CLINIC HQ

3.16. Feral Cats – Scheduling & Services

Scheduling spay/neuter appointments for feral cats is a critical aspect of managing community cat populations.

This section will provide recommendations to the process of scheduling ferals, including how to use the e-apps system effectively.

How to Schedule Feral Cats on E-apps

  1. Settings > E-appointments > Edit the spay/neuter appointment type.
  2. For general preferences, tick the box to allow clients to mark if a cat will be arriving in a trap.
  3. The default animal type for all e-appointments is Owned. In order for the client to indicate they are bringing a feral cat in the e-appointment form, they must indicate that the cat is in a trap. We have found using the trap terminology to be the most effective in client understanding of a community cat versus pet.
  4. If a client ticks the trap checkbox, the Animal Type will automatically switch to Community Cat Feral.

If you have animal types constrained to different tiles on your calendar in Capacity Management settings, the appointment will be moved from the Owned animal type tile to your preset Community Cat Feral tile.

I heard of a clinic that uses “lion” to schedule feral cats.

Clinic HQ does not support the idea of using lion as a species to differentiate calendar capacities for feral cats.The client’s surgical consent form is incorrect and can create confusion for clients and staff.

Pricing Adjustments for Feral Cats

In Clinic HQ all cat animal types must use the same surgery line items: Cat Spay & Cat Neuter. You cannot request new line items such as Feral Cat Spay or Feral Cat Neuter or other similar titles. There are many reasons behind only utilizing the two cat surgery items already in the system including cleaner reporting on surgery totals, behind-the-scenes recognition of spay/neuter capabilities, and more.

Although you cannot create separate line items for feral cat spay/neuter procedures, you have several options for adjusting pricing:

  1. Create Packages.
    You can set up packages specifically for feral cat surgeries. This allows you to bundle services at a discounted rate. For more information on creating packages, visit Clinic HQ Packages.
  2. Set Up Subsidies.
    Subsidies can be used to adjust pricing for feral cats in two main scenarios:
  • Using a Grant: Apply a discount based on funding you receive for feral cat surgeries.
  • Billing for Discounted Portions: If you need to charge someone for the subsidized portion of the surgery.
  1. Learn more about subsidies HERE.

Additional Resources
If you’re encountering challenges or have further questions about scheduling and pricing, we recommend completing the HQ Courses in Clinic HQ University. This resource offers comprehensive training to help you understand how to set up items and pricing correctly. Access the courses here.