Programs
Saving cats takes coordinated programs — medical care, spay/neuter access, education, emergency response, and community support. Here's how our programs work together to reduce feline suffering across Southern California.
Program 01
Our core program: rescuing cats and kittens from municipal shelters, community caretakers, and residents in crisis. We prioritize cats at highest risk — bottle-babies without a mother, seniors with time running out, and medical cases who need specialty care. Every intake begins with a veterinary evaluation and continues in a warm foster home until adoption.
Program 02
Carson Cats works with a network of trusted veterinary partners to provide surgical, dental, and specialty care for every cat in our program. Cats arrive with a range of conditions — upper respiratory infections, dental disease, injuries from car strikes, chronic illness — and we treat each one as a full patient, not a line item. Our medical fund is one of our largest annual expenses and one of the most direct ways donors save lives.
Program 03
Every cat we rescue receives a full course of core vaccines — FVRCP, rabies at appropriate age — plus deworming, flea prevention, and testing for FeLV and FIV. Vaccination protects the individual cat, prevents outbreaks in our foster network, and is a key public health service.
Program 04
Spay/neuter is the single most effective intervention against feline overpopulation. Every Carson Cats resident is sterilized before adoption. In addition, we help community members access low-cost or free spay/neuter for their own cats and for outdoor colonies they care for — because sterilization prevents suffering long before it starts.
Program 05
We appear at farmers' markets, community fairs, school events, and library programs across the South Bay. Our outreach team answers questions, distributes educational materials, and connects neighbors with resources — from behavior support to low-cost vet clinics. Prevention is quiet work, but it changes neighborhoods over time.
Program 06
We produce and distribute plain-language guides on cat care, kitten development, senior cat management, litter box issues, and safe pet introductions. Educational content is available free on our website, at community events, and through school and library partnerships.
Program 07
When a cat or kitten is in immediate crisis — injured, trapped, or in dangerous conditions — our emergency response team coordinates a rapid intake with local animal control and our veterinary partners. Emergency rescue is unpredictable and expensive; a dedicated donor fund keeps this program available year-round.
Program 08
Senior cats are among the most overlooked in shelters, yet they make some of the most rewarding companions. Our senior program prioritizes intake of cats aged 8 and older, provides thorough medical workups, matches them with quieter homes, and continues to offer medical support post-adoption when appropriate.
Program 09
Neonatal and orphaned kittens require round-the-clock feeding, temperature regulation, and careful medical monitoring. Our kitten nursery program trains new foster caregivers in bottle feeding, weaning, and socialization, and supplies everything a foster needs to raise healthy kittens through adoption weight.
Program 10
For community cat colonies where relocation is not the right answer, Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane, evidence-based solution. Our TNR education program teaches neighbors safe trapping technique, connects them with sterilization clinics, and provides ongoing support for colony caretakers.
