Impact Stories

Talk about a wound that sends shivers down your spine! A feral cat was in for a standard neuter when something odd was observed going on with his cheek. Almost the entire medical team (and the admin team) was stumped with what could be protruding from his face. Possibly a twig, some type of plastic, ingrown whisker? No one could figure out what we were looking at. After shaving his fur back and cleaning the area, we ever so slightly started moving around the foreign object. T

The cruel reality we sometimes face in our TNR program. Community cats can sometimes be seen as a nuisance to some, but no animal deserves this. A community cat came across our surgical table for a neuter and we sadly found 2 BB bullets lodged into it's skin. They'd clearly been there a long time to have no clear entry wound and all the skin around it had healed over. Our Doctor took them out and sutured up the area, hopefully relieving any pain these had caused the poor cat.

Spaying goes further than population decrease, it also is a great preventative to avoid severe health issues down the road! This community cat was brought in with severely swollen mammary glands due to her having a condition called Feline Juvenile Mammary Hypertrophy. FJMH is something that can occur in sexually intact cats that causes enlargement of the mammary glands that can result in ulceration of the glands, skin necrosis, and trauma. The best preventative and treatment

These two kittens and their Momma were found on someone's porch. They were obviously sick and one kitten had sadly already died and was laying nearby the rest of the family on the porch. The gentleman who found them posted on Facebook for someone to come get them and one of our community volunteers stepped into action immediately! The very next day the kittens (and mamma) were in our clinic getting exams, treatments, food, and of course, some cuddles! The kittens looked, for

Scroll down through all 4 parts to see Plankton's happy ending! 1/4 This feral cat, who we have named Plankton, was brought in for a neuter and to get his eye checked out. The 2nd and 3rd photos are what his eye looked like when he was first brought in on 4/30. It looks to be some type of wound on/around his eye that had almost no chance of properly healing without medical intervention. Dr. Ott decided we were going to hold off on neutering him on 4/30 and instead prescribe s

This feral cat must have been having a tough time before he made his way into the clinic! Once sedated, a LARGE abscess was noticed on his chin. It was swollen, looked painful, and something inside was just waiting to come out. The infected abscess was cleaned up, drained of all puss, flushed out and cleaned, and the cat received an antibiotic injection to fight on any remaining infection. This cat was maybe around a year old and still had a lot of life in him, we can’t imagi

This young feral cat named Snowball was on deaths doorstep when she was brought in. Snowball came in for a spay fresh after giving birth to a stillborn kitten and was lethargic, skinny, and smelled strongly of infection. While here, her health was declining by the second and everyone was unsure if she was going to make it. She was put on fluids and under observation to see if there were any changes when all of a sudden she started actively trying to birth another dead kitten.

River's most recent visit vs. River at her first vet appointment! River was our very FIRST puppy to receive our Waggin' Wellness Package back in early 2025 and look at her now! We think her smile grew the most in the past year!

Kitten Season is here! A FOURTH feral cat has given birth at the clinic awaiting surgery this year! This Momma and kittens will be going to one of our community partners, Companion Animal Foundation thanks to the quick action of our team and volunteers. With kitten season upon us, it's important to remind our community the importance of spaying/neutering ALL community cats. One cat can produce multiple litters in a single year if left unfixed. Leaving many kittens to perish b

We love to watch our patients grow! Poppy came in as a puppy last year to start her vaccines and this week we got to see her all grown up for her spay appointment! She was so shy her first visit but this week she was so excited we couldn't even get her to stay still for her exam (or a photo)! It's so fun watching all our patients grow up and develop such sweet personalities! Have a smooth recovery Poppy!

Princess here is a very brave girl who got tested for heartworm when she was here for her spay last week. Heartworm is extremely prevalent in some areas in Humboldt so staying on top of your dogs heartworm test and preventative is crucial. When you're dog is in for their spay/neuter or annual exam, consider getting them tested for heartworm

This feral cat is named Zag by the family that feeds him and Zag has been eluding traps for 5 years! Even though he avoided getting fixed for so long, he sure is lucky with the timing when he was finally trapped! Zag came in to get neutered and the caretaker noticed he had a bad foot, but after further examination when he was sedated we found he had an abscess on his foot AND his neck! Both were swollen, infected, and were probably causing him a lot of pain. While under we we

Feline Emergency Fund in Action! Smokey here was brought in after his owners got incredibly worried about his hair loss. Poor guy was having a severe reaction to flea bites and no over the counter option was doing the job. With the daunting prices of a full service vet his owners reached out to us to inquire about our low cost wellness programs. Once he was seen by the Doctor and an estimate of treatments was drawn up, we were able to assist in the cost with our donation base

Thank you so much to the North Coast Co-op and all the community members that rounded up at the register in the month of February! Over $9,000 was donated to Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic during Februarys Seeds for Change! We are so honored to have such an amazing community of organizations and supporters that help us continue to provide affordable and accessible vet care! Thank you!

10 feral cats were driven all the way from Lake County! The cats were brought up by Breezes Street Friends to participate in our trap-neuter-return program. We are thrilled to be able to provide these services to shrink the cat population all across Northern California. Thanks to our Feral Fund giving us the ability to have a sliding scale price on our feral package, we are seeing a lot more people utilizing our program! Thank you to the folks willing to drive a 6 hour round

Thank you Humboldt County Animal Shelter for the generous donation of blankets, towels and food. This donation will support both our patients and animals in the community who need access to food. Humboldt Animal Rescue Team was in today with a rescue cat and they were able to take some of the donations for their rescue. A wholesome and heartwarming example of community partners supporting each other. Thank you Humboldt County Animal Shelter!

Sending a heartfelt thank you to our incredible community for helping us raise the remaining $11,000 of our $22,000 goal to purchase a new surgical table and dental machine. We are deeply moved by your generosity and energized by your support, the kind words, shared stories, and willingness to spread the word made this possible. Because of you, both pieces of equipment have been ordered, and we look forward to sharing updates as they arrive and are put into use. We simply cou

Another feral fund in action! This gray feral cat was brought in for a neuter and a face wound was mentioned but no one could have guessed the severity! The wound was old, infected, the skin was necrotic, and would have only deteriorated had it been left untreated. After we shaved and cleaned the area, the wound was thoroughly flushed and Dr. came up with a plan to stitch up his cheek in the most effective way possible. He was then given an antibiotic injection, a rabies vacc

Read the article here! Trudy Terres started working with the Humboldt Spay/Neuter Network as a volunteer, while a student at Cal Poly. A stray cat had adopted her and that little lady inconveniently gave birth to kittens under Trudy’s bed. “I reached out to HSNN, and they were so accommodating and helpful. To repay the favor, I started to volunteer.” Then a job opportunity of kennel aid came along, then one as a vet’s assistant, then there was some outreach and community work

This handsome sweetheart, Rufus, was abandoned deep in the hills of Humboldt. Luckily he was found by a caring owner who took him under his wing and gave him the life he deserved. While at HSNC for his neuter, a swollen lump was brought to our attention. Upon closer inspection, the wound was definitely something that needed to be assessed further. The area was shaved, cleansed, the Dr. made sure no foreign objects were imbedded within his skin, and it was sutured closed. With