We held our first event in Calamba, Laguna province, south of Metro Manila in early
2011, in co-operation with the City Veterinary Office of Calamba and with the assistance
of a team of volunteer vets from the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University
of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna. Thirty-three cats were treated in that first
session.
Sessions have since been carried out in a number of locations in Laguna, with approaching
700 cats treated in the first three years of operation. Our events rely entirely
on the goodwill of volunteer vets and locally available premises, using donations
to buy surgical supplies; currently we are only able to hold one session per month.
Members of Zen Cats operate an ongoing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) scheme for feral
cats in our immediate local community and we actively encourage other communities
to develop similar schemes, which are essential to reduce the rapid feline population
growth.