Inside this Key Largo spay and neuter clinic, a devoted team of volunteers works tirelessly to humanely control the feral cat population in the Upper Keys.
“We average about 30 cats a clinic,” said Margie Schwartz. “The males are fast, zip … zip. The females take a little bit longer.”
Schwartz started the Whiskers and Paws Forever nonprofit more than 20 years ago and has been rescuing stray cats ever since. In January, she was approached by MarrVelous Pet Rescues and offered space for a spay/neuter clinic at MarrVelous’ new property in Key Largo behind the Tower of Pizza.
“So we sponsored the clinic and the rest is history,” said Schwartz. The clinic operates every Friday and averages about 30 cat and kitten spay and neuter procedures per clinic.
Brian Huntsman, a veterinarian from Miami, comes down every Friday and performs the operations. He offers his services to the clinic at a reduced rate.
“While I may be the one doing the surgery, I cannot even begin to do what I’m doing without this great team,” said Huntsman. “These are some tremendously dedicated people,” he added, describing the dozen volunteers who help out in the clinic every Friday.
On the Friday we visited the clinic, 26 stray cats were being fixed. The nonprofit uses a trap-neuter-return approach to controlling the stray cat population.
Volunteers with Whiskers and Paws Forever of Monroe County and veterinarian Brian Huntsman pose for a photograph inside the clinic located on the MarrVelous Pet Rescues property. KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL/Keys Weekly 
Margie Schwartz checks in on a cat in the recovery room after it was fixed. KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL/Keys Weekly 
Brian Huntsman operates on a sedated cat inside the clinic. On this day, Huntsman spayed or neutered 26 stray cats trapped in the Upper Keys. KELLIE BUTLER FARRELL/Keys Weekly
“We don’t remove them, we don’t euthanize them. We fix them, we put them back to stop the population and it works,” said Schwartz.
“A good example would be the Winn-Dixie in Tavernier; there are only six cats back there now. They were almost as bad as Publix up here was,” she added.
Adult cats can have litters of five to six kittens and they can have three litters a year. Without an aggressive spay and neuter program, the population can explode.
“The real effectiveness will be felt one, two, three years down the road,” said Huntsman.
Since this clinic opened on Jan. 5, 923 cats and kittens and 85 dogs have been fixed.
When the spay/neuter clinic opened in January, Schwartz thought they might be able to perform 800 procedures on stray cats.
“Now that we’re approaching 1,000 cats, that has to be making a big impact,” said volunteer and local real estate agent Deb Bennett, who helps out at the clinic and fosters kittens that are deemed suitable for adoption.
Cats that are not going to be adopted have an ear notched before they are returned to their colony; that way, trappers can quickly determine whether they have been spayed or neutered.
Volunteer Anita Blake works at the clinic’s recovery table. She saw a need in the community and wanted to help. “I’m a dog person at heart but living in the Keys, if you can see a stray cat and turn away from it, I guess more power to you, but I can’t,” said Blake.
More than just spay and neutering procedures take place inside this clinic. “If a cat comes in with an injury, the doctor will treat the injury,” said Schwartz.
Schwartz said her nonprofit receives no county funding. It does get one grant a year that takes care of about half of its operating expenses. The rest comes from fundraisers, donations and adoption fees.
Right now the focus is on getting the word out. Schwartz wants people in the community to know if they are having a problem with strays, there is a solution.
“People aren’t going to go and say I’ve got 10 cats in my yard, I’ll take them to our vet and get them fixed, it will cost thousands of dollars. We want people to know we’re here for them to help them with that problem,” said Schwartz.
If you’d like to help support this clinic and Whiskers and Paws Forever, call Margie Schwartz at 305-393-1268. You can also learn more about the program at whiskersandpawsforever.com.
