From Sacks to Second Chances: How Community, Compassion, and Spay & Neuter Save Cats

By Gerard Ian De Sagun

PART 1: Grandma and the Makeshift Cat Carrier

She came to us with the cat in a sack.

Not a carrier, not a basket. A repurposed feed sack, the kind used for rice or hog mash, stitched at the top with plastic twine and crumpled from years of use. You could tell it had been stored in some dark corner, pulled out for one more purpose. The cat inside didn’t cry. It was quiet, maybe asleep, maybe scared. Maybe it had already resigned itself to being moved like cargo.

The grandmother held it like she was delivering something burdensome but necessary. Her hands were steady. She was not angry or apologetic, just exhausted. Her words were simple: There were too many cats at home.

We opened the sack carefully. Inside was a juvenile cat, maybe five or six months old, still small, but old enough to get pregnant. The tipping point age. The kind of cat that, left unspayed, could turn one household’s problem into the entire neighborhood’s in just a few months.

Left unchecked, a single unspayed female cat and her offspring can produce over 400,000 cats in just seven years, according to widely cited estimates from animal welfare organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and ASPCA. Even more conservative figures, such as those from the American Veterinary Medical Association, suggest that just one pair of breeding cats can lead to more than 36 cats in two years, assuming only two litters per year and moderate kitten survival rates. ASPCA Spay/Neuter FAQ, Humane Society’s Reproduction Stats, and this peer-reviewed study on cat population dynamics all confirm one thing: unchecked reproduction is fast, exponential, and preventable.

That’s when we proposed a deal with her: if we could get the cat spayed, we’d return her. No need to explain to the grandson why his cat had disappeared. No shame. Just a reset, same cat, fewer problems. The grandmother agreed.

PART 2: The 10 Cages and the Jeepney Hack 

Most small community rescuers start the same way: too many animals, not enough gear, and no budget for proper transport. We’ve seen it all, cats tucked into market baskets, old laundry hampers, even the occasional rice cooker repurposed into a pet carrier. It works, barely, but it doesn’t scale.

What we lacked were the basics: safe, individual cages that could hold one cat at a time for transport and recovery. That single improvement would let us move from one-at-a-time rescues to group runs, planned, coordinated, and cost-effective.

So, we came up with a workout to come home fixed, safe, and no longer part of the cycle.

Instead of asking for money, we gave our supporters a direct e-commerce link to a specific, affordable cat carrier. That way, donors could simply purchase and ship one or two units straight to us: no fundraising, no bank transfers, no guesswork. The response was quietly amazing. One by one, boxes started arriving.

And with those 10 cages, something clicked into place.

We realized we could now fit 10 cats, each in their own carrier, into a single jeepney trip. No loose animals, no scrambling for cardboard boxes at dawn. We reached out to a local couple who owned a jeepney and also happened to love cats. During their vehicle’s off-hours between commuter routes, they offered to rent it to us at a friendly rate.

That’s how the “cat jeepney” was born: a simple logistics chain powered by donated cages and a borrowed ride.

With this setup, we could coordinate neighborhood pickups and bring in cats en masse to the vet clinic without asking individual households to rearrange their entire day. If you’re a grandmother who’s already caring for six cats, you don’t need another errand. You just hand off the extra one. We’ll handle the rest.

It’s not glamorous, but it works. And it only works because those 10 cages exist, because individual people, one click at a time, said yes to helping.

So if you’re one of the donors reading this: thank you. Your contribution didn’t just buy a cage; it helped us build a system. One that’s saving time, money, and more than a few future litters of kittens.

PART 3: The Medicine That Makes It Stick

Spay and neuter surgeries don’t end when the cat leaves the clinic. Recovery is fragile, especially for strays or semi-owned cats without a controlled environment. Post-operative care requires attention: keeping wounds clean, preventing complications, and giving each cat a fair chance to heal.

That’s where The Animal Drugstore made a critical difference. Their donation of veterinary-grade vitamins helped support each cat’s recovery, providing essential nutritional support to heal well, regain strength, and thrive after surgery.

Even simple contributions like vitamins can raise the standard of care for rescued cats. A spayed or neutered cat that recovers properly doesn’t just stop reproducing, it avoids stress-related complications, prolonged recovery, and preventable illnesses.

To The Animal Drugstore: thank you. Your support didn’t just reduce costs; you helped strengthen the backbone of the entire rescue system, giving every cat a better chance at a healthy, safe life.

PART 4: Why Spaying and Neutering Matters

None of these rescues work without spaying and neutering. These surgeries are more than a medical procedure; they’re the foundation of responsible pet care and community cat management.

Spaying and neutering prevent unwanted litters, reduce the risk of certain diseases, and improve overall well-being. It stops the endless cycle of reproduction that overwhelms households and neighborhoods, giving each cat a healthier, calmer life.

A supportive veterinarian doesn’t just perform the surgery; they guide caregivers and pet guardians on post-operative care, provide essential supplies, and ensure each cat recovers fully. Every cat that comes home spayed or neutered, healthy and cared for, is one less litter, one less struggle, and one step closer to a humane, sustainable community.

When vets, donors, and community members all say yes, they’re creating a system of compassion. Every cat that thrives after surgery is proof that small, coordinated efforts can make neighborhoods kinder, safer, and more hopeful, one cat at a time.

So, to New Creation Animal Clinic – La Union, thank you. You didn’t just offer your clinic, you made it possible for people like that grandmother, and households like hers, to say yes instead of walking away. You turned a hard goodbye into a second chance. You’ve created a space where compassion isn’t just a feeling, it’s a system.

And for every cat that gets to come home fixed, safe, and no longer part of the cycle, this region becomes a little more humane and a lot more hopeful.