Trap, neuter, release roundup

"Lynne" wrote in message
m...

You are a lovely person. Truly.

Thanks... 'Guess it depends on who you ask around here though.

How anyone can abandon a pet cat is beyond my comprehension...

I've got one here that I know was abandoned and two more that I strongly
suspect were. I

"22brix" wrote in message
...

That's wonderful! You've done a great thing.

Once again, I haven't done anything - just a little hands on help when the
project got underway.

We have a feral now who we neutered a year or two ago that has started
following me around outside, talking the entire time. He's wary of me and
won't let me touch him but seems to like my dog just fine, actually coming
up to her and sniffing her nose. I'm pretty sure he was "pre-owned" but
he's just not quite ready to trust humans yet.

I wonder how many actually will recover trust once something like
abandonment happens? Ol' Jaws is proof that they do - but then again, he was
fairly recently abandoned too. 'Hasn't had enough hardships behind him to
make him to make him tough yet.

Tell me about It I live near Orlando, Florida :-(


"RobZip" no wrote in message
.. .

"Matthew" wrote in message
...ation
If future TNR projects depend on the success of this one for funding, it
should be a no-brainer to open up the wallets.


Easier said than done for some reason getting the public to help animals
can be very difficult. We did fund raisers all the time even when I was
backing the shelters I used to be involved with till the political
bull**** happened here in Florida.

It seems they have some source of funding in the works. Since it is most
likely a private source, they obviously aren't going to disclose any info
regarding who or how much. Fine by me.
I lived in Jacksonville for 9 years and another 2 years in the Tampa area.
Florida and political BS are almost synonymous aren't they?

"RobZip" no wrote in message
.. .

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:%n%Yg.4278$Z46.3469@trndny05...

40 cats trapped in 2 days is pretty damn good! How many trappers and
how
many traps? Are all the cats concentrated in one or two colonies or are
they
all spread out? You must have a huge holding area and a couple of great
vets.

The largest concentration was at my home. I've had a pretty stable number
at
around 10 or 11 regulars plus a few recluses that only come in when its
very
quiet around here. There was one other small colony that I know of - maybe
5
or so. The rest were spread out remnants of litters here and there, and
several solo adults. There were probably 3 people total working the traps,
one from Cat Haven, two from the Humane Society. I would guesstimate from
what I saw, about 25 traps in use or available. Most of the cats trapped
here were transported in the traps to the locations where the neutering
will
be done. After a few escapes early on it was deemed too risky to try
transferring them to carriers. The Humane Society has a few surgery rooms
available and a pretty fair amount of holding space. Angels For Animals
likewise has a surgical suite. I was told the cats would be spread amongst
those two places and some of the local veterinary offices that are helping
out. The one vet I know of that works with HS is my old vet from years
back
when he first started his practice - very good doctor and real nice guy. I
don't know how many local vets are involved but it must be at least 3 or 4
of them. This is being written at around 7:30am Tuesday. The cats were to
have their surgery yesterday and today, then be returned. Current weather
is
49 degrees with rain forcast until mid afternoon, so it may be well into
tomorrow before my crew comes back.

That's what amazes me - the degree of cooperation between these groups.
There was almost a civil war of sorts within the Humane Society a few
years
back that lead to the director being fired. She in turn started Angels For
Animals and continued to be very publicly vocal on her opposition to
Humane
Society open shelter policies. She had replaced a director who was in
office
during the building of their new facility. That woman was a pure nut case
who elected to go with $20,000 worth of solid oak doors in areas facing
public parts of the facility rather than concentrate the money where it
needed to be spent. The new building went many 10's of thousands of
dollars
over budget and caused a serious financial crisis for quite a long time.

A new director came on board at the Humane Society about 2 years ago and
they became a no-kill shelter. Some time after that, a new era of
cooperation between the groups started. In addition to projects like this
TNR, they now alternate being on call for injured animal referral calls
from
local law enforcement. It's sad that it took so long to get everybody
pulling in the same direction 'cause the animals suffered for it.
Considering the state of affairs around here over the past several years,
I
was quite surprised when all of these groups stepped up in unison to help
deal with this situation. I am not affiliated with any of these
organizations. When they came to my area and announced their plan, I was
wholeheartedly in favor of it. All I had to offer was some information
and
an extra pair of hands when it was time to trap. If future TNR projects
depend on the success of this one for funding, it should be a no-brainer
to
open up the wallets.


Its unusual to see different groups cooperate. Where I am, whenever the
County gets involved there's trouble. I'm really happy that your groups got
the job done.

One of the counties in California- I think it was Santa Clara or Santa Ana-
did a cost comparison, awhile back- about 10 years ago, between TNR and
trap, hold and kill. The cost of TNR per cat was about $50 whereas THK then
was about $75- times a few thousand offspring. The numbers made sense and
raised a few eyebrows. I'll dig out the report and send to you if you like-
you might be able to use it as a guideline or pass it on to someone. Usually
the only language bureaucrats understand is money.

My County's shelter is heading for some changes, too- for the better- come
election day.

Keep me posted on the progress of the project- I love to hear success
stories.

Phil

"22brix" wrote in message
...

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:%n%Yg.4278$Z46.3469@trndny05...
This a shrewd little girl that was very trapwise- I had to use a
drop-trap
to get her. I think she's gorgeous- but she definitely has the Calico
demon
gene! lol! http://www.maxshouse.com/Feral/Delilah.jpg Ain't she
beautiful?



She looks like she's full of it!! Incredible eyes. Phil, you've got some
beautiful cats there--enjoyed the pictures of the three orange cats as
well.

The three kittens' mother was hit by car right in front of them. Now
they're inseparable. If I take one out of the room the others cry until
he's back. Its going to rough finding someone who will adopt 3 kittens.

I have two other permanant fosters, brother and sister
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franky+Fanny_cage2.jpg They were kept in a
basement by themselves for their first year of life and in a cage for the
next 6 months.

http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franki...cratch_814.jpg
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/F+F+plat-post.jpg

What can I say? I'm a mush for the hard luck cases.

Phil

"RobZip" no wrote in message
.. .

"22brix" wrote in message
...

That's wonderful! You've done a great thing.

Once again, I haven't done anything - just a little hands on help when the
project got underway.

We have a feral now who we neutered a year or two ago that has started
following me around outside, talking the entire time. He's wary of me and
won't let me touch him but seems to like my dog just fine, actually coming
up to her and sniffing her nose. I'm pretty sure he was "pre-owned" but
he's just not quite ready to trust humans yet.

I wonder how many actually will recover trust once something like
abandonment happens? Ol' Jaws is proof that they do - but then again, he
was fairly recently abandoned too. 'Hasn't had enough hardships behind him
to make him to make him tough yet.

Our feral (Zorro for the scars on his face) has actually started acting
friendlier over the last 3 or 4 months. I think it took him awhile to
forgive me for trapping him! I've seen some cats that seem almost pitifully
grateful that someone has taken them in so some do learn to trust again.
Most of my cats are rescues and I just get so angry when people treat them
like disposables.

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:z3fZg.3708$Dg5.2274@trndny09...

"22brix" wrote in message
...

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:%n%Yg.4278$Z46.3469@trndny05...
This a shrewd little girl that was very trapwise- I had to use a
drop-trap
to get her. I think she's gorgeous- but she definitely has the Calico
demon
gene! lol! http://www.maxshouse.com/Feral/Delilah.jpg Ain't she
beautiful?



She looks like she's full of it!! Incredible eyes. Phil, you've got
some
beautiful cats there--enjoyed the pictures of the three orange cats as
well.

The three kittens' mother was hit by car right in front of them. Now
they're inseparable. If I take one out of the room the others cry until
he's back. Its going to rough finding someone who will adopt 3 kittens.

I have two other permanant fosters, brother and sister
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franky+Fanny_cage2.jpg They were kept in a
basement by themselves for their first year of life and in a cage for the
next 6 months.

http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franki...cratch_814.jpg
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/F+F+plat-post.jpg

What can I say? I'm a mush for the hard luck cases.

Phil



Those cats are lucky you're taking care of them!

"22brix" wrote in message
...

Our feral (Zorro for the scars on his face) has actually started acting
friendlier over the last 3 or 4 months. I think it took him awhile to
forgive me for trapping him! I've seen some cats that seem almost
pitifully
grateful that someone has taken them in so some do learn to trust again.


I think you're right. I trapped one of my ferals on a cold and rainy
November night. After I got her inside I put her near a heating register
and bent a piece a cardboard around the cage to make a cove to hold the heat
in so she'd warm up quickly. It didn't take very long for her to trust me.
It really seemed like she realized I was helping her. It took a few months
before she would venture out into the outdoor pen- it seemed like she was
afraid she wouldn't be able to get back in. A few years later, she was a
complete mush.


Most of my cats are rescues and I just get so angry when people treat them
like disposables.

Tell me about it. You wouldn't believe some of the utterly stupid reasons
people have given me for surrending their pets. A lot of people in my
position try to talk the people into keeping their cat or dog. Not me! I
want to get the animal away from them as soon as possible because they'll
only end up disposing of the animal- possibly cruelly- later.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:kLeZg.5392$IW6.869@trndny01...
Its unusual to see different groups cooperate. Where I am, whenever the
County gets involved there's trouble. I'm really happy that your groups
got
the job done.

I guess I should clarify that although known as Humane Society of Allen
County, it does not get any public funding. It is run entirely off donations
and various ongoing fundraisers. The county does not even fund the salary of
the cruelty officer - the Humane Society does.

I'll dig out the report and send to you if you like-
you might be able to use it as a guideline or pass it on to someone.
Usually
the only language bureaucrats understand is money.

Please do.

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:z3fZg.3708$Dg5.2274@trndny09...
I have two other permanant fosters, brother and sister
http://www.maxshouse.com/Ours/Franky+Fanny_cage2.jpg They were kept in a
basement by themselves for their first year of life and in a cage for the
next 6 months.

The one on the right is the exact double of the most recent arrival here,
Jaws! Jaws is being very persistent about adopting us. I figure that over
time my wife will simply run out of air on the subject and accept him being
here. I put him outside in the early morning hours just so she can share the
joy when he squeezes past her feet to get back inside as she leaves for
work.