General News
27 November, 2023
Community clinic to hold free de-sexing day in Maryborough
Regional Community Vet Clinic (RCVC) has had an overwhelming response to its first cat de-sexing day set to be held in Maryborough this weekend, with residents encouraged to get on board with just a few places left. A Mount Alexander based...
Regional Community Vet Clinic (RCVC) has had an overwhelming response to its first cat de-sexing day set to be held in Maryborough this weekend, with residents encouraged to get on board with just a few places left.
A Mount Alexander based non-profit organisation, RCVC has the goal of establishing a clinic in Campbells Creek to support people experiencing financial difficulty in caring for their companion animals.
While plans for the physical site are being worked through, the organisation has held a number of cat de-sexing days across the district — with 233 cats neutered so far in almost 500 hours of pop-up clinics.
The organisation is hosting its first clinic in Maryborough this Sunday and has all but booked out, with a few places left for male cats.
RCVC co-director James Mack said the clinics not only support better health outcomes for cats, but also assist with controlling feral cat populations.
“The idea of these clinics is two fold — we want to try to reduce the feral cat population by promoting good pet ownership by getting cats de-sexed,” he said.
“The other side of it is that this is a service that’s available to people who are struggling financially.
“Whether it be single parent families, low-income families, the elderly or those struggling with health, their pet is often their lifeline and someone to keep them company — so being able to keep them healthy is important.”
While plans to establish a permanent clinic in Campbells Creek are still underway, Mr Mack said bringing the pop-up clinic to Maryborough was important for the organisation, which aims to cover a large chunk of central Victoria.
“We have been talking about establishing a shuttle bus type system where we can support residents who might not have access to transport to get their pets to us for care,” he said.
“Communities like Dunolly for example where public transport might not be accessible come to mind as locations we’re eager to support.
“That’s also what this pop-up clinic is about, we’ve run a few around Castlemaine but we’re a service for the whole community in this area.
“The interest we’ve had for this Maryborough clinic has been very strong, we have a wait list now of people wanting to access the service next year, it shows something like this is needed in the area.”
The pop-up cat de-sexing clinic will take place on Sunday, December 3 in Maryborough. Bookings are essential and can be made by calling 0493 447 394.
While the service is free, RCVC asks for donations to support their cause where appropriate.