"These are my patients."

Cathy Mikesell and her team are the only Humane Society veterinarians in Western Montana

The Humane Society of Western Montana hired DVM Cathy Mikesell after being awarded an ASPCA grant that allowed them to upgrade their medical equipment, making them the only animal shelter in Western Montana able to provide veterinary services. The equipment and staff are atypical to animal shelters, but allow for frequent low-income spay/neuter clinics that help keep animals out of the shelter in the long run. The clinic can also offer veterinary assistance to smaller shelters in rural Montana, helping keep their animals healthier at less cost. 

Humane Society of Western Montana veterinarian Cathy Mikesell reaches for her tools during a dental surgery for a small dog on March 2, 2020. Mikesell is the clinic's first full-time veterinarian.

Human Society Clinic Coordinator Ryan Jette, left, and veterinary assistant Mason DeMagio lay a cat down on the surgical table after prepping it for a neuter during a low-income spay/neuter clinic on Feb. 27, 2020. Since hiring a full-time veterinarian, the clinic moved from having only 3-6 low-income spay/neuter clinics a year to having them twice a week. This lowered the demand and increased the attention the vet can provide to each pet, making the clinics safer and more humane.

Veterinarian Cathy Mikesell removes a female cat's ovaries during a spay surgery on Feb. 27, 2020. Mikesell started the morning with the spay, which takes longer because it is more invasive, then moved on to the five neuter operations. These surgeries cost pet owners only $25, in comparison to spending more than $100 for a surgery at a private clinic in Missoula.

Clinic coordinator Ryan Jette shaves a male cat's surgical field during surgery preparation. The spay/neuter clinic runs efficiently — with Jette prepping the next patient by inoculating, cleaning, shaving and medicating while the surgeon, Cathy Mikesell, works on the preceding animal.

Veterinarian Cathy Mikesell waits for her team to finish surgery prep on the final cat of the morning during a spay/neuter clinic. “The grant allows us to be more efficient and to help more animals,” Mikesell said. “And then if we’re a little bit faster, maybe we can help more and more and do a little more.”

Veterinary team member Sarah Muller lifts a cat off the surgical table to take it to recovery after a neuter surgery. To help the cats recover and wake up from the anesthesia more easily, the team will paint super water on the cat's lips while it sleeps, giving it a little energy boost when it first become conscious.

Veterinary assistant Mason DeMedio strokes the head of the first patient of the morning, a female spay, as she wakes up from anesthesia. A grant from the ASPCA allowed the clinic to buy heated recovery cages for the animals after surgery, which contribute to healthier recoveries.

Catrina Rhodes, left, picks up her cat, Willis, at the end of the day after a neuter surgery while clinic coordinator Ryan Jette explains what she should expect for the next few days. Rhodes explained that bringing Willis for veterinary services at the Humane Society saved her hundreds of dollars compared to a private-practice vet, making it affordable to have the procedure done, and reducing the risk that Willis will reproduce, leaving her responsible for kittens she would not be able to afford.

Vetrinarian Cathy Mikesell pauses during her rounds on March 3, 2020 to say hello to a recovering patient, and check in on their health. “I take pride and these are my patients,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to give them care that they wouldn’t normally get.”