SIMI DOCTOR SEEKS HELPING HAND : 2ND CAT NEUTERING DAY SET.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Calling all veterinarians: Help control the city's cat population by offering low-cost spaying and neutering service to low-income cat lovers.

For the second year, veterinarian Lowell Novy, owner of Valley Veterinary Clinic, is offering the service to people who cannot otherwise afford to sterilize their feline pals - and this time he wants other area veterinarians to get in on the act.

``I'm hoping that if there's advertising, there will be other vets who will give some time,'' Novy said. ``I think it will have a whale of an impact, (but) it needs an army to be available to assist.''

At the March 2 Feline Spay/Neuter Day, Novy and two other veterinarians will spay and neuter cats for $5 per pet, a considerable discount from the going rate of $56 for females and $31 for males, he said.

Now the problem: With only three doctors to perform the procedure, only about three-quarters of the number of cats that were fixed last year can be done this time, he said.

``We did 100 last year, but this year we're going to have to limit it because we're one doctor short on the surgery thing,'' Novy said. ``But that's still a bunch, I'll tell you.''

It's difficult to tell how many unwanted cats are roaming the city's streets, Novy said. But frequently people who trap feral cats bring them to his Los Angeles Avenue clinic and he sterilizes the animals to help control their population.

It all goes with Novy's lifelong love for animals. As a child growing up in the plains of Kansas, Novy took care of injured ducks, pheasants and other wild animals.

After one year of premedical studies at the University of Kansas, Novy discovered he was better suited to working with animals.

``I just enjoyed working with the animals so much that I just felt I would be happier there,'' said Novy, 60. ``I took a shot at it and it worked.''

Since then, Novy has worked with various animal advocates - such as rescue groups - by offering steep discounts in treatment costs, he said.

``We've always had kind of a soft spot for organizations that try to assist animals, and dollars are kind of hard to come by,'' Novy said.

The March 2 service will be available only to those who can't afford the procedure's price.

``I won't feel good about people coming in with a Mercedes-Benz,'' Novy said. ``This is a community effort to assist those people who need help: that's what it's all about, and cut down the numbers of the unwanted.''

Though sterilizing 60 or 70 cats will make a considerable dent in the cat population, there will be an even greater impact if other veterinarians join in the effort.

``I would hope there would be other veterinary facilities out there that would avail themselves in assisting their community in this way,'' Novy said.

For information, call the Valley Veterinary Clinic at [phone].

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Photo: (Ran in Conejo and Simi--color in Simi only) Dr. Lowell Novy hopes fellow veterinarians will volunteer for Feline Spay/Neuter Day on March 2. Technician Diane Bentz holds a cat.

Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News