How one backyard stray sparked a mission to save the ‘Cats of San Bernardino’

Inside Jaina Spagis’ home, there is little separation between everyday life and animal rescue.

One bedroom houses healthy cats awaiting adoption. Three enclosed “catios” provide outdoor space. The garage has been converted into a medical and isolation ward equipped with incubators, oxygen machines, and supplies for treating wounds and administering fluids.

The cats may need medication, emergency care, or monitoring at any hour.

“Living and working in the same space is 24/7 work,” Spagis said. “But I wouldn’t want them to be too far from us anyway.”

Spagis never imagined that her home – or her life – would be dedicated to cats.

“I never thought that I’d be running a cat rescue,” she said.

In 2013, Spagis and her wife, Ivy, moved from Canada to South Los Angeles, where a stray cat and her kittens appeared in their backyard. Caring for them opened the couple’s eyes to the number of cats living outdoors in their neighborhood and how few had been spayed or neutered.

“If you aren’t looking for cats, you might not see them,” Spagis said. “But as soon as you do, you see them everywhere, and they’re in such great need.”

The couple began researching how to help and learned about trap-neuter-return, or TNR. The method involves humanely trapping community cats, having them sterilized and vaccinated, and returning them to where they were found to help reduce the outdoor cat population over time.

In Los Angeles, the couple found organizations offering free spay and neuter services. But after moving to San Bernardino in 2016, they encountered large numbers of outdoor cats and, they said, far fewer affordable veterinary resources.

“We quickly learned that San Bernardino is not the same as Los Angeles,” Spagis said. “There are no programs, no people helping the cats here. And so quickly, it became unattainable to fix the cats out of our own pockets.”

The couple started an Instagram account to see whether others would support their efforts. The project eventually grew into Cats of San Bernardino , which became a nonprofit in 2019.

Today, the organization traps and sterilizes community cats, feeds established colonies, rescues injured and friendly cats, provides medical care, and places adoptable animals in homes. Spagis said her group has placed more than 2,000 cats and kittens since it began tracking adoptions in 2019.

TNR remains central to the organization’s mission.

“The more cats that we can get spayed and neutered, the fewer kittens will be born on the streets to suffer,” Spagis said. “Stopping the continuous cycle is really important to us.”

Cats of San Bernardino aims to sterilize at least 20 community cats each month, according to Spagis. It has also begun sponsoring veterinary appointments for approximately 40 cats a month, covering spay and neuter surgeries, vaccines, parasite treatment, and microchipping for residents who cannot afford those services.

The organization supports 14 outdoor cat colonies within roughly three miles of Spagis’ home. She and her team provide daily care for 10 of them and supply food and medical assistance to residents caring for the other four.

Not every cat is returned outdoors. Friendly cats are prepared for adoption, while cats with injuries or disabilities that would make outdoor life unsafe are brought into the rescue.

“We don’t believe any friendly kitty should be on the streets,” Spagis said. “Any friendly cat deserves a home.”

New arrivals spend at least two weeks in isolation to reduce the risk of spreading disease to other cats. The converted garage also houses cats recovering from surgery and those requiring continued medical treatment.

With guidance from veterinarians, Spagis said the rescue can provide wound care, administer medications and fluids, regulate cats’ body temperatures, and supply supplemental oxygen. That allows the organization to take in cats with serious medical needs that some smaller rescues may not have the resources to treat.

“Every living being is worth the effort if they can be saved,” Spagis said.

But some arrive too sick or injured to recover.

“Taking on medical cats can take a great toll, especially when they don’t make it,” she said. “A lot of times, that’s right at the end.”

The losses can be devastating, Spagis said. But even when a cat cannot be saved, she believes providing comfort still matters.

“Every being deserves to leave this world with dignity,” she said.

That conviction helps her continue after difficult cases.

“If we didn’t do it, no one would have,” she said. “They would have died somewhere out on the streets. We just try and stay positive for the ones that still need us.”

Healthy cats move into a bedroom the couple calls the “Healthy Kitty Club,” where they stay until they are adopted. The organization promotes the cats through social media and at adoption events held about once a month. Prospective adopters submit applications and undergo screening.

Most adopters come from Southern California, but Cats of San Bernardino has placed animals with families elsewhere in the United States and as far away as Canada and France.

Updates from adopters can brighten the harder days. Some families create social media accounts for their adopted cats, allowing Spagis and Ivy to continue following their lives.

“A lot of the ones that have social media started in a really bad place,” Spagis said. “Their recovery took sometimes months, even years. I love seeing them live their best life.”

Cats of San Bernardino says it relies on donations raised through social media, where it has more than 3.5 million followers across its platforms.

“We see people donating from all over the world,” Spagis said. “They choose to support us, and we’re just so grateful.”

Ivy films, edits, and publishes all of the organization’s social media content. Each rescued cat’s story is documented from intake through treatment and, when possible, adoption. The couple also shares cases that end in loss.

“If you’re just showing the happy ending, then you aren’t really educating anyone on what’s going on in the world of cats,” Spagis said.

Spagis said some followers have told the rescue that its videos inspired them to begin TNR work in their own communities.

“That is one of the things we’re most proud of,” she said. “We can save cats that way as well, just by showing people how it’s done.”

Spagis’ next goal is to move the operation to what she calls a “cat ranch” – a larger property with dedicated adoption and medical facilities, enclosures for feral cats, and eventually space where a veterinarian could provide care on-site.

The move could give the couple’s home some separation from the work. But for Spagis, the cats are more than a job.

“They give me a sense of purpose,” she said. “Seeing them get better and the love that they have, even when they’ve been through so much, it gives us a sense that we’re doing something that is helping someone. …

“I see cats like I see people. They all have different personalities. They all have worth.”

Want to get involved? Check out the Cats of San Bernardino website and see how to help.

在 Jaina Spagis 的家中，日常生活与动物救助几乎没有界限。

其中一间卧室里住着等待领养的健康猫咪。三个封闭式的“猫舍”提供了户外活动空间。车库已被改造成医疗隔离病房，配备了保温箱、氧气机以及用于治疗伤口和输液的用品。

猫咪可能随时需要用药、紧急护理或监测。

“在同一个空间里生活和工作意味着24小时不间断，”斯帕吉斯说。“但我无论如何也不想让他们离我们太远。”

斯帕吉斯从未想过她的家——或者说她的一生——会与猫为伴。

“我从没想过自己会经营一家猫咪救助站，”她说。

2013年，斯帕吉斯和她的妻子艾薇从加拿大搬到了洛杉矶南部，一只流浪猫和它的小猫出现在了她们的后院。照顾这些小猫让这对夫妇意识到，她们居住的社区里有很多流浪猫，而其中只有极少数接受了绝育手术。

“如果你不刻意寻找猫，可能就看不到它们，”斯帕吉斯说。“但一旦你开始寻找，就会发现它们无处不在，而且它们非常需要帮助。”

这对夫妇开始研究如何提供帮助，并了解到了诱捕-绝育-放归（TNR）方法。这种方法包括人道地诱捕流浪猫，对它们进行绝育和疫苗接种，然后将它们放回原处，以帮助逐渐减少户外猫的数量。

在洛杉矶，这对夫妇找到了提供免费绝育服务的机构。但2016年搬到圣贝纳迪诺后，他们发现那里有大量的流浪猫，而且他们说，价格合理的兽医资源也少得多。

“我们很快就发现圣贝纳迪诺和洛杉矶不一样，”斯帕吉斯说。“这里没有救助猫咪的项目，也没有人帮助这些猫。所以很快，我们就发现靠我们自己的钱来治好这些猫咪是不可能实现的。”

这对夫妇创建了一个Instagram账号，看看是否有人支持他们的行动。这个项目最终发展成为“圣贝纳迪诺猫咪之家”（Cats of San Bernardino），并于2019年成为一家非营利组织。

如今，该组织负责捕捉和绝育流浪猫，喂养已建立的猫群，救助受伤和友善的猫，提供医疗护理，并为可供领养的动物寻找新家。斯帕吉斯表示，自2019年开始追踪领养情况以来，她的团队已经安置了2000多只猫和小猫。

TNR（诱捕、自然放归）仍然是该组织使命的核心。

“我们给猫咪做的绝育手术越多，街头流浪的小猫就越少，受苦的也就更少了，”斯帕吉斯说。“阻止这种恶性循环对我们来说至关重要。”

据斯帕吉斯介绍，圣贝纳迪诺猫咪救助组织的目标是每月至少为20只流浪猫进行绝育手术。该组织还开始每月为大约40只猫提供兽医服务，包括绝育手术、疫苗接种、寄生虫治疗和芯片植入，以帮助那些无力承担这些费用的居民。

该组织在斯帕吉斯家方圆三英里内为14个户外猫群提供支持。她和她的团队每天照料其中10个猫群，并为照顾另外4个猫群的居民提供食物和医疗援助。

并非所有猫都会被放归户外。性格温顺的猫会被安排领养，而那些受伤或残疾、不适合户外生活的猫则会被送到救助站。

“我们认为任何友善的小猫都不应该流落街头，”斯帕吉斯说。“任何友善的猫都应该拥有一个家。”

新来的猫咪至少要隔离两周，以降低将疾病传染给其他猫咪的风险。改建后的车库也用来安置术后康复的猫咪和需要持续治疗的猫咪。

斯帕吉斯表示，在兽医的指导下，救援机构可以提供伤口护理、给药输液、调节猫的体温以及提供补充氧气。这使得该机构能够接收一些患有严重疾病的猫，而一些规模较小的救援机构可能没有资源来治疗这些猫。

“如果能够拯救任何一个生命，那么每一个生命都值得我们付出努力，”斯帕吉斯说。

但有些人到达时已病重或受伤过重，无法康复。

“照顾生病的猫咪会让人身心俱疲，尤其是当它们最终没能挺过来的时候，”她说。“很多时候，这种情况就发生在生命的最后阶段。”

斯帕吉斯说，失去猫咪会让人非常痛心。但即使猫咪无法救活，她也认为给予它们安慰仍然很重要。

“每个生命都应该有尊严地离开这个世界，”她说。

这种信念帮助她在处理棘手案件后继续前进。

“如果我们不做，就没人会做了，”她说。“他们可能会死在街头。我们只是想保持乐观，为了那些仍然需要我们的人。”

健康的猫咪会被安排住进这对夫妇称之为“健康猫咪俱乐部”的卧室，在那里它们会一直待到被领养。该组织通过社交媒体和每月一次左右举办的领养活动来推广这些猫咪。有意领养者需要提交申请并接受筛选。

大多数领养者来自南加州，但圣贝纳迪诺猫咪救助中心也曾将动物安置在美国其他地区，甚至远至加拿大和法国的家庭中。

来自领养家庭的最新消息能让艰难的日子变得温暖人心。有些家庭会为他们领养的猫咪创建社交媒体账号，这样Spagis和Ivy就能继续关注它们的生活。

“很多活跃在社交媒体上的人最初都处境非常糟糕，”斯帕吉斯说。“他们的康复之路有时需要数月，甚至数年。我很高兴看到他们过上了精彩的生活。”

圣贝纳迪诺猫咪救助组织表示，他们依靠社交媒体筹集的捐款维持运营，该组织在各个平台上拥有超过 350 万粉丝。

“我们看到来自世界各地的人们都在捐款，”斯帕吉斯说。“他们选择支持我们，我们对此感激不尽。”

艾薇负责拍摄、剪辑和发布该组织的所有社交媒体内容。每只获救猫咪的故事都会被记录下来，从收容、治疗到最终被领养（如果可能的话）。这对夫妇也会分享那些最终以猫咪离世告终的案例。

“如果你只展现美好的结局，那么你并没有真正地向任何人普及猫的世界里正在发生的事情，”斯帕吉斯说。

Spagis表示，一些关注者告诉救援组织，他们的视频激励他们在自己的社区开展TNR（诱捕、绝育、放归）工作。

“这是我们最引以为豪的事情之一，”她说。“我们可以通过向人们展示如何正确操作来拯救猫咪。”

Spagis 的下一个目标是将运营地点转移到她所谓的“猫牧场”——一个更大的场所，设有专门的领养和医疗设施、流浪猫的围栏，最终还将有兽医可以在现场提供护理的空间。

此举或许能让这对夫妇的家与工作场所稍稍分开。但对斯帕吉斯来说，养猫不仅仅是一份工作。

“他们给了我一种使命感，”她说。“看到他们逐渐康复，看到他们彼此之间充满爱，即使他们经历了那么多苦难，也让我们觉得我们正在做一些帮助别人的事情。……

“我看猫就像看人一样。它们性格各异，各有价值。”

想参与其中吗？请访问圣贝纳迪诺猫咪网站，了解如何提供帮助。