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| FERAL CAT TRAPPING (TNR): The Catnip society has a limited number of humane traps available by reservation to assist with feral cat trapping, relocation and TNR (trap/neuter/return) Please email us at: info@catnipsociety.org with your request and approximate numbers of cats involved and one of our members will be in touch and add your name to our waiting list.
OUR FIRST SUCCESSFUL “TRAP/NEUTER/RETURN” EVENT Contributed by "Catnipper" Jan, Catnip Society Board Member
We’ve been pretty busy these first few weeks of our existence; needless to say, we were overwhelmed by phone calls initially as folks realized there might be some answers to Mariposa’s cat problem. Almost everyone in this county has a “cat story” about a neighbor who moved away leaving all their cats behind, or about cats being dumped near their home, or simply appearing one day with a litter of tiny, helpless kittens. Who can resist helping these refugees?
In addition, it being the “kitten season”, we found ourselves unable to resist rescuing kittens from animal control when their sweet little faces looked out at us from their cages. Animal control staff were delighted as well. That led to an “Adoption Fair” at Oakhurst Feed Store on July 7th to find loving homes for the kittens, as well as some adult cats.
We were also fortunate to find loving homes as “ barn cats” for some of the older feral cats rescued as well. We have been able to locate wonderful people who understand ferals and can keep them in a safe place until they acclimate to their new surroundings, and who will also be responsible for their continuing care.
It is our goal to have all of the cats spayed or neutered right away. When that is not possible, we are doing a good job of follow-up to see that adopted kittens are altered in a timely manner.
Last Thursday, the 12th of July, we got our first opportunity to try out our “TNR” program. This stands for “Trap, Neuter, Return”, and involves trapping the cats, taking them to a veterinarian to be altered, and releasing them back to the same place where they were trapped. For this process to be successful, the owners of the property where the cats have their “colony” have to be willing to continue to feed and monitor the cats. This program has been shown to be highly successful in reducing cat populations in many areas of the country.
So, armed with several traps, two of our members arrived at the property where the ferals were living in the early evening. This “colony” had been abandoned by the next door neighbors when they left Mariposa. The owners of the property were very helpful, and the traps were baited with tuna and set. (The trap is designed in such a way that when the cat walks into the end of it to eat the food, the door is tripped and slams shut.)
The next morning all the traps were still empty. It was very disappointing to everyone, especially the owners. We all felt so badly that we scheduled another try for early the next week.
We were fortunate to have property owners who were intelligent and resourceful (desperation is the mother of invention). They fixed the traps so they would stay open, and put food in at the regular feeding times, and the mother and seven kittens grew used to eating in the traps.
When we were all ready to try again, it worked like a charm. (One kitten was missed on the first try, but came in later.) Mother and babies were whisked to the veterinarian, neutered and spayed as appropriate, and returned soon after recovering from surgery. ( A major reason for accomplishing this process quickly is to lessen the stress which a feral cat experiences upon being caged; time is of the essence.)
Another adjoining property owner was also now involved and offered a recovery room for the females consisting of a large cage in the hay barn. They would stay there at least 24 hours, and then be released.
Our second TNR project went even more smoothly. Again, we were blessed with a caring and helpful landowner who wanted the best possible life for her feral cats. They were easy to get into the traps, the same procedure was followed, and she reports they are all doing well.
These two projects resulted in the spaying and neutering of a total of twelve cats.
209-742-1023 (message center) PO Box 5008-304 Mariposa, California 95338 Email us: | |
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