Chico has a stray and feral cat problem. For the past decade, one nonprofit has been quietly fixing it, spaying or neutering more than 17,000 free-roaming cats in the city.
The Companion Animal Welfare Alliance (CAWA), was created by Armeda Ferrini and Sarah Downs, who recently expanded their operations by opening the PawPrints Spay/Neuter Clinic.
The clinic is run by volunteers and paid medical staff who provide affordable sterilization services exclusively for stray and feral cats.
“We have a number of professionals, and we've got six different doctors who come and work on Saturdays or Sundays,” Ferrini said. “We only work on weekends because all the people we use are working extra and they're working during the week at other jobs.”
Since opening in March 2023, the clinic alone has had more than 2,500 cats come through its doors. The endeavor is a labor of love for both Ferrini and Downs.
“I feel great about it, but I'm also thinking, how many more are still out there?” Ferrini said. “And so Sarah and I are continuing to try to get more.”
“Solving the problem involves spaying and neutering and maintaining cat colonies. We have seen a drastic difference in the number of unaltered free-roaming cats because of our work. But our work never ends.”- Sarah Downs, PawPrints Spay/Neuter Clinic director
Stray and feral cats are a big issue in the city. The Chico Animal Shelter estimates there’s one community cat for every six people in Chico, or about 14,600 cats roaming the city.
If cats don’t get fixed the population can increase quickly. One unspayed female and one unneutered male can produce more than 380 cats in just three years, according to the Butte Humane Society. That’s why Ferrini and Downs believe spay and neuter services are crucial and they’re working to address the issue in multiple ways.
The PawPrints clinic operates under the umbrella of CAWA along with several related efforts — including a trap-neuter-return program, a spay/neuter financial assistance fund and PawPrints Thrift Boutique, where all proceeds go toward sterilization efforts.
“This has been a dream come true for both of us,” Downs said. “We both saw a need to spay and neuter as many of these outdoor cats as possible, and we made it happen.”
‘Who else is going to do it?’
It all began in 2013 with the creation of a group called the Neighborhood Cat Advocates that traps, neuters and returns stray and feral cats.
“We take care of cats that otherwise would go unnoticed, untreated,” Downs said. “The first thing that comes to mind is, who else is going to do it. Nobody else is going to do it. And both of us saw a need for it.”
Before the clinic existed, the group had to rely on outside medical help.
“We were using outside vets, we went all the way into Orland and Oroville and even Los Molinos to try to find different vets who would be willing to give us a reasonable price for spaying and neutering on free-roaming cats,” Ferrini said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, finding clinics to help became harder, making access to animal care difficult. They turned to a few local vets who were willing to help, but then rising prices for surgeries and vet staffing shortages further limited their options. Ultimately that led them to establish their own clinic.
“We've been wanting to do a clinic for years, because we did a lot of mileage on our cars trying to go back and forth with big traps,” Ferrini said. “I can't even believe I was able to sell my car when I was done.”
Turning pain into purpose
Ferrini and Downs met while working together at a local city animal shelter. Downs' responsibilities included admitting cats and determining their outcome. She said feral cats were often euthanized first.
“It's something that I'm actually very open about, but it broke me,” Down said. “It sent me to Enloe Behavioral Health because I didn't want to live anymore on this planet. I didn't want to be part of that problem.”
They recognized the ineffectiveness of simply trapping and relocating cats and decided to take it a step further.
“Solving the problem involves spaying and neutering and maintaining cat colonies. We have seen a drastic difference in the number of unaltered free-roaming cats because of our work. But our work never ends,” Downs said.
Ferrini and Downs said one issue they run into is well-meaning people feeding the city’s street cats. They’re often contacted after this happens because it unintentionally leads to a rapid increase in the local cat population.
“Go to a shelter and get some animals and that’s going to be fewer that are there waiting to be adopted. But the kill rate was mostly from the ferals.”- Armeda Ferrini, Companion Animal Welfare Alliance co-creator
They advise not feeding stray and feral cats and emphasized the importance of trap-neuter-return programs because in the long run they say that’s what keeps the cats out of shelters.
“Go to a shelter and get some animals and that's going to be fewer that are there waiting to be adopted,” Ferrini said. “But the kill rate was mostly from the ferals.”
Helping people and their pets, too
Just as crucial for Ferrini and Downs as trapping and fixing stray and feral cats is ensuring these services are accessible to people who can’t afford to get their cats fixed.
Their PawPrints Spay/Neuter Assistance Program offers (P-SNAP) monetary support to those who can’t afford the cost of sterilizing their pets.
“They can get a voucher, and those are for a couple of selected places, they can go to vet clinics,” Ferrini said.
There are a few eligibility requirements. The application is for cats and dogs that are owned and should not be used for stray or feral cats.
The service area of P-SNAP encompasses all of Butte County, as well as locations within a 20-mile radius of Chico, but outside of the county. They said people outside this area should seek spay/neuter resources from their local animal shelter or control.
Editor’s note: Sarah Downs, one of the founders featured in this story, also works as NSPR’s Studio Operations Technician. Her work outside the station is directly relevant to this coverage. She was not involved in the editorial process.
