Washington woman advocates for expansion of Fix Ur Cat
Dr. Faith Bjalobok, president of Washington County Abused Animal Relief Fund (WAARF), is advocating for the expansion of Fix Ur Cat and other humane animal measures, based on the results of a study documenting cat homelessness in the region.
Bjalobok, a Washington resident, part-time instructor at both Duquesne and Waynesburg universities and fellow, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, presented a petition calling for the expansion of Fix Ur Cat, the creation of a county kennel for animals seized by law enforcement, the creation of a humane oversight committee and hiring of a humane detective, and support for the county’s cart team WaCART, at the August Washington County commissioners meeting.
According to the study, “colony cats are found in every geographic location within the county,” but certain areas, including lower-income areas and areas with a significant number of rental properties and trailer parks, are home to the largest populations of colony cats.
Cats that live in colonies often suffer from hunger, untreated injuries and disease, and high rates of infant mortality. Some, the study said, are victims of abuse and even poisoning by people who consider them a nuisance. Others are on the receiving end of well-intentioned kindnesses, including food, water and even a roof over their heads for short periods of time.
“There’s a bunch of sources of the homeless cats. There’s the feed and breed people, they see the cats outside, they feel sorry for them, they feed them,” said Bjalobok, noting cats move into and breed in areas with consistent sources of food. “There’s the people who take them into their house. They can’t afford to get them spayed. In areas where there’s a lot of rental properties, they get evicted, they move, they put the cats out on the street.”
All scenarios are a recipe for a quick increase in the number of cats living outdoors as part of a colony, and point to a larger problem, said Bjalobok.
“The underlying problem with the cats,” she said, “is people not getting them spayed and neutered.”
The average cost to spay or neuter a cat is about $300, Bjalobok said. Because the county lacks spay/neuter resources, many take cats to Animal Friends in Allegheny County for the operations. But for people in low-income areas, especially those who care for more than one cat colony, feline spaying or neutering is a financial burden they simply cannot shoulder.
According to Bjalobok’s study, in 2022, the Canonsburg-based nonprofit Fix Ur Cat performed 3,646 low-cost spay/neuters, accounting for 68% of the low-cost spay/neuters in Washington County. Of the 5,366 estimated low-cost spay neuters, 1,000 were performed by groups like Nose2Tail and the Fluffyjean Fund and private individuals, while 720 were done at the Washington Area Humane Society.
The study revealed that Fix Ur Cat performed 84% of all feline low-cost spay/neuters, while WAHS performed the rest.
“We really need a high-volume clinic,” Bjalobok said.
Clinics that perform 6,000 or more spay/neuters annually are considered high volume, and while Fix Ur Cat nearly reached that last year and has procedures in place and veterinarians willing to perform low-cost spay/neuters, the volunteer-run nonprofit does not have the space to run a truly high-volume operation.
That’s why Fix Ur Cat is seeking to move from its current location along West Pike Street in Canonsburg to a larger space in Washington.
“In order to do more, they need more room than they have in Canonsburg. The way it is, you make appointments to bring the cats, they can only do as many (spay/neuters) as they have veterinarians and space,” Bjalobok said, noting those who can drive to Allegheny County for low-cost services when local services aren’t available. “Wouldn’t it be better if people could just drive into Washington and get their cats done?”
Bjalobok is calling for county funding or grant funding to help Fix Ur Cat make the move, and said the organization is also accepting donations to cover renovation and other costs.
Bjalobok is also asking for the Washington County Commissioners to open a kennel, where animals seized by law enforcement may be placed, instead of being sent to local nonprofits who often are overwhelmed by the number of animals in their mostly volunteer-run care.
“It’s not fair to all these nonprofits: Washington County goes out, they do the case, the state gets the fines. Who absorbs all the cost of the care? It’s the nonprofit,” she said.
She also wants to see the county, which has three humane officers, hire a humane detective to enforce animal cruelty laws, and create an oversight committee comprised of animal ethics and welfare experts, to determine the humane animal needs in Washington County.
Bjalobok worked for about 15 years with the Fluffyjean Fund, caring for homeless cats and trapping, neuter/spaying, vaccinating and returning felines to their colonies throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. She helped clean up colonies in Charleroi and Canonsburg, which are “overrun with cats again.”
“I’m really concerned about the cats. There aren’t as many stray dogs running around. Now, are there people who neglect dogs? Yeah. Are there people who abuse horses? Yeah. The cats are just roaming. They can reproduce quickly,” Bjalobok said.
Bjalobok is still collecting signatures on the petition for Fix Ur Cat’s expansion and other measures to control the cat colony population in Washington County. She plans to present an updated version with more petitioners names on it to the Washington County Commissioners.
For more information on WAARF, visit waarf.org. To learn more about Fix Ur Cat, go to fixurcat.org.