The Facts of Feline Life
One unspayed female can give birth three or four times during the course of one year and have up to six kittens each time. These offspring in turn can start reproducing at only six months old. The numbers quickly multiply. An unaltered cat and their offspring can produce over 400,000 cats in 7 years. Some well meaning animal lovers have no clue this will be the case and find themselves quickly overrun. We work in our communities to raise awareness on the importance of spay-neuter for family pets and the benefits of Trap-Neuter-Release in our rural feral cat colonies.
What is a Feral Cat?
Homeless cats that have had little or no human contact and cannot be easily approached or handled are referred to as “feral.” Feral cats exist in every community due to “our” failure to spay and neuter. Feral cats are not pet cats, and they will be killed at most shelters. Killing the victims of our negligence should not be a consideration. Our focus is to reduce local feral cat colonies by implementing a trap-neuter-return [TNR] program and to educate the public on the benefits of this non-lethal method of population control.
What is TNR?
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is an effective, internationally recognized program developed to reduce, and eventually eliminate, feral cat colonies. Cats are trapped, vaccinated for rabies and distemper, spayed or neutered, ear tipped for identification and returned to their original location where they are fed and maintained by the former owners or other volunteers. Sick and injured cats are tended to. Young kittens and any friendly adults are placed into our foster homes where they are socialized and readied for adoption.
Trap, neuter, and return does work! No more kittens. The size of the colony is gradually reduced naturally over time. The annoying behaviors of mating cats, such as yowling or fighting, stop. The cats and the community are protected against the spread of dangerous diseases. Ongoing care of the colony creates a safety net for both the cats and the community.
Solving the Problem
Through fundraising and generous donations, we are able to provide low cost spay-neuter for individuals and families with one or more cats as well as large farm cat colonies. If you or someone you know has a need, please do not hesitate to contact us for a quote. Spay-neuter costs can vary according to location, the number of animals involved and your personal financial situation. We have worked on colonies of up to 50+ cats. If it is a large colony we will visit to estimate it’s size, costs and the length of time it will take to trap all the cats involved.
Please, be a part of the solution, spay-neuter today!