Pittsburgh officials want to resume free spay, neuter services for cats, dogs

Pittsburgh City Council will consider resuming a program offering free spay and neuter services for pet cats and dogs as well as stray cats.

Proposals introduced Tuesday would expand contracts for Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh to perform the work from 2025 through 2027.

Contracts for spay and neuter services for pets and strays would cost the city a combined $70,000 per year.

This comes after city leaders in February had paused the spay and neuter initiative.

At the time, they cited worries that suburban pet owners were using fake addresses to access taxpayer-funded spay and neuter services intended only for animals belonging to city residents.

Officials never provided details about the scope of the alleged misuse.

Animal rights advocates argued that halting the program, even temporarily, could allow the city’s homeless cat population to skyrocket.

Officials later reinstated a limited version of the initiative that offers the service only to feral cats.

In its request for a spay-and-neuter vendor, the city said the Bureau of Animal Care & Control processed 1,963 spay or neuter requests for pet dogs and cats from 2020 through 2023.

About 550 stray cats were spayed and neutered through the program from 2022 through 2023.

The proposal will come before City Council for discussion and a preliminary vote next week. Council could take a final vote on the measure as soon as the following week.