Funded Projects

Completed Projects

Maddie's Spay/Neuter Program for Feral Cats

Total surgeries performed: 5,995
Total grant award: $299,097

Maddie’s® Spay/Neuter Program for Feral Cats began in July 2001 and ended December 31, 2004.

The Program was administered by the Dane County Veterinary Medical Association (DCVMA) in Madison, Wisconsin. Surgeries were performed by fifty-eight of the Association’s private practice member veterinarians from twenty-four Dane County veterinary hospitals.

The 5,995 feral cats altered exceeded a goal of 4,500 surgeries by 33%.

The surgery was initially free to feral cat caregivers. A $10 co-payment was required in the project’s final two years.

Dane County veterinarians went above and beyond to make the program successful. Many doctors generously provided add-on services to the surgery, such as free or low-cost rabies vaccines, de-worming and other minor treatments like abscess drainage.

In addition, FVRCP vaccinations and FIV and FeLV tests were provided free of charge courtesy of Angel’s Wish, a no-kill cat rescue organization and the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

As a result of the program:
  • Veterinarians became familiar with feral cat conditions and issues, as most of the doctors had never had contact with feral cats before.
  • Many doctors gained the skills to do pediatric spaying and neutering through this program.
  • The doctors made many new connections with local rescue groups and realized opportunities to work with them on other programs, such as neuter before adoption of rescue animals
  • During the Project, the Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) was no-kill for feral cats. The DCHS started a feral cat adoption program to place feral cats in appropriate settings.
  • Because of blood tests taken at the time of surgery, the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine was able to publish a research paper documenting the exceptionally low prevalence of infectious disease among the local feral cat population.

Dane County is in southern Wisconsin. The population is approximately 350,000.