Cat Rescue Dunedin plans to open a community desexing clinic, right next door to its current shelter.
The new clinic would come with a $25,000 price tag and have the necessary surgical equipment and an anaesthetic machine for the desexing of cats, Cat Rescue Dunedin Charitable Trust chairwoman Debby Foster said.
"Twenty-five thousand is us buying the cheapest of everything. If we manage to get anything second-hand that will help a lot."
The clinic would allow for the desexing of more cats, preventing them from breeding and creating small colonies around the city, she said.
The shelter desexed 970 cats in 2023.
So far, $8410 had been raised on Donorbox.org.
Two vets will work at the clinic, each working once a week for the remainder of the year.
"Having our own clinic means we’ll be able to desex and microchip even more cats and kittens," Mrs Foster said.
Creating the new clinic had been discussed for years.
"The stars sort of aligned with next door becoming available.
"We’ve sort of got no choice really. This is what we’ve got to do because the cost of our vet bills is just horrendous. But also our vets try really hard for us, but they struggle to fit us in to their schedule."
Veterinary Clinics around Dunedin that she spoke to had been supportive of the clinic.
A soft launch of the clinic was planned for next month, she said.
"It’s a huge step in helping these cats and kittens."
Vet nurse Brenna Gould hoped the clinic would ease the burden on many cat owners.
"Finding vets is very hard at the moment."
The shelter wanted to provide help to cat owners who otherwise would not get it.
Many people gave away their cats because they could not afford to look after them, not because they wanted to, she said.
People could give directly to the shelter’s bank account or through Donorbox.org.
