34 Years Later: FCC’s Founders Reflect on Where It All Began

Hello Friends,

Audrey here. Today, several of my fellow Board Members and I had the absolute pleasure of virtually meeting Feral Cat Coalition founder Sally Mackler and the veterinarian who helped her start it all, Dr. Rochelle Brinton.

Sally explained that she was volunteering with an organization called Pet Assistance that provided referrals and vouchers for owners to have their pets spayed and neutered at various veterinary clinics around San Diego. She was receiving requests for help with local feral and stray cats and realized there was no one helping them. Sally had heard through her acquaintances that there was a veterinarian trapping and fixing cats, so she tracked down Rochelle.

Rochelle reflected on how she and Sally met. A friend of Rochelle’s had cats behind her studio and was concerned about the growing number of them. Rochelle had been working with Rancho Coastal Humane Society as a contracted veterinarian and knew they had humane traps, so she asked to borrow some. They agreed and asked her to attend a future meeting about a future project. And that meeting is where she met Sally.

As Rochelle was leaving the meeting, Sally approached her after hearing about some feral cats she had spayed and neutered on her own and asked, “Can you do that for us?”

And together, Sally and Rochelle got to organizing. As Rochelle explained, “It all just happened naturally and organically.”

The first clinics took place in early 1992 in the backyard of a friend, where they spayed and neutered their first handful of cats. Because Rochelle had many contacts in the veterinary field, she was able to convince local veterinarians to allow FCC volunteers to use their clinic space on Sundays while they were closed. While Rochelle worked on building relationships with veterinarians, Sally gathered volunteers and coordinated everything else.

Together, Sally and Rochelle created an incredible program that went on to change the lives of over 80,000 cats.

Not only did they create the very first MASH-style clinics for cats, but they also created the first dedicated spay/neuter organization in San Diego to provide the surgeries themselves. Sally and Rochelle gathered a team of volunteers and developed procedures and protocols on the spot. They learned as they went and ultimately created a model for high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN) that is now used by organizations around the world.

Another milestone we discussed was the Department of Animal Services crediting Feral Cat Coalition with a 40% decrease in cat euthanasia due to our efforts in practicing TNR and HQHVSN.

I also filled Sally and Rochelle in on everything we have been doing in the years since they stepped away. We have remained 100% free for feral and stray spay/neuter since the organization’s inception. We talked about how we continued their mega Sunday clinics at various veterinary hospitals for 28 years and remained 100% volunteer-based, including our veterinarians, for 20 years.

FCC President Amber also explained how grateful we were to have our brick-and-mortar clinic when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We were the only organization in all of Southern California that did not shut down our operations. We knew how critical spay/neuter was, so we completely changed our setup to make social distancing and proper sanitization a priority. Because we remained open, hundreds of cats were still able to be spayed and neutered during an incredibly difficult time.

It was a wonderful conversation, and it made us that much more excited for our open house celebration in a few months. We cannot wait to show you the incredible work that FCC is doing 34 years later.

So mark your calendars for January 30th! More information will be released later, and we hope to see you there!