Services | Last Litter Program

Last Litter Program

Help prevent unplanned litters, and ensure that every animal has a home

Homeward Pet Adoption Center is working within our community to reduce pet overpopulation. With our Last Litter Program, we are able to offer free spay and neuter surgeries for cats and dogs brought to our shelter with adoptable litters.

Through the Last Litter Program, your adult cat or dog will be spayed or neutered at no cost, and then return home with you. The kittens or puppies will remain with Homeward Pet to be examined by our veterinarian, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped before being adopted by their new families. Appointments are required, and assistance is dependent on available space and resources. See our FAQ section at the bottom of this page additional requirements, qualifications, and other important details about this program.

So that we can help as many people and pets in our community as possible, we have established the following procedures for those requesting assistance through our Last Litter Program.

1

Please begin by completing a questionnaire to tell us about your pets:

Cat & Kitten Application Dog & Puppy Application

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We will review your completed form and respond within 72 hours.

3

If your pets appear to be candidates for our Last Litter Program, we will schedule an intake appointment where you will bring your adult cat or dog in to our shelter, along with the litter of kittens or puppies. Each pet will be examined by our staff veterinarian. Every animal must pass this evaluation to be accepted into our Last Litter Program.

4

If accepted, they will remain in our care immediately following the appointment. The kittens/puppies will be permanently surrendered to Homeward Pet at that time. Your adult cat or dog will be spayed or neutered, and will return home with you later in the afternoon.

What’s included in every surgery package

  • Surgery (spay or neuter)
  • Pain Injection
  • 3 Days of Additional Pain Medication
  • Cone
  • Vaccines – You can opt out of vaccines with previous vaccine records
  • Dogs: DHPP
  • Cats: FVRCP
  • Rabies: Can be given at 14 weeks of age and is good for 1 year
    (Rabies vaccination is highly recommended and required by law)
  • Nail Trim
  • Capstar Flea Prevention (single dose)
A person in a blue knit sweater holds a fluffy orange tabby cat, who looks relaxed and slightly curious. The persons face is partially visible, showing a gentle smile.

FAQs

Once you’ve scheduled a Last Litter appointment, please read through our guidelines to make sure that you’re prepared for the process, and address any questions you might have.

There is no fee for the spay/neuter of your adult cat or dog, and no fee to surrender your litter of puppies or kittens to our shelter. Please consider making a donation at the time of your appointment to help support this program, so that we can continue offering this service at no-cost for those in need.

24PetWatch Microchip: $20 (includes registration)

At the time of your Last Litter appointment, your adult cat/dog and all kittens/puppies will be examined by our staff veterinarian.

Our veterinarian must determine that your adult cat/dog is healthy and ready for surgery. They may be declined if determined to be unfit for surgery for any reason. Please let us know if your pet has any preexisting conditions that our veterinarian should be aware of before surgery.

Your adult cat would also receive a blood draw to test for FIV and Feline Leukemia. We are unable to accept any cats or kittens that test positive for Feline Leukemia.

The kittens/puppies will receive a wellness exam. We are unable to accept any litters showing symptoms that may be related to a contagious disease or illness that would put the other cats or dogs in our shelter at risk.

In addition to the health requirements listed above, your pets must be safe to handle by our staff. We may be unable to accept any pets that behave aggressively towards people.

Your kittens/puppies must be old enough to be separated from your adult cat/dog. For the benefit of their social development, we recommend waiting until the puppies/kittens are at least 8-10 weeks of age. They must also be fully weaned and able to eat solid kitten/puppy food.

Our shelter isn’t always an appropriate fit for all pets. If we are unable to assist you through our Last Litter program, we may refer you to other shelters or rescues that might be a more appropriate match for your pets. We may also recommend other resources or options based on the situation and your pet’s needs.

Check out our handouts on some common questions about puppies and kittens:

Cat Behavior and Health Tips

Dog Behavior and Health Tips

If you’re caring for a litter of kittens, The Kitten Lady has a complete database full of all of the information you may need to care for these babies.

We’re also here to help. If you have additional questions about how to safely care for puppies or kittens, you can reach out to staff, at intake@homewardpet.org.

If resources are available, we may be able to spay or neuter that puppy or kitten as well, but this must be approved in advance. Please let us know when applying for this program if you are not interested in surrendering all of the puppies or kittens to our shelter.

If the puppies/kittens are given to new owners, we are unable to spay/neuter them through our Last Litter Program – this may put them at risk of accidental litters, and continue to contribute to pet overpopulation. Please consider surrendering all of the puppies/kittens to our shelter, so that they can be examined by our veterinarian, vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed/neutered before they are adopted. The adoption fees for the puppies/kittens also offset some of the costs of our Last Litter Program, helping us to provide free spay/neuter services to those in need.

No – if you need to rehome an adult cat or dog, please refer to our Pet Rehoming Program. If you have additional questions about rehoming an adult pet, reach out to us at intake@homewardpet.org.

Due to the limited capacity of our shelter and the volume of requests we receive, we are unable to accommodate requests for immediate services.

If you need to rehome your puppies or kittens immediately, please try contacting your local animal control agency or shelter. See our list of Animal Control Services to find the agency or shelter that provides animal control services in your city.

You may also find assistance through our list of other local shelters and rescues.

If the puppies or kittens are not quite old enough to be spayed and neutered, they are placed in one of Homeward Pet’s trusted foster homes. Their foster family will continue to care for them until they are ready for adoption.

Once ready for adoption, the puppies/kittens will return to our shelter to meet potential adopters. Kittens and puppies are typically adopted within a few days. In most cases, they do not remain in the shelter for an extended period of time.

Homeward Pet is not contracted or licensed take in stray animals; please read our handout on what to do if you find a stray animal.

Please see our handout on Animal Control Services for more information on where to take a stray animal.

A feral cat is an unsocialized or free-roaming cat that is not comfortable with human contact. They are sometimes referred to as “community cats,” “working cats,” or “barn cats.”

Homeward Pet is not able to humanely house or rehome feral cats. However, in many cases, young kittens can learn to be friendly and social with people if they receive enough interaction and handling. Check out these resources from The Kitten Lady to learn how to socialize a shy or feral kitten.

If you have an adult feral cat that you need to have spayed or neutered, please reach out to the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project.

The AVMA supports the concept of pediatric spay/neuter in dogs and cats in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals of these species. Just as for other veterinary medical and surgical procedures, veterinarians should use their best professional judgment based on the current scientific literature in deciding at what age spay/neuter should be performed on individual animals. The decision should be made by the animal’s owner in consultation with a veterinarian after discussing associated risks and benefits.