The City of Valencia opened a public veterinary center on Wednesday dedicated entirely to the care and sterilization of the more than 22,000 community cats living in the city, spread across more than 600 colonies.
The center, located at the roundabout in Plaza de Saragossa, is housed in a municipal building that has been renovated with an investment of 60,000 euros.
The facilities include an operating room with two surgical units, a laboratory equipped with diagnostic machinery, an X-ray room, recovery areas for the animals, and cleaning and disinfection zones. The service will operate by scheduled appointments.
A life saved on the first day
According to city officials, the center saved a life on its very first day of operation. An adult cat, whom the veterinarians have named Pepa, arrived to be spayed, and during the procedure, she was diagnosed with pyometra—a uterine infection that is fatal if left untreated. The condition was caught in time: had she not come to the center, Pepa would have had at most a month to live.
Mayor María José Catalá has stated that this is “a unique center in Spain” and that it fulfills “a legal obligation to care for” the city’s cats.
The center will collaborate with veterinary associations and the volunteers who manage the colonies.
The City Council performs approximately 2,000 sterilizations annually. Around 450 volunteers selflessly care for the colonies
This year, 50,000 euros will be allocated to food for the colonies, with feeding stations replacing makeshift feeding points
The center fulfills the obligations imposed by both State Law 7/2023 and Regional Law 2/2023, which require municipalities to implement the CER method—capture, sterilization, and return—and to train the volunteers who care for these colonies.
This model allows for the registration of animals, control of their feeding, and health monitoring, with the aim of reducing neighborhood conflicts and improving urban coexistence.
