On Sept. 21–22, Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh held its ninth annual 24-Hour Spay-a-Thon at its East Side location, bringing veterinary staff, volunteers and neighborhood caregivers together around a practical goal: free spay and neuter services for community cats.
HARP’s event listing said it planned to provide spay and neuter surgeries, rabies and FVRCP vaccinations, flea prevention and ear tips. The listed care was designed to support cats as they returned to the communities where they live and to help reduce future litters. HARP invited veterinarians, veterinary technicians and general volunteers to take part.
CBS Pittsburgh reported on the effort while it was underway on Sept. 21. The station said organizers expected staff and volunteers to care for approximately 400 cats over the next 24 hours. That was a projection reported during the event, not a final count. HARP’s event page now confirms the two-day event has passed, but the sources reviewed for this story do not publish a completed tally.
The work began before cats reached the clinic. According to CBS, neighborhood caregivers and other Good Samaritans trapped cats and brought them in. One caregiver arrived with 40 cats. The detail shows how the event relied on people who knew where outdoor cats were living and could help transport them to veterinary teams.
At the clinic, CBS described a process of checking cats in, providing medical care and returning them to caregivers and their home communities. HARP’s listing said the planned services included vaccinations and flea prevention alongside surgeries. Its registration rules required at least five cats per caregiver and capped each person at 20 slots per drop-off time. Each cat had to arrive in an individual trap covered with a sheet or towel. HARP also required the person dropping off cats to be the person who registered them, with one form per person.
The event took place at HARP’s East Side location, 6926 Hamilton Avenue in Pittsburgh. The rescue described it as a 24-hour effort and invited veterinarians, veterinary technicians and general volunteers to help. The free services were specifically for community cats, making the event a focused response for animals who may not have a household bringing them in through an ordinary clinic appointment.
The scale depended on coordination across the organization. HARP executive director Dan Cody told CBS that staff had been working on the event for months and that it took different parts of the organization to make it happen. The station also spoke with Michele Frennier, HARP’s director of marketing and communications, about the health protections the cats were scheduled to receive.
HARP framed the Spay-a-Thon as one way to reduce pet overpopulation. CBS reported that many participating cats were trapped by people who monitor colonies in their own neighborhoods, then transported to the clinic for care. Those caregivers connected the rescue’s veterinary work to places beyond the building: after treatment, the cats were returned to their caretakers and communities.
CBS also reported that HARP estimates programs like the Spay-a-Thon can help prevent more than 50,000 future births. That is the rescue’s projection, not a count of births prevented by this particular event. The distinction matters because the available reporting captures the goal and the operation, but not a final outcome report.
The reporting describes a chain of work linking neighborhood observation with veterinary care. Caregivers who monitor cat colonies handled trapping and transportation; volunteers and animal-welfare partners supported the event; veterinary professionals were scheduled to provide procedures and preventive care. The cats were then returned to the places their caregivers knew.
The clearest verified measure of this year’s effort is its design and the people who carried it out. HARP confirmed the dates, services and location; CBS documented the event in progress and reported the expected number of cats. Until HARP releases a final count, approximately 400 should remain an attributed estimate. The sources support a 24-hour community effort planned around hands-on care, not a final number of cats treated.
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