PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach Animal Care Services, in partnership with The Little Lion Foundation, is launching the Long Beach Community Cat Project. This project, a first of its kind in the city, is focused on significantly reducing the overpopulation of free-roaming community cats in Long Beach and its service cities of Cerritos, Los Alamitos and Signal Hill by providing free and accessible sterilization surgeries and animal care resources to community cats.

“Our partnership with The Little Lion Foundation is a testament to the power of community-driven action and innovative solutions,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “The Community Cat Project underscores our commitment to the Compassion Saves service model and strengthens our efforts in improving the welfare of community cats and reducing animal overpopulation in the communities we serve.”

The Little Lion Foundation headquarters will serve as the operating hub for this project and LBACS will serve in a supportive role by providing payment vouchers and will work with community partners to address high breeding areas of community cats. Participants will receive a $100 spay/neuter voucher from LBACS for surgery costs, with the remaining costs funded by donations through supporters of The Little Lion Foundation. Community cats will receive a spay or neuter surgery, vaccines, flea medication, and an ear tip, which is a visual marker of a community cat, all free of charge. These procedures will be conducted at a new sterilization clinic located at The Little Lion Foundation headquarters.

Community members and animal serving organizations with community cats are encouraged to participate in this program to help support the City’s goal of drastically reducing community cat overpopulation. Those interested may submit an application at The Little Lion Foundation website or call LBACS at 562.570.7387 for more information. This project was made possible through funding by Partners of Parks, Found Animals and Friends of Long Beach Animals.

To celebrate the project launch, the City and The Little Lion Foundation invite the community to a grand opening event and ribbon-cutting ceremony, taking place from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at The Little Lion Foundation headquarters (1179 E. Wardlow Rd.). The event will include remarks from local leaders and City partners, a tour of the new clinic and facility, and an opportunity to learn more about the program’s mission and future goals. Free food and beverages will be available.  

Community cats are free-roaming cats that live outdoors. These cats are often cared for by one or more people and range from friendly, social cats to unsocial feral cats. A high population of community cats contributes to a strain on animal shelter systems and resources. This program will serve to alleviate those challenges by reducing animal overpopulation and therefore reducing the number of cats and kittens entering the Long Beach shelter system. With an annual goal to spay and neuter 2,500 free-roaming cats in 2025, this initiative represents a proactive, humane and cost-effective solution to an important community issue.

“This initiative underscores the importance of a forward-thinking and collaborative approach to reducing the free-roaming cat population while enhancing the overall wellbeing of our community,” said Melanie Wagner, Bureau Manager of Long Beach Animal Care Services.

Benefits to this high quality, high-volume spay and neuter program include: 

• Providing affordable and accessible community access to spaying and neutering for free roaming cats on a large scale.  
• Improving the overall quality of life for community cats. 
• Demonstrating the effectiveness of collaboration between nonprofit organizations and municipal agencies. 
• Providing a scalable, innovative model for other cities seeking sustainable solutions to free-roaming cat populations. 
• Decreasing shelter intake costs and optimizing city resources. 

“We’re excited to be part of such a transformative program,” said Claudia Otis, Executive Director at The Little Lion Foundation. “By working together, we can make a meaningful impact not only in Long Beach but also in neighboring communities, setting a new standard for how cities approach animal welfare.” 

For more information about the Long Beach Community Project, visit The Little Lion Foundation’s webpage.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture, and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, the award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. For more information about Long Beach Animal Care Services, visit longbeach.gov/acs and follow @LBAnimalCare on Facebook, X and Instagram.

About The Little Lion Foundation 
Founded in 2016, The Little Lion Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to saving and improving the lives of cats through targeted programs, education, and partnerships. The organization works tirelessly to eliminate the euthanasia of healthy, at-risk, and treatable cats in public shelters while promoting humane solutions for community cats.