help finding vet care for strays in TN

[maylin]

Hi, I took in a stray that had already had 7 kittens. They are old enough to go to their new homes soon (I think they are about 7 - 8 weeks old), but I was thinking about taking them to the vet for vaccinations and spay/neuters first. This way I could just charge anyone who wanted to adopt a fee that any responsible pet owner would have to pay after getting a free kitten anyway.

The problem is I'm having a hard time finding a vet who will work with me in my area. I already took the mom, who was in bad shape when I got her, in for checkups and paid regular price for the visit and medicine at a local vet. However, the kittens have not been to a vet at all and I can't afford to take 8 cats in at once. I need a vet who will either break up my payments, or give a discount for bringing in a lot of cats at once. I called every local vet I could find here and told them my story, but all payments are up front and regular price only, which would end up being hundreds of dollars for this many cats.

I called the local humane society, and they will give me $25 each toward having the cats fixed. However, I can't find any vet that will do this for a cat under 4 months.

I'm in a temporary residence right now and on a budget. I currently live in Livingston, TN but am also very close to Cookeville, TN. I would be willing to drive a couple hours away to get this taken care of, so vets in Nashville/Murfreesboro, or anywhere else close to me are fine. If there are any rescues in my area that would work with me, I would be willing to try that too, but I am fine with the cats staying with me until I can find homes... it's just the vet bills I need help with (though any tips on finding homes would be great too... I might not be able to keep any). If you don't live in my area, but think you have some advice that could help my situation, that would help too.

 

[tnr1]

Contact these groups and see if they can assist you:

http://www.roadhomerescue.org/FERAL.html

http://www.netal.org/

TENNESSEE
Holly Help Memorial Spay Fund
Bristol VA / Bristol TN
276-466-5375
Everyone is eligible for low cost s-n assistance, which is funded by the public through recycled aluminum cans.
People United for Animals PUFA
PO Box 1082
Bristol TN 37621
423-274-2407
Lost cost s-n assistance in Bristol VA/TN


Humane Society of Greater Sullivan County
Kingsport TN
423-239-5237

Northeast Tennessee Animal League
Blountville TN
423-288-2255

McMinn Regional Humane Society
PO Box 7
Athens TN 37371
423-744-2747

The Spay Station
Humane Association of Wilson County
Lebanon TN
615-444-1196

Beesley Animal Humane Foundation Spay/Neuter Clinic
1140 Haley Road
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
615-890-6878

Nashville Humane Association
112 Harding Place
Nashville, TN 37205
615-352-4030
Call to learn about their low cost spay/neuter program, in partnership with Friends of Animals and with the Davidson County veterinary association.

Ken-Tenn Humane Society
PO Box 1526 Fulton KY 42041
Area code 731
Email: [email protected] Remove the nospam to send email
For residents of northwest Tennessee and southwest Kentucky (Obion and Weakley Counties in Tennessee and Fulton County in Kentucky), low cost s/n for pet cats and feral cats. Also, they offer advice on how to maintain feral cat colonies.

AnimalWorks
Alcoa TN
865-379-2227

Fix-A-Pet clinic
Seymour TN
865-579-6738

Animal Foundation of East Tennessee
AFET
1637 Downtown West Blvd, Suite 16
Knoxville, TN 37919
865-691-8384
Low cost s/n for everyone, and free for some clients who are low income.

People Promoting Animal Welfare (PPAW)
Greenback TN
865-856-7729


Animal Protection Association
PO Box 11471
Memphis, TN 38111
901-377-3779
Low cost s/n for pets and ferals.

Hardin County Adopt-A-Cat
8325 Highway 128 South
Savannah, TN 38372
[email protected] email
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of county residents.

Hardin County Humane Society
PO Box 874
Savannah, TN 38326
901-689-3963
Low cost spay/neuter for pets.

MEWTOPIA
Germantown TN
901-753-8890
Memphis area.

Spay/Neuter Assistance Program
Humphreys County Humane Society, TN
931-296-0938
Provides some assistance for s/n of pets of low income people.

Humane Society of Putnam County
Cookeville TN
931-372-2728

Cookeville/Putnam County Animal Shelter
Cookeville TN
931-526-3647

Prevent Unwanted Pets
Cookeville TN
931-528-5539

 

[ldg]

Maylin, you are a wonder! If only there were more people like you.

Katie (TNR1) always has GREAT information. However, if you need to search further, you can try clicking on the link in my signature line for low cost spay/neuter services. You can also try contacting SpayUSA to see if they can help - sometimes they can help negotiate a rate with a vet that is not in their program. (www.spayusa.org)

As a last resort, you can use an adoption agreement (which we always recommend anyway). We have one in Word document format so that you can take out anything you don't want in there (such as paying for the spay/neuter or insisting that the cats be inside only, etc.) - that's also available in a link below. While the adopters may not stick to the agreement - they have to be pretty serious to sign it to begin with. Of course, you can insist on receiving a copy of the receipt for spay/neuters being performed on the cats, and since the adoption agreement requires a phone number, you can follow-up in six months if you haven't received the receipts by then.

Please let us know if you can't find a service that can help, and we'll see what we can come up with.

 

[lotsocats]

I think you are somewhat near Lebanon, TN. They do a lot of work with ferals from what I understand. Perhaps you could give the Lebanon Humane Association a call and see whether they can help. From what I understand, they have a neuter mobile just for ferals, so they may even be able to come to you! (I found out about them from the Nashville Humane Society, but have never dealt directly with them because Lebanon is too far away from where I live.)

 

[maylin]

Ok, thanks. I'm still looking. I did get the list of low cost programs/programs for strays and ferals from the sticky, but I was just wondering if anyone in my area had experience with this sort of thing. I know it's a long shot finding someone in my area on a forum like this, but worth a shot anyway. I'm still calling around on my own though and seeing what my options are. It's not so much the cost that is tough, but that I can't find anyone willing to let me do payments instead of pay all at once.

 

[maylin]

LDG - thanks... I found these kittens when they were a little over a week old (?) in an abandoned camper near my house. I trapped the mom and they've been living in my bedroom since. As a result, they've been babied a lot and I'd hate to think they'd go to someone who won't take care of them. It's discouraging looking in the classifieds though... listing after listing of FREE kittens, when I am thinking about charging for mine.

 

[ldg]

Yeah, I know.

It can feel really discouraging. The arguement you made is really a good one though - you're only trying to recoup the costs they would have to pay anyway for vaccinations, a vet visit and sterilization. The problem is that so many people wouldn't do that, which is why we like to get it done before we adopt them out. It can be a really vicious circle.

 

[ldg]

The other option, which we sometimes do, is to only charge $25, $45, or $50 or something. It doesn't recoup the costs, but the point is the intent (and commitment) of the person adopting. The kitten is far more likely to be maltreated, neglected or abandoned at some future date if there are any problems if the adopting person pays nothing for the kitty up front.

 

[maylin]

Actually even if I did charge for the kittens at this point I wouldn't really be making much of a profit. It's not like they've been free even without vet care. The mom did go to the vet, I also paid for Revolution for the kittens because all of them had parasites and worms, I buy kitten food for all of them, I bought milk supplements when they were smaller because I had a runt that didn't seem to be doing well, I bought toys and scratching posts and other cat supplies, and I go through a lot more litter than I would with one cat. I didn't have a cat before I took in the stray, so none of this was stuff I already had.

Of course, it's easier when I have a vet bill and can say, "this is what this kitten has cost me". Most people seem to think they are helping when they offer to take a free kitten. I already turned one person down who wanted two kittens and my father thinks I'm crazy!

 

[vettechstudent]

There is a place in Knoxville that I guess is probably about a couple of hours away from you,but I have used them a LOT and have never had a problem.

Animal Spay and Neuter Clinic - (865) 546-2204 - 2436 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917

It does take about a month or longer to get in,so if you do decide to use them you better get an appointment asap.

The prices are(or used to be)
cat spay-27.50(if in heat add $5,or if want absorbing stitches add $5)
cat neuter-18.00

They do require rabies shot(or proof)and they are $8.

The way they work is you have to bring them in one day between 4-6 pm and then pick them up the next day between 4-6 pm.

OK.On the ones Katie posted for ya:

The Place in Greenback only does spay and neuters once a month and they mainly focus on ferals.

The place in Seymour is fairly new,but I talked with a worker there and as of a few weeks ago,you could get an appointment in about a week or so.Here is their pricing.

http://www.fix-a-pet.com/pricing.html


I have heard good things about Animal Works in Alcoa also.Some of the rescuers around here use them a lot.

Good luck and thanks for taking care of these babies.

 

[maylin]

Thanks vettechstudent! That's exactly the type of info I was looking for. I'll contact some places as soon as the weekend is up.

 

[vettechstudent]

Originally Posted by Maylin

Thanks vettechstudent! That's exactly the type of info I was looking for. I'll contact some places as soon as the weekend is up.

You're very welcome.
Keep us updated on your progress.