Mobile Cat Clinic Finds a Purr-fect Home

A vehicle that travels throughout the state, spaying and neutering thousands of cats, has found a home in Grafton.

The Catmobile will be parked outside 212 Worcester St. in North Grafton. The site will be the newest location of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society.

The sanctuary, which is based in Salisbury, will use its new Grafton facility for storage only. No cats will be sheltered at the location.

The Grafton site will be the primary location for the organization’s second traveling veterinary clinic, known as Catmobile 2, said Stacy LeBaron, president of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Sanctuary.

More than 20,000 cats have received care in the original Catmobile, which is based in the society's Salisbury location.

Grafton was selected to house the second vehicle because of its proximity to central Massachusetts and the South Shore, where the mobile services are in great demand, LeBaron said.

The vehicle will travel the state during the day, offering low-cost services to cats. For $100 for female cats and $50 for males, the organization offers spaying/neutering, rabies treatment, flea treatment, nail treatment and a brief exam.

Feral cats are treated _ and their ears are tipped, to identify them _ for $35.

The work is done inside the vehicle, which parks in locations throughout the state. A schedule is posted on the organization’s Web site. Reservations must be made.

The vehicle is staffed by a veterinarian and two technicians and can assist 40 cats a day. LeBaron estimates the Grafton-based vehicle will help 5,000 cats per year.

The mobile vet clinic is just one of the organization’s programs to assist cats. The shelter has placed more than 13,000 cats and kittens into good homes since the society opened its first adoption center in 1993.