Sunday, January 19, 2014

Pam's TNR Blog - 2013 In Review

These cats are now fixed!
Welcome to Pam's new TNR blog! I am off to a great start in 2014 trying to get ahead of kitten season. Cats are already in-heat and we are seeing a few pregnant ones in the clinics...The photo to the right is of a caregiver we helped this week with 20 cats. She is elderly and feeds at about six locations in her apartment complex. The cats follow her around and even climb in her shopping cart she pushes around with the food and water for the cats.

2013 In Review

The Hotline statistics show just over 15,000 cats TNR'd in 2013. I personally TNR'd close to 1,700 cats last year. This was down from my record of over 2,200 cats in 2012. Priscilla Fund, my Charitable Foundation, helped fix 1,502 cats in 2013. Since 1999, when AzCATs began doing TNR in the Phoenix area, almost 115,000 free-roaming cats have been sterilized. I started compiling my yearly trapping statistics in 2008 and since then I have TNR'd 11,887 cats! These numbers, of course, do not include the kittens that were never born thanks to the efforts of all those involved in making TNR so successful over the years. There have been a lot of changes since 1999, some improvements and some setbacks, but despite the challenges we have managed to keep fixing more cats ever year. My hope is one day all cats will have homes, there will be no need for rescue groups to exist, and I can spend more time hiking and doing volunteer archeology...and of course reading more history and science books. Maybe even do some traveling - perhaps to Caye Caulker Island in Belize where they desperately need TNR.


The following are some highlights of 2013:



May 2013

Photo of Suzie drop-trapping next to the junk at Don's "compound" in South Phoenix We fixed close to 100 ferals there in May 2013 and we also helped fix several tame cats and close to 10 dogs for those who lived on Don's property. These people desperately needed our help. Many cats were done on Dr. Kit's mobile (thank you Dr. Kit!) and at the free AHS clinic in Sunnyslope.

This cat at Don's was reluctant to go under the drop-trap. Drop-trapping takes a lot of patience. Waiting for cats to cooperate is a good time to listen to audio books of talk on the phone.t at Don's was reluctant to go under the drop-trap. Drop-trapping takes a lot of patience. Waiting for cats to cooperate is a good time to listen to audio books of talk on the phone.

Waiting and waiting and waiting....
There are still more cats there to TNR. Don called last week and there are about six more needing to be fixed. It is important to follow up on new cats which can be difficult when one is feeding close to 100 cats!

June 2013

Newborn kittens in June 2013. These were too young to fix and when we called about fixing them 6-weeks later they had not survived. Kitten survival rate is very low...which is why cats
breed fast to make up for the low survival rate of their offspring.
What to do with kittens too small to fix?


Still not fixed!
September 2013

...and more kittens! This stunning calico mom and her kittens were found lying outside an apartment entrance in a complex I have been working in for years - yes, trying to fix all the residents free-roaming cats and their tame pets cats. The feeder would not cooperate and now the mom and kittens are still out there and have not been caught. 

I encourage caregivers to fix pregnant and lactating mother cats when they can as they may not get the opportunity. Now it is too late. 
The amount of time, energy and
money that goes in to trying to get the cats and kittens later is reason enough to fix them when one can. These kittens could also been used as bait. And, I even had a foster lined up!

December 2013

There were so many memorable   caregivers, clinics, situations and 
I am fixed!
photo in Cocoa Beach at the local beach hangout.
I was so excited when I saw he was ear-tipped. He seemed like the quintessential male cat just enjoying a day by the beach. There were so many memorable situations and challenges in 2013 - too many to include in this blog. 

If you need help with TNR of free-roaming cats in the Phoenix area, please call Pam @: 602-717-2287. 
You can also reach me by email @: pekalish@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for more TNR adventures in 2014! Please spread the word...TNR is the most humane and effective method of stabilizing free-roaming cat populations. For more information on colony manage to the Foundation for Homeless Cats website @: www.thefoundationforhomelesscats.org

Thank you for your support.










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