaves a very large footprint,” said Laura Littlebear, director of pet programs at Good Fix. “Sterilizing these cats will lead to eventual declines in the number of cats (on the island).”
Local veterinarians are unable to meet the substantial need for feline spay and neuter surgeries.
“Kaua‘i Humane Society frequently has to schedule (spay/ neuter) appointments weeks in advance. There is not enough staff, time, and resources to meet the demand for medical services our community needs,” said KHS Executive Director Nicole Schafer in an email.
KHS is not alone. Kapa‘a Animal Clinic is currently scheduling surgeries for about one month out. Lihu‘e Veterinary Hospital is scheduling about two weeks out and Kaua’i Veterinary Clinic has a wait of about one to two months.
For Schafer, Good Fix Clinics could be a huge step forward in managing animal intakes at the shelter in the future.
“We are extremely excited to see how this initiative will alter the cat population entering the shelter in future years. We are very optimistic that this is a great start to decreasing overpopulation in our shelter,” said Schafer.
KHS is hosting the Good Fix clinic from Oct. 11 to Oct. 16.
Good Fix is able to service more animals in a shorter time frame than a traditional veterinary clinic.
All of the surgeons with Good Fix are trained High-Quality, High-Volume Spay/Neuter veterinarians. HQHVSN can be performed in under a minute for male cats and under five minutes for females, though that time does vary depending on the doctor performing the surgery and the unique needs of the animal.
Good Charities’ plans on running the Good Fix Program in Hawai‘i for the next two to three years.
“We want to be able to come in, and really be able to be impactful with the big numbers. But, we can’t be here forever,” said Littlebear. “The idea is to create a sustainable model, to help train local guys how to do these high volume clinics. (The goal) is to see that (work) continues after we (leave).”
This article was corrected at 9:56 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 to clarify the name of the Ahuimanu Shopping Center in Kilauea.
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Laurel Smith, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0424 or lsmith@thegardenisland.com.
