Spay it Forward!

Read the stories below of real people who need our support to prevent overpopulation and community cat suffering beyond the borders of Alachua County.

Robert “Bob” Treder

On the outskirts of Chiefland lives a large Community Cat clowder of about 50, all being taken care of by an Operation Catnip volunteer and forever friend of felines, Robert Treder.

This cat clowder in Levy County dates back to 1992. In the beginning, his neighbor Dot was the main caregiver for the cats, all the way until she was in her 90s in 2024. Eventually, Dot moved away & left Robert and his family to care for the cats across the 23 acres of land.

Like it is second-nature, Robert began caring for them, and even experienced a "baby boom" in the spring of 2025, which grew the clowder substantially.

It was around this time when Robert began volunteering at Operation Catnip! Him & his brother come and dedicate their time in order to gain knowledge, and help others in similar situations to their own. He is beloved by our entire staff and has been so helpful throughout the year. He has even have jumpstarted our trapping van and set up our fancy umbrella on our front porch to help keep kitties out of the rain!

Selfless caregivers like Robert deserve every resource for spay-neuter we have to offer, but we need your support to make it happen.