The Gateway Area Development District (GADD) has received a $100,000 grant from the Joanie Bernard Foundation to continue spaying and neutering community cats in five east-central Kentucky counties. This is the second straight year this grant, known as the Gateway Cat Spay/Neuter Project, has been awarded. The grant arose from a needs assessment of animal shelters in the northeast Kentucky region conducted by Team Shelter USA, LLC in 2023, with the goal of decreasing the number of free-roaming cats and the number of cats and kittens entering area shelters.

​

In 2025, the grant will assist the Gateway region (Bath, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, and Rowan counties) with spay/neuter efforts for cats. The Gateway Cat Spay/Neuter Project contracts with local providers for spay and neuter services through local veterinarians and the local humane society and is managed collaboratively between Dr. Sara Pizano, founder of Team Shelter USA, LLC and GADD.

​

In addition to the spay/neuter procedures, cats will be provided with vaccinations and are marked in a process known as "ear-tipping" or tattooing, which makes the cat easily identifiable as being fixed and no longer able to add to the cat population.

​

In 2024, its inaugural year, the project saw over 900 cat spay/neuter procedures completed across the five-county Gateway region.

​

"Our northern Kentucky and Bluegrass models have been a great success," said Deborah Cribbs, who is with the Joanie Bernard Foundation and the founder and leader of Give Them Ten said. "Since 2016, we have provided more than $3 million and completed over 40,000 cat spay/neuter procedures in more than 21 Kentucky counties. Shelter intake has been dramatically reduced, and euthanasia for space is a thing of the past. We are happy to extend this program to the Gateway Area Development District."

​

Dr. Sara Pizano, founder and consultant of Team Shelter USA, LLC commented, "We are so happy that the Gateway Area Development District and the service providers joined us for a second year. We look forward to an even bigger impact in 2025."

​

GADD Executive Director Joshua Farrow expressed gratitude to those who helped make this project possible.

​

"For more than 55 years, Gateway Area Development District has helped address regional challenges that transcend our region's boundaries. We are deeply grateful to the Joanie Bernard Foundation for their ongoing support and trust in GADD to continue providing a vital service that assists the Gateway region and its people."

​

Surgeries can only be scheduled by contacting the designated organization in your county of residence. Please see below for telephone contact information.

​

• Bath County Residents: Menifee County AnimalShelter 606-768-9368

• Menifee County Residents: Menifee CountyAnimal Shelter 606-768-9368

• Montgomery County Residents: Montgomery County Animal Shelter 859-498-8751

• Morgan County Residents: Menifee County Animal Shelter 606-768-9368

• Rowan County Residents: Tri-County AnimalShelter 606-784-4930

• ​

For additional information about Give Them Ten and Team Shelter USA, LLC, please visit GiveThemTen.org or teamshelterusa.com.