By Dr. Daniel Eubanks
There’s a new organization in town and it’s not even bureaucratic. It’s called the FCCP. I know — it sounds bureaucratic. But it actually stands for Feral Cat Control Program.
This program’s exclusive goal is reduction of the feral cat reproductive potential in Lambertville and surrounding communities. It is essentially a trap-neuter-vaccinate-release procedure.
For the past several years, Carolyn Murphy of Stockton has engaged the Lambertville feral cat problem. She has solicited cooperation from caring residents to trap these cats and seek a low-cost neuter program. Until now, this required transporting them to a low cost facility an hour away and returning them to Lambertville.
FCCP provides a local, more efficient alternative. Dr. Jan Nicol, a staff veterinarian at the Lambertville Animal Clinic, has initiated an organized this program consisting exclusively of volunteers – herself included. The program is designed to provide low cost neutering of male and female feral cats of Lambertville, preferably for potential ownership. Many folks in town have been caring for these “neighborhood” cats by providing food and some sort of outdoor shelter.
Their reproductive propensity, however, soon overwhelms a neighborhood with generation after generation of felines. Cat fights, tom cat spraying and the sight of injured and sick cats can wear on a community. Consequently, these cats are become undesirable liabilities. Residents are then either reluctant to foster their presence by feeding them or are chastised for doing so by wary neighbors. In the meantime, these feral cats suffer the consequences.
The most humane solution to this conundrum is to sterilize the cats. Caretakers of these “neighborhood” cats can now affordably neuter these felines, hopefully potentiating their candidacy as personal pets. If nothing else, these cats can return to their free spirit lives without propagating. The FCCP procedure involves using Hav-a-Heart traps, as most of these cats cannot be handled by humans. They are brought to the Lambertville Animal Clinic, which has volunteered its facility and equipment for this service. The cats are humanely and safely anesthetized, surgically sterilized by castration or ovariohysterectomy by an experienced veterinarian, and vaccinated for rabies. They recover in a portable cage and are returned and released in their neighborhood later the same day.
All personnel involved in this effort are volunteers, giving back to the community. A small fee per animal is collected to cover the cost of medications, drugs, surgical materials and vaccines. Dr. Nicol was an undergraduate at Cook College, received her Master of Science degree at Rutgers and her DVM at Michigan State. She is an associate at Lambertville Animal Clinic and Bux-Mont Veterinary Hospital in Langhorne. She is a resident of Solebury.
Sherry Buffington is the anesthesia/surgery technician. A retired registered nurse (RN), Sherry is now a licensed veterinary technician/nurse (CVT) employed at the Lambertville Animal Clinic. Sherry also resides in Stockton.
Inquiries and requests for the FCCP can be made by calling (609) 397-3657.

