Thursday, January 2, 2014

Pam's TNR Blog - 2/28/2010

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 2/28/10

Note: Photo taken after release of 53 cats at the W. side trailer park. Note the perfect eartip!

Saturday/Sunday 2/27 - 2/28

What a wild week this was! We had a special clinic on Sunday to help caregivers in financial need. When I first heard about it I knew where we would be - at the trailer park on the W. side where we'd been several times before. It took a while to set the job up as the caregiver did not have a phone. We'd be going for about 25 cats. My trapping team geared up and despite the rain we had a very successful trapping. All told we trapped 46 cats for the Sunday's clinic (so much for 25!). We go to use our new "water proof" trap covers and they worked great.

The cats were fixed on 2/28 and I had 46 cats in my garage for aftercare. This job required two vehicles. My next vehicle is going to be a Ford Transit Connect. I already measured and it will fit up to 38 traps and perhaps a few more. These big jobs can be a lot of work but well worth the effort.

That evening SJ and I went back to set more traps for the next day before going back to my garage to feed and water 46 cats.

Monday 3/1

We caught a couple more overnight but there were still a few more there. Early in the AM we set up the drop-trap in front of the trailer and caught a couple more. I set some traps near a vacant trailer on the next row and caught three cats. After an hour or so we had seven more to go to the vet that morning for a total of 53 cats TNR'd at this location. We'd already done about 30 others in this park and we were ahead of kitten season - at least in this park. Still, there were a lot more caregivers to help and it was already the beginning of March - litters would start coming soon. I like the saying; "nine lives not nine litters". These cats would be so much happier and healthier not breeding any longer...

The 46 cats were released and the seven cats taken to the vet that morning. We actually released the cats later in the AM as there was not room for more cats and the drop-trap. Vehicle space is often an issue.

I'd be back trapping Monday night at two places in N. Phoenix and aftercaring the seven in my garage. These two trapping jobs were the kind that make one want to give up. One had trapped before and would not listen and the cats were not cooperating. To make matters worse, the drop-trap door broke and one cat escaped. The other job had cats fed by a neighbor and a responsible neighbor trying to help. I ended up with three from the first job and five from the second for a total of eight cats.

Wednesday 3/3

I'd have the cats at the vet today and would be aftercaring them at my place. One caregiver caught two more cats overnight that would go to the vet in the AM. I had another job that night. This one made the top of the list for being difficult. After going to the wrong house on the street and trapping a cat (that needed fixing), I found the right house (barely standing!). The caregiver had been referred to me by the AHS and was living in substandard conditions feeding 15 cats. It was a borderline hoarding situation but the caregiver loved the cats. and took pretty good care of them. He was concerned about pregnant cats being spayed. It is often more challenging dealing with the caregivers than trapping the cats. However, my motto is "when the going gets tough the tough get going". Those who know me know me know I never give up if there are cats to be TNR'd.

Thursday 3/4

I caught a total of 18 cats and ended up at two vets. I had set traps overnight and they were full in the AM. One small kitten needed an eye removal and had to stay at the vet until the following Tuesday. I'd have 17 cats to aftercare after picking up at two vets.

Friday 3/5

I released the 17 cats in the AM and took cat food to the caregiver whose resources were clearly limited. He said he would call me when the pregnant cat had her kittens and said OK. I have not heard from him since. After the release I came home to work on setting up for the yard sale at my house the next day, 3/6. We had LOTs of stuff to sort so we'd be ready at 6:00 AM the next morning. Some volunteers came to help which was great. I actually love these yard sales despite the amount of work involved.

Saturday 3/6

The yard sale was a tremendous success. We made almost $1,000 and had a great time selling all kinds of stuff. Yard sales are an excellent way to make money to help feral cats. There are so many caregivers in need like the man this week with the 18 cats. It is heartbreaking to see female cats breeding until their entire life and often die of having litters...and because the feeder cannot afford to spay them. It is not their fault and they desperately need your help.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help cats in need. A donation of just $25 will help fix one female cat and save her life. To donate, please visit our website at:

http://www.spayneuterhotline.org/

Donations can also be mailed to:

ADLA
P.O. Box 33093
Phoenix 85067

Thank you for your support!







To sign up for our TNR program please call the hotline at: 602-265-7729 (SPAY)

1 comment:

  1. Love the eartip. It's easy to see that this cat has been fixed!

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