Check Out Jacquie Navratil’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacquie Navratil.

Hi Jacquie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. 
After spending several years on the board of an animal welfare non-profit, I realized there were many voids that needed to be filled. Cats,, in particular,, were breeding out of control; most of the resources were directed to rescuing cats & kittens while little focus was placed on solutions, preventing all these cats & kittens from needing to be rescued. 

When I learned about an injunction that prevented the city of L.A. to support spay/neuter for unowned, free-roaming cats, I realized the void that needed to be filled was spay/neuter, galvanizing my local community to direct their animal welfare volunteer efforts to ensuring cats weren’t breeding out of control, that there was a neighborhood-based, volunteer-powered safety net for kittens young enough to be socialized for adoption, basically, community supported intervention. 

The bottom line is that nobody can save every cat or kitten, but block by block, we can reduce the number of strays and unowned cats breeding out of control. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Unfortunately, it’s been a tremendous challenge. The “no kill” movement seemed positive on the surface, but it didn’t address to root cause of animal overpopulation. Building bigger shelters, kitten nurseries & adoption centers took funds away from low-cost or free spay/neuter clinics and funding to entice veterinarians to pursue the training necessary to do high-volume spay/neuter. 

L.A. slowly became a spay/neuter desert, a small handful of clinics providing free or low-cost services & the number of animals, both cats & dogs, kept increasing. 

Free roaming cats, many of which statistics show were once owned pets weren’t a priority, there was zero community awareness about where all the kittens come from, why shelters are overflowing & why we need to do more than just foster & adopt. 

Access to enough spay/neuter has always been a monumental challenge while each year the number of cats that need to be spayed or neutered triples. 

Shelters aren’t breeding animals; we are & we, meaning every community needs to find a way to support humane solutions. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My part-time volunteer work is focused on collaborating with neighbors to ensure cats aren’t breeding out of control. Advocating for increased funds for spay/neuter so anyone has the ability to reduce the number of strays in our neighborhood & unwanted cats & kittens being discarded at shelters. 

Our community effort has been featured in Catser Magazine, a segment on Spectrum One, a documentary called Cat People the Documentary which focuses on issues related to cats as a species of domesticated animals. I was honored to be a speaker at CatCon 2020 & most recently given a commendation from the City of West Hollywood for helping them get their community cat program off the ground. 

Raising awareness about the overpopulation crisis, driving increased support for spay/neuter & inspiring community participation is my mission… 

What are your plans for the future?
We started a regionally focused collaborative effort to connect volunteers with free spay/neuter in the zip codes serviced by L.A.’s North Central Animal Shelter. Local businesses, even neighbors, have been providing funds for a Sunday mobile clinic. We’re now able spaying or neutering 140-150 cats per month as opposed to just 40-70 per month. 

Our goal is to secure funding to provide spay/neuter to more pets, not just free-roaming cats & increase local access & awareness. 

I’m an animal lover, my focus is on cats, but I truly believe every Angeleno should have the ability to make a positive impact on the welfare of L.A.’s animals. 

Contact Info:

• Website: savekittensLA.org
• Instagram: @LuxePaws