Fix 'Ur Cat
About Us
Our History
We started informally in 2012, partnering with local vets and eventually the Animal Friends clinic in Pittsburgh to facilitate low-cost spay/neuters for cats of local community members. We had no space of our own, so we operated out of parking lots and occasionally borrowed space, meeting clients in the early morning to receive their cats, shuttle those cats to the clinic at our own expense, return to the clinic later to pick the cats up, and then meet with the cats’ caretakers to return the cats and provide post-op care instructions.
When we saw how much need there really was for this work, we formalized operations as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2014, though we still continued to operate out of a series of temporary spaces. As the community became more aware of our work and could see how serious we were about it, donations began to increase, facilitating our ongoing growth to the point where we were finally able, in 2018, to purchase a building for our own use.
Today
We continue to expand our services to the community while also remodeling the building to make it more suitable for our purposes. We opened our own on-site surgical suite in August of 2019; we now offer surgeries both here and also still in cooperation with Animal Friends in Pittsburgh. Our goal is to continue expanding services until we are able to offer more weekly surgical slots than have ever been available for our community before. We also now offer low-cost wellness services so that everyone can afford to provide the basic care that every cat needs.
The opening of our facility in 2018.
Our Board of Directors
Michelle Bruce
Cofounder & President
Michelle has volunteered with animal welfare organizations since 1980 both in the U.S. and abroad. Returning from China in 2010, she recognized that there was a critical need for low-cost cat spay/neuter services in western Pennsylvania. It is from this need that Fix ‘Ur Cat was founded.
Working alongside other dedicated volunteers, Michelle has identified additional client needs such as low-cost vaccinations and basic veterinary care for Fix ‘Ur Cat’s income-sensitive clients. It is her goal that as Fix ‘Ur Cat grows, the organization will always strive to meet these needs in a sensitive and professional manner.
Debbie Martin
Vice President
Debbie has been devoting her energy to Fix ‘Ur Cat since 2011, after retiring from 37 years of customer service/administrative work. She works in our spay/neuter and wellness clinics as well as numerous off-site events to inform the public about Fix ‘Ur Cat’s services, and participates actively in fundraising for the organization. She is deeply satisfied by the growth of Fix ‘Ur Cat over time, seeing the difference it makes in the lives of countless animals in the local community.
Roland Gargani
Treasurer
Roland is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of both the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of CPAs. He is a tax director at Global Advisory Tax Group in Greentree, having previously been a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche, working in its Brussels, Belgium and Pittsburgh offices.
Roland, his wife Chrissy, and their son Louis are proud parents of their rescue cats, Kitten, Olivier, and Buster. He is devoted to the well-being of the feral cat population in his Upper St Clair community. Roland served as Fix ‘Ur Cat’s outside auditor for several years, and welcomed the opportunity to take on a more active role as Treasurer.
Rose Tomko
Secretary
Rose retired in 2012 from a career in telecom sales and service. She was finally able to devote her time to volunteering with animals and became affiliated with Fix ‘Ur Cat in 2015. Rose enjoys reviewing the post-operative care instructions with the clients, so they know how to care for their cats as they recover from surgery. She values working compassionately with our clients as an important way to spread our mission. She is delighted to see this organization become a real asset to the community and to help clients from far and wide get these necessary services for their cats. She finds that “working with this amazing staff and volunteers has been the icing on the cake.”
Our Volunteers
Fix ‘Ur Cat began as a volunteer-driven organization and remains so today. We have over 25 volunteers from all walks of life, ranging in age from teenagers to retirees. As a group, they contribute thousands of hours of their personal time and energy each year, doing everything from clinic administrative work to cat care to basic housekeeping.
Volunteers are the key to Fix ‘Ur Cat’s existence and rapid growth. They are the reason that low-cost spay/neuters and basic wellness care for cats are now available in the Washington County area. No matter what your skills and interests are, no matter how much or how little time you feel you have available to contribute, we have a place for you if you’d like to become part of our mission. It’s tremendously satisfying work done in the company of others who care passionately about the welfare of cats and their caretakers in our community.
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean.
People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,
“Well, I made a difference to that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought for a long moment about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.
— Adapted from 'The Star Thrower' by Loren C. Eiseley
We make a difference that matters, one cat at a time.