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Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday passed a long-awaited mandate for residents of the county’s unincorporated areas to spay or neuter and microchip their cats.

Although the number of stray dogs euthanized in county shelters has dropped in recent years, cats that get picked up continue to face grim prospects. Last year, the county Department of Animal Care and Control impounded 28,911 cats, and 21,055 of them were euthanized.

The county already requires dogs to be spayed or neutered and microchipped.

Vouchers of $50 to offset the cost of “fixing” the cats will be available for all county residents until the first $125,000 of funding is spent. After that, they will continue to be issued to low-income cat owners, Department of Animal Care and Control Director Marcia Mayeda said.

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