Pittsburgh expands program offering free spay, neuter services to cats, dogs

Pittsburgh pet owners next year will be able to have their cats and dogs spayed for free, though there are new guidelines on the program.

Only low-income residents will be eligible for spay and neuter services for dogs. There will be no income limits for cat owners to access the service, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said.

Previously, there were no income limits on the program.

The spay and neuter initiative had earlier this year been paused amid claims that suburban pet owners were using fake addresses to get pets spayed and neutered through a taxpayer-funded program intended only for city residents.

Officials have not provided details about the scope of the alleged misuse, but Schmidt said people accessing the program now will have to attest that they live in the city, as does the pet receiving care. Dogs must be licensed to a Pittsburgh address.

After initially halting the spay and neuter program completely, city leaders reinstated a limited version of the initiative, offering free spays and neuters only for stray cats but excluding pets.

Next year, the program will be available for both pets and strays.

Each household can have no more than two pets spayed or neutered through the program annually, though there will be allowances made for pets who have litters of puppies or kittens that need to be spayed or neutered at the same time.

Trappers who are using the program for stray cats must live in the city, be registered to trap cats and attest that the cats were caught in the city and will be released in the same area. Trappers will be able to get up to 30 cats spayed or neutered each year, up from the five currently permitted per trapper annually.

City Council on Monday unanimously approved new contracts with the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh to perform the services from 2025 through 2027. Contracts for spay and neuter services for pets and strays will cost the city a combined $70,000 each year.