Life & Work with Cybele Parsignault of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cybele Parsignault

Hi Cybele, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
One of my earliest childhood memories—the dawn of my conscious awareness—is sitting on the floor by our front door as a black cat was placed in front of me. I was utterly fascinated! In hindsight, it’s no surprise that I eventually found my way into volunteering for cat rescue.

Today, along with a few others I met through the Buy Nothing group, I work to address cat-related situations in the mid-Wilshire area. Our efforts range from TNR (trap, neuter, return) to helping someone whose cat has had kittens and finding fosters or permanent homes, to caring for strays that suddenly appear on doorsteps—and everything in between.

What began as a few isolated cases in my immediate neighborhood has evolved into a network of mostly women who live throughout the city and are connected through multiple text chains. We share updates on new situations, fosters available, adoption events for cats that need homes, and so much more.

As far as funding goes, we rely on low-cost or free spay and neuter services from places like Fix Nation and Quality Animal Clinic, but more options are desperately needed—especially when medical situations arise, as they always do. These expenses are rarely free and often come out of our own pockets or through fundraising efforts when possible. While I’m not formally part of any specific rescue organization, I’ve managed to place cats into rescues when needed but it’s not easy and I simply prefer to operate independently.

Los Angeles is increasingly overrun with cats, and the problem grows more urgent each year. Because cats are so skilled at hiding and quietly living among us, many people are unaware of just how many are out there. But for those of us in the rescue community, the scale of the issue is impossible to ignore. And so, we continue our work—one cat at a time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The lack of free and low cost spay/neuter services for companion cats and free roaming community cats is the greatest challenge. While LAAS (Los Angeles Animal Services) does provide vouchers to cover some or all of the cost go spay/neuter, many vet clinics do not take them. This greatly limits affordable options.

Without spay/neuter services readily and easily available and affordable to all, regardless of financial circumstances, the overpopulation crisis continues.

With an estimated 1-3 million stray or community cats in Los Angeles, there needs to be aggressive education and promotion of TNR (trap neuter return) to the general public. If people are given guidance and resources, they can then be responsible for their own neighborhood.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Some resources that help the cat communites:
https://heavenlypets.org/ – Heaven on Earth Sanctuary for Animals
https://fixnation.org/ – they fix thousands of pet and stray cats a year. We need more Fix Nations in Los Angeles County.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My definition of success is getting a cat fixed and vaccinated! I’m not sure how many I’ve fixed over the past 8 years but it’s probably a few hundred.