Grant funds TNR for Trenton's street cats

The headline included a startling number: “14,000 stray cats.” That’s how many feral, stray, wild and street cats – none of those terms defined, BTW, though they’re seemingly used interchangeably – live in Trenton.

These are the cats without homes, regular meals or veterinary care who still somehow survive in the city.

Now, according to today’s Trenton Times story, an organization trying to control cat colonies and cut down on cat euthanasia as a solution is working with the Trenton Animal Shelter to trap, neuter and release cats.

Thanks to a grant of $10,000 from PetSmart, Trenton Trap, Neuter, Release can offer reduced prices for neutering cats -- $15 for a street cat and $35 for a pet cat. Once neutered, cats are returned to where they had been. Over time, their colonies get smaller as reproduction stops.

The organization is headed by Sandra Obi, a Trenton resident who started TNR on her own block when she moved to town six years ago. She’s also affiliated with Project TNR of the Animal Protection League of NJ (www.APLNJ.org).

The sequence goes like this: Once a week, with some of its 70 volunteers, Trenton TNR rounds up “feral stray and street cats for health screenings and immunizations. The cats are also spayed or neutered.”

Once the cats are returned to their original areas, residents serve as their caregivers. They check for new cats and have newcomers vaccinated and fixed.

“It costs animal control between $100 and $120 per animal to capture and euthanize a cat,” Obi said. So not only is TNR a humane way to deal with this problem that humans have caused, but it’s also cheaper.
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St. Thomas no ‘paradise’ for resident cats

A few closing words on feral cats and spay/neuter on St. Thomas (a.k.a. “America’s paradise”). In a recent note, Dellia indicated the island vets want to raise their prices for this procedure. This pricing situation keeps getting worse.

Even with a spay/neuter van on the island, the process still requires veterinarians’ cooperation. Last fall, a vet from Texas visited, and in two days, more than 100 cats were spayed or neutered in that van. It can be done!

In fact, Dellia points to cat colonies at both the Marriott resort and Magen’s Bay that are 100% “done.” However, that figure holds up only till more people dump their cats at those sites knowing they’ll be fed at the cat cafes. Unless such newcomers have been neutered, the result will be more and more kittens.

Overriding every other problem is that of food. What Dellia says is most needed is a source of wholesale cat food. Right now, she buys it and/or uses whatever is donated – a system that probably can’t go on indefinitely.

All in all, while at first I was delighted to hear about the cat cafes and TNR on St. Thomas, I’ve learned that the picture is not as rosy as I first thought, or wanted to believe. Numerous obstacles exist, including the very people who would be expected to want to save cats’ lives, instead of putting them down.

“America’s paradise” – that may be true for people, but definitely not for cats.
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About an advoCAT (and TNR)

Cats, especially ferals, need all the friends they can get. The link here leads to a story in NewJerseyNewsroom.com about a major friend of cats who has been respectfully nicknamed "AdvoCAT."

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/feral-cat-concerns-trap-neuter-return-tnr-is-this-advocates-answer
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Activism ops

I. If you believe “The most responsible way to help outdoor cats is to ensure that no kittens are born,” and that “Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only effective, humane way to control the outdoor, feral cat population” -- and if you want to help feral cats in your own area -- consider attending the Trap-Neuter-Return Workshop Saturday, November 21, at the Ewing Branch Library (61 Scotch Road, Ewing).

Sponsored by the Animal Protection League of NJ (formerly NJ Animal Rights Alliance), the workshop will run from 1-4 pm. A registration fee of $10 covers bound reference materials and light refreshments.

To reserve ahead as required, phone 732-446-6808 or write to Sandra.Obi@aplnj.org. For more information on TNR, visit http://www.projecttnr.com/.
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II. Think again about getting involved in the anti-fur movement. Think about how fur coats and fur trim and fur boots happen. It’s gruesome and barbaric. And it’s unnecessary – no one in today’s world needs fur to keep warm – except the animals who originally wear it.

The following paragraph comes from a reminder about a demonstration this weekend. Julie, the writer, is a school teacher and mother of twins, besides everything else. Yet for years now, she has also been a prime mover behind this anti-fur effort. You can tell from her message how committed she is.

***** Please join me this Sat. Nov. 14th - I don't cancel for rain. Only check website for cancellation if it is downpouring, which it is not supposed to be. Being out in sometimes lousy weather shows people that we are dedicated to the cause of helping animals. These foxes, mink, and chinchillas are kept outside in wire mesh cages in all weather. It's theleast I can do to bring attention to their suffering for an hour and a half. Please help me speak out for them. – Julie *****

The fur trade is very ugly. Check Julie’s website, http://www.caafgroup.com/, for info on other demonstrations, including the big one in NYC on “Fur-free Friday.”
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National feral cat day

This Friday, October 16, is National Feral Cat Day, brought to us by Alley Cat Allies, “the cats’ leading advocate.”

One place that really should not need feral cat-advocacy at this point, yet clearly does, is nearby Ewing Township. For months, the animal shelter there has been the focus of attention and dissention via newspaper coverage and activists’ energy directed against the mayor and town council. Of course, the animals involved, who can’t speak for themselves, are caught in the middle, helpless.

It recently became even more upsetting because a number of trapped feral cats at the shelter were threatened with death. It’s not known right now whether they were euthanized today, as threatened.

Ewing officials seem to have no idea of what feral cats are all about. One council member has reportedly described them as a “health hazard,” when in fact Ewing officials themselves seem to constitute the worst possible health hazard for cats.

Trapping feral cats is only step one of the three-part program called “Trap, Neuter, Release (sometimes “Return”),” or TNR. Widely known and practiced, although not in Ewing, the program builds on the reality that feral cats are wild cats who live in colonies. They will keep reproducing (and increasing colony size) unless they are neutered or spayed.

After being sterilized, feral cats should be returned to their colony. By definition, feral cats aren’t looking for a home; they don’t want to cuddle on our couches, as Alley Cat Allies’ website warns. They’ve learned to live outdoors, and that’s the place they prefer. Once an entire colony is neutered or spayed, they can’t reproduce, and over time, they die out. (Note: feral kittens sometimes can be socialized and adopted.)

For reasons unknown, Ewing has not accepted the idea of TNR. In fact, Ewing seems to lack any coherent plan for what to do with animals at large in the township as well as animals in the so-called “shelter” there.

Alley Cat Allies urges people to “get informed.” What better time to do this than on or before National Feral Cat Day, this Friday? Here’s the link to basic info on ferals:
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=434
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