At the San Francisco SPCA, our Community Cats Program exists because of people who care deeply about cats in our local communities. Dedicated trappers, caregivers, advocates, and neighbors have helped ensure that community cats receive humane, lifesaving care. We want to begin by saying thank you. Your time, energy, and commitment have made a real difference for thousands of cats and the communities they live in.
Recently, we made a few updates to how our Community Cats Program operates. Our goal with this update is to provide clarity, transparency, and reassurance about what is changing, what is not, and why these refinements are important for the program’s long-term health.
Supporting more cats in San Francisco
As our Community Cats Program has evolved over the years, we’ve been able to increase our capacity to support more local cats. In 2022, the SF SPCA provided spay and neuter care for roughly 500 community cats. In 2025, that number grew to more than 2,700 cats.
These numbers mean an increase in lives improved, litters prevented, and suffering reduced. This is why we do what we do. We care so deeply for these cats, and with these changes, we expect to help even more this year.
What has not changed
First and foremost, Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is continuing. We will also continue to offer trap rentals.
Through the Community Cats Program, cats trapped in San Francisco County continue to receive fully subsidized sterilization, microchipping, ear tipping, vaccinations, and flea control. We will continue to provide basic medical care for cats who come through the program, as well as humane euthanasia when appropriate. Cats from outside San Francisco County are still eligible for care at a significantly subsidized rate.
We’ve also added regularly recurring high-volume Feral Fix days as part of our ongoing Community Cats work. These days allow our teams to help a large number of cats efficiently and reduce wait times across the program. We will also host special events, like our recent Champions for Pet Health event, which build on this same model and help us reach even more cats.
The goal of the program is unchanged: preventing future litters and supporting healthier outcomes for cats, caregivers, and neighborhoods across San Francisco.
Key learnings and changes
As the program has grown, we’ve continuously made operational improvements to better support our local cat populations. One of the biggest lessons was this: when we opened appointments by request instead of holding recurring slots, we were able to serve more people and more cats.
That shift allowed us to completely clear a two-page waitlist of caregivers who had been waiting for help. Instead of appointments being tied up long-term, more people were able to get cats scheduled and cared for when they needed it.
These changes helped us discover a system that lets us say “yes” more often. The same is true of our move toward high-volume Feral Fix days and clearer scheduling structures. These refinements help our medical teams plan effectively, reduce delays, and ultimately reach more cats without burning out the people doing the work. When you’re helping thousands of cats a year, small operational improvements make a huge impact.
Clarifying volunteer identity and representation
Trappers are powerful advocates. You share knowledge, connect neighbors with resources, and speak up for cats who don’t have a voice. That matters enormously, and it always will.
We recognize that there are many perspectives on what responsible, humane community cat management looks like, and we respect that people come to this work with different approaches and philosophies. Our role is not to dictate a single “right” way to care for community cats. In fact, part of providing equitable TNR support across San Francisco means acknowledging those differences and creating space for a wide range of caregivers to access services.
At the same time, when someone is representing the SF SPCA, it’s important that what’s being said and done reflects our organization’s specific policies. For that reason, representing oneself as an SF SPCA volunteer is limited to formal, on-site volunteer roles during active shifts. Outside of those roles, individuals are acting independently, even when bringing cats to the SF SPCA for care.
This clarity helps the public understand who is speaking on behalf of the organization, helps volunteers avoid being placed in difficult or risky situations, and ensures that information shared with the community is accurate and consistent. It does not change who can access our Community Cat services or diminish the vital role independent caregivers continue to play in helping cats across San Francisco.
What’s next
We are committed to listening, learning, and communicating clearly as we move forward together. We are currently compiling FAQs based on questions raised during our recent Community Cats webinar and additional feedback we’ve received. Once finalized, we will share the FAQs on our blog.
If there are questions you would like us to address, you are welcome to submit them using this form.
Thank you again for your passion, your advocacy, and the many ways you support cats in San Francisco. We remain deeply committed to this work and to strengthening the partnerships that make it possible.