Shelter Surgery Service
***Please note that the Shelter Surgery Service is for rescue and shelter cats only. If your personal cat is in need of care, please schedule an appointment with our Primary Care Service (or a specialty service if you have been referred by your primary veterinarian)
by calling 530-752-1393. For emergency cases, our ER is open 24/7/365.***
Welcome to the Shelter Surgery Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, where the school partners with local shelters and rescue organizations to provide spay and neuter surgeries for community cats. This partnership serves as the basis to teach 4th-year DVM students high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter (HQHVSN) principles, while expanding the school’s accessible veterinary care programs to fulfill a community need.
Two to four students rotate through the service every two weeks throughout the academic year, allowing spots for upwards of 60 students per year. While a rotation through Shelter Surgery is not core (required) for students, it does count for two weeks toward their core requirement of six weeks of surgical rotations.
Students on the service perform surgeries Monday-Friday, both weeks, allowing for as much hands-on training as possible in the rotation period. It is one of the most popular rotations amongst students, as they learn “Day 1 skills” throughout the year – medical diagnoses and procedures in which all new DVM graduates should be proficient on their first day of being a licensed veterinarian.
Under the watchful eye of expert shelter medicine veterinarians, students perform an average of 25 surgeries per rotation. Most animals entering California shelters or rescue organizations are spayed or neutered before they can be adopted into a forever home. This service teaches students the importance of HQHVSN services in shelter settings, where access to a veterinarian on staff or in the community may be scarce.
This community partnership results in thousands of animals receiving low-cost spay/neuter surgeries and preventive care every year, improving their chances of adoption or returning to their habitat through a Trap Neuter Vaccinate and Return (TNVR) program, the only proven feline management strategy for outdoor cats. Currently, this program offers the only low-cost and TNVR support available in Yolo County.
The service currently works out of the surgical suite on the first floor of the Center for Companion Animal Health building. By the summer of 2028, the service will relocate to the new Spay and Neuter Clinic – a dedicated facility located directly behind (west of) the Gourley Clinical Teaching Center. The new clinic will include: reception alcove, combined office/conference room to host student rounds, patient housing room, prep/treatment room, and operating room (OR) 3x the size of the current OR. The new space will allow for more students to rotate through the service and increase the number of future veterinarians trained in HQHVSN principles.
For information on the Koret Shelter Medicine Program, please visit: www.sheltermedicine.com
Faculty
Stacy Kraus, DVM
Chief of Service
Staff Veterinarian
Rachel Beck, DVM
Staff Veterinarian
Staff
Nikki Rochin, RVT
Service Manager
Jenna Plaskon, RVT
Service Supervisor
Amrit Sohal, RVT
Sean Wadsworth
Animal Health Technician