The Operation Catnip Community Cat Management Summer Fellowship is a 10-week intensive program intended to provide veterinary students with invaluable experience in all aspects of community cat management. The Operation Catnip staff works very closely with caregivers, stakeholders in the community, veterinary schools, and local animal welfare organizations toward improving the treatment of community cats. Applications are due February 14, 2026. The program runs May 18 – July 25, 2026.
What is Operation Catnip?
Since its creation in July of 1998, Operation Catnip of Gainesville has sterilized over 100,000 cats in Alachua County and the surrounding areas. By offering surgical and clinical opportunities to qualified veterinary students, we have been training the next generation of our country’s veterinarians for over 20 years. Operation Catnip of Gainesville has evolved to become a model for TNR clinics all over the world, and regularly consults with shelters, rescues, and veterinary clinics to offer guidance and expertise in the realm of community cat care.
Today, we remain focused on hosting clinics for the sterilization and vaccination of community cats, training veterinary students interested in shelter medicine and community cat management, providing trap rental services for the public to participate in our spay-neuter clinics, and educating our community about compassionate care for these cats.
The Opportunity
Fellows will enjoy 10 weeks of immersion in all things related to humane community cat management. Operation Catnip’s spay-neuter clinics see approximately 55 patients three to four times per week, with additional wellness-only days for kittens. You will find all manner of temperaments, colors, and medical mysteries amongst our patients. While our primary goal is spay-neuter, you’ll find that we think outside the box and offer a variety of clinical and surgical treatments to go beyond sterilization to improve the lives of these special cats. We perform enucleations, amputations, hernia repairs, entropion repairs, wound care, and more through our Critical Care Program. Your treatment plans will be puzzled together based on the cat’s condition and temperament, as well as the resources available, giving you first-hand experience with the creative decision-making skills required in shelter medicine work. Fellows will work with our caregivers and trappers, intake animals for daily clinics, assist in medical exams, and either learn or hone their spay-neuter skills.
In addition to our spay-neuter services and Critical Care Program for community cats, you’ll become familiar with our other sub-programs: the Working Cat Program and the Kitten Shelter Diversion Program. Our Working Cat Program partners with shelters and rescues to place under-socialized cats in non-traditional homes such as barns, farms, businesses, and more. Our Kitten Shelter Diversion Program provides sterilization and wellness care to friendly, highly adoptable kittens within our community. Instead of these kittens receiving intake into our already overburdened shelters and rescues, caregivers use their own social networks or community rehoming resources to find loving homes for these kittens. The KSD program keeps about 1,400 kittens out of shelters each year. That’s also 1,400 fewer cats outdoors!
Fellows will have the opportunity to work with our executive director, operations director, medical director, and other staff to learn the ins and outs of all things Operation Catnip. In addition to daily participation in our spay-neuter clinics, they will meet one-on-one with our senior staff to cover topics relating to the following:
- Routine Medical Care
- Common Diseases and Treatments
- Pathway Planning
- Partnership Networking
- Kitten Shelter Diversion
- Working Cats
- Social Media Programming
- Clinic and Deployment Planning
- Fundraising, Development, and Advancement
- Administration
- Public Policy
Who should apply?
The ideal candidate would be a veterinary student seeking a future career in HQHVSN, community cat management, and/or shelter medicine. Students should be passionate about cats and should enjoy working with people, including underserved populations. Students of all experience levels are welcome to apply. Opportunities to perform surgery will be dependent on each student’s experience and competency. This is a rigorous full-time position with substantial time spent outdoors in the Florida summer and accompanying online courses.
Eligibility Criteria & Desired Skills
- Currently attending an AVMA accredited veterinary school
- Commit to working the summer semester: May 18 – July 25, 2026
- Hold a valid driver’s license and clean driving record
- Willing to drive own vehicle for activities
- Have a current titer on pre-exposure rabies vaccination
- Eligible to work in the United States
- Average 40 hours per week, including evenings and weekends (nor including coursework)
- Enthusiasm and buy-in to Operation Catnip’s programs, TNR, and community cats
- Ability to work with diverse groups
- Strong organizational and time-management skills
- Excellent communication skills in person, over phone, and in writing
- Ability to think creatively, often thinking outside the box to solve problems
Students will be Provided
- $4000 Stipend
- Tuition-free access to Shelter Medicine Courses at the University of Florida
- Travel and lodging for a weeklong Shelter Camp at Miami Dade Animal Services with the UF Shelter Medicine Program
Required courses
Completed previously or during the Fellowship
Students will be simultaneously enrolled in 3 Shelter Medicine courses to be completed online during the fellowship at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida. The final week of the fellowship will be spent down south at Miami Shelter Camp!
How to Apply
- Complete the online application form
- Upload your veterinary school transcript (unofficial OK)
- Upload resume (requires Gmail login)
- Applications are due by February 14, 2026
- Finalists will be contacted for an interview (in-person or virtual)
- Selections will be announced by March 7, 2026
- Program starts May 18, 2026 and ends July 25, 2026
More Information
Learn more about Operation Catnip
Learn more about UF Shelter Medicine Courses
Contact: Melissa Jenkins, Operations Director, melissa.jenkins@ocgainesville.org