Jan 17, 2024 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

A nonprofit Washington County clinic that focuses on bringing quality cat care to the county has moved to a new location.

As of Monday, Fix ‘Ur Cat has set up shop at 222 Hall Ave. in Washington, the former home of Solomon’s Seafood Restaurant.

A need for more room prompted a move from the organization’s location in Canonsburg, where it had operated since 2018. The new location allows for an increase in the number of spays/neuters performed weekly and provides for wellness visits on a daily basis.

“A couple of years ago, we started looking for a new building because we needed more space,” the nonprofit’s president Michelle Bruce said. “(The new facility) was something that we could potentially afford, and it also has many other things that we need, more space, it’s all on one floor. There’s also a parking lot where people can safely walk across and bring their cats to us.”

Fix ‘Ur Cat started informally in 2012, partnering with local vets and eventually Animal Friends in Pittsburgh to facilitate low-cost spaying or neutering for cats. Two years later, the organization received its nonprofit status, and operated out of temporary locations until settling in Canonsburg.

Bruce, a McMurray resident, said each neuter is done at a cost of $60, while spays cost $70. Both include rabies shots and pain medication, and professional medical staff perform the procedures.

“That is probably 1/10 of the cost that people are finding at full-service vets,” she said. “It’s reasonable because we do our best to keep our prices as low as possible doing minimal markup on things and also because half of our staff are volunteers.”

To offset any short-fall, Fix ‘Ur Cat relies on fundraisers, private donations and the work of administrative volunteers.

“We’re really blessed to have the people we do have,” Bruce said. “As we move into our new facility, we’ve already added one vet tech part-time and another part-time veterinarian.We’re looking forward to expanding, and we have the room to expand our services when we get to the new building.

Fix ‘Ur Cat is open Monday through Friday, and everything is done by appointment.

Along with spaying and neutering services, Fix ‘Ur cat also offers wellness such as low-cost vaccinations, kitten/litter checks and the treatment of minor illnesses in cats..

“While we’re not a full-service vet, we can pretty much provide all of the basics to clients and we also lead them along the way on what they need to do next,” Bruce said.

Bruce added the nonprofit would like to begin a cat food bank, since much of the clientele is low-income. They are hoping a wholesaler will aid in this venture.

“We’re trying to help (the community) get cats spayed and neutered, trying to keep their cats healthy at a lower cost, but they also need to be able to feed them,” she said. “We want to be able to buy at a wholesale price. We want to be able to commit to (a specific) amount of food; we want to have a certain type so that when people use us, they’ll know what they’re getting and how much we can help them”

For a wellness appointment, call 724-416-3265. To fill out an application, folks can go to the new facility and do that in person or go online at fixurcat.org.