Nutmeg Spay/Neuter Clinic (FeralCare)

I adopted my beautiful, fiv+, deaf kitty, Dox , through Nutmeg. They thoroughly screened me and were incredibly professional. Dox bad been found in one of the feral cat colonies that Nutmeg supports. Between spay/neuter, adoptions and helping homeless cat colonies, Nutmeg has a HUGE heart and does so much for their community!!

I adopted an FIV cat from here. His name was Reggie and he had come from a hoarding situation. Thesecond photo was taken the day I adopted him in March 2012. He was staying at their new facility that was still being built. The first photo was taken months before he passed on May 30, 2019 from nasal cancer. I loved this cat more than I can put into words. I miss him every day. You guys provide such a great and affordable service to the people in your area. Thank you so much for what you do.

My wife & I have practiced Trap, Neuter Release for 10 years in Hamden CT. Nutmeg Spay/Neuter Clinic had been most accommodating over the years with the 15+ cats we have returned after their services. I recommend them to anyone in the Cat Fancy. Scott V.

I first took a stray kitten to Nutmeg Spay and Neuter a few months back and was very pleased with the care and the cost. I then captured her mom (a feral) and had her spayed as well. The staff is great and I would not hesitate to bring an animal there again. I first found out about them about 2 years ago when I adopted 2 female cats from them after losing my 2 18 year old sister. Mama (Ruby Tuesday) is the black one and Kiwi is her baby.

July 4, 2018, was the perfect day for an Independence Day picnic with friends. The weather was sunny and warm — but not overwhelmingly so — and the smell of grilling filled a small backyard in Naugatuck, Conn. Conversation and laughter flowed easily between partygoers as forks stabbed enthusiastically at pasta salad and bubbles fizzed from cans of beer and soda.

Into this gathering wandered a small black-and-white cow kitten. The owners of the home had caught glimpses of the kitten over the previous week, but this was the first time she had ventured close. It was clear the cat was feral — she wouldn’t come within more than an arm’s length of any human — but was smart enough to know that food would be plentiful. Those at the party offered morsels to the cat, who ate, sat contentedly in the grass, and eventually wandered off.

Over the coming days and weeks, the aptly named Independence (or “Indy” for short) became a fixture at the house in Naugatuck. She would sit at the edge of the yard in the evenings waiting for food, then at the edge of the house, then at the edge of the porch. She was still too timid for contact, but she had formed a rapport with the homeowners, who were now in the habit of buying extra cans of cat food each week.

Summer passed into fall. The leaves began to change. Concerned about the number of outdoor cats in the neighborhood and the potential for unwanted kittens, the homeowners knew it would soon be time to attempt a trap-neuter-release, or TNR. Independence may never be an indoor domestic cat, but she could still be given a chance at a healthy life.

It was during this period that the homeowners began researching TNR options and learned about the Nutmeg Spay-Neuter Clinic in Stratford, Conn. Nutmeg offered discounts for TNR surgeries and was within close driving distance. It was easy to make an appointment online. The homeowners could even rent a no-kill trap with a refundable deposit.

Trapping Independence, while heartbreaking, nonetheless went according to plan. The staff at Nutmeg cared for her and at least two dozen other cats on the day of Indy’s appointment. Indy was then released back into the care of the homeowners and given a week to gently heal on the home’s three-season porch.

Independence didn’t show up for a few days after her release. While disappointed at her absence, the homeowners knew they had done the right thing. So it was with a sense of profound joy that they spotty Indy, her shaved belly covered in peach fuzz, sitting on the adjacent driveway several days later.

The months went on. Regardless of snow drifts or ice slicks, Independence appeared with regularity throughout the winter. The homeowners marveled as Indy grew her winter coat and shed her lanky kitten body. By the time green shoots were showing in the trees, Independence had blossomed into a seemingly health — if still feral — young cat.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of Indy’s “appearance day,” we, the homeowners, can’t help but marvel at the journey we’ve been on over the past year. And none of it would have been possible without the Nutmeg Spay-Neuter Clinic.

Since then, we trapped another feral who comes around with much less regularity, and Nutmeg was able to accommodate us without an appointment. They truly “get it” and are in it for the long haul to make the world a better place for our animal friends — whether they sleep on our beds or under our porches.

In 2013 a Momma cat had her 5 kittens under a bush in our back yard. They were a few weeks old when we discovered them. We trapped the Momma and kept her and her babies in a crate in our garage till the kittens were old enough to be adopted. Found homes for all 5; got Momma spayed at Nutmeg; released her but she stayed around. A couple months later, Momma's sister showed up with 3 kittens who were several months old. Trapped all 4 and Nutmeg (with the help of New Haven Cat Project), spayed/neutered all of them. The sister left after a couple months as did one of her kittens. Momma and the 2 other kittens (Samantha & Blackie) are now "ours" - they come inside but still like the outdoors especially in the summer. Momma and Samantha will sit on my lap at times, though they're all still a little "feral" at times.

Also since 2013, other stray/feral males have shown up and we've had several of them neutered and rehomed.

Nutmeg always does a great job and takes care of many cats in town.