TNR | Savannah's Paw Tracks

Archive for the tag “TNR”

22 Jun 2020

TNR during Covid19: Another story

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!

I just know my readers are going to be innerested in the work Mom L and Dad P and I have been doing through our Project Delta View Cats (PDVC) group. You know I posted about our efforts to rescue kittens, spay mom cats, while our municipal shelter remains in modified shut down.

We received a distressed request from residents in our city of Pittsburg, CA about a mom cat and her one baby they had just started feeding in their apartment complex. They asked if we could possible help them get mom cat and kitten trapped and spayed/neutered and then coach them about how to try to socialize both mom cat and kitten!! We were on board for sure!!

Mom cat and kitten were living in a tiny crawl space under one of the apartment buildings, right next to the loudest air conditioning units you can imagine. Those units a clear in the video above.

The residents were able to trap the kitten, and then use the kitten’s cries to entice mom cat into a trap. YAY!! Now we are able to help both of them.

She appears to be a lynx point type Siamese kitty. The surgery clinic believed she is only about eight to ten months old herself. She weighed about five pounds.

The residents named mom cat “Conchita” and the kitten “Tomas”. In the photo above Conchita is safe back from her spay surgery and as you can see, she is very scared.

Tomas on the other paw, within two days of being brought inside and after his own surgery, was happy to receive a very gentle ear cleaning and mani pedi—after which he fell asleep in one of his human’s arms.

Tomas settled in quickly and he is warming up to his foster humans. All he needs is time.

He is learning to play and get comfortable with being held.

Tomas still wanted to nurse on Conchita yet he is fully weaned. It is clear that Conchita is a very comforting and caring mom cat. She allowed Tomas to nurse whenever he wanted and she just fell asleep!!

The story of Conchita and Tomas is far from over. We still need to support the new fosters in trying to socialize Conchita. It will be a very sad day if the fosters must release her. She is so young and so precious.

As for Tomas, even if the fosters are not able to adopt him, he will certainly have a forever home just for him.

Please, during this pandemic, remember all those cat rescues who are dedicated to saving as many mom cats and kittens as possible during this trying kitten season, consider fostering or at least donating to your local TNR groups.

MORE PURR, LESS HISS!

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

Posted in Community Cats, Feral Kitten Rescue, foster kitties, Project Delta View Cats, TNR and tagged feral cat rescue, KITTEN SEASON, TNR

18 May 2020

10 Comments

TNR during COVID 19 is challenging

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

I know some of my readers are active in doing Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) in their local areas in the USA. I sure do hope some will leave comments about how they are able to keep doing this work during this COVID 19 pandemic.

As for our Project Delta View Cats, our work has been cut back to doing very little on the targeted TNR side. Our challenge is two fold. First, it is no longer possible for us to continue to canvas neighborhoods, door to door, during this time to try to find where abandoned community cats are being fed in our targeted neighborhoods. Even wearing a mask doesn’t encourage anyone to open their door for us to talk with them. Secondarily, most spay/neuter municipal clinics are closed and only recently did our local non-profit owned clinic open on a limited basis.

All this at the very moment we are ready for kitten season. A perfect storm is brewing.

Nonetheless, we can respond to humans who contact us for help. You already know about our efforts to get sweet Cleopatra and darling Sweet Baby Girl help.

Cleopatra was found abandoned at a marina colony near us. She is now in her forever home with one of our volunteers.

You also know about Baby Girl, abandoned in a residential area in our marina. Remember she had four kittens and suffered a broken front leg.

A growing concern for us is emerging as we are learning more about how community cats may contract COVID 19 from humans who are positive for or asymptomatic of COVID 19. So much more needs to be learned about this human to feline transmission.

Just before our county issues a “shelter in place” order, Project Delta View Cats learned about a large, neglected abandoned community cat colony in our city that we serve. One of our dedicated volunteers is working ever so hard to trap out this large colony of what appears to be about 100 cats. These cats were abandoned long ago in an industrial area behind a strip mall anchored by a grocery store on one end and a Home Depot on the other end. There are no residential areas close by so next to not access to viable food sources. These cats are starving, underfed, underweight, injured and sick. They scrounge in dumpsters in hopes of finding a scrap of food.

This video is about one minute long, but if you will just watch the first 30 seconds, you will get the picture of what our volunteer found.

Thanks to the cat clinic that is open now for about 3-4 days a week, our volunteer has been able to TNR about fifty cats including ten kittens who went to adoption. Unfortunately, the cats are now trap savvy and we need access to the business where the cats have found enough hiding holes to make home. We have enlisted the assistance of our partner, Contra Costa Animal Services in hopes of convincing the owner to allow on property to continue to finally trap out this large colony.

Here is a slideshow of some of the cats we have been able to TNR. Thanks to Community Concern For Cats clinic for funding these services.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We have had to euthanize one orange male, too ill to save and one kitty in the slideshow had major surgery but is recovering and will be healthy enough soon to release. I know all of you have struggles in your own neighborhoods and communities during this challenging pandemic time with how to continue to help keep TNR alive and working. Please consider donating to your local TNR rescues, they really need help.

Let me hear from you in comments about what’s going on with TNR in your area during this time.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

Posted in Community Cats, TNR and tagged Community Cats, TNR

07 May 2018

16 Comments

Another SNIP Clinic—We keep on rollin’!

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

Another SNIP (Spay, Neuter Impact Program) clinic has come and gone. Mom L and Dad P were on duty yet again in early April for their favorite way to spend a Sunday—working a SNIP clinic. This time they also volunteered to help with setting up the county animal services shelter space so’s it would be all ready for the cats and volunteers the next day. The set-up is done as soon as the shelter closed on Saturday at 5PM. And with all there is to do, the hand full of volunteers who helped were done by 6:30PM!! AMAZING!!

First they have to lay down paper everywhere they will be walking except in the surgery area. That paper has to be taped down and it takes like a bazillion yards of paper let me tell you!

And then they have to clean out all the area they need back in surgery. The shelter uses some of the space SNIP needs for storage like this space below.

Store room by week day and vaccination room SNIP Sundays

You should have seen this space before SNIP volunteers moved stuff out. It was packed!

On SNIP Sunday that room becomes critical to the cats’ final medication administration. Here they receive flea/tick treatment, all their vaccinations and any other final meds required.

The other space that really needs lots of set up is the other part of the surgery where the cats are shaved and readied for surgery.

You can see there is a lot of stuff behind Dad P walking along there in the first photo. By surgery morning, this area is ready to rock and roll gettin’ the kitties’ all prepped for their surgeries.

Clearing the surgery prep area

Everything goes into closet to right

They also get a good thorough checking for any other medical needs like abscesses, mani/pedi needs, ears cleaned and whatnot.

Finally on SNIP Sunday the cats start comin’ in to be registered. As my regular readers know, all the cats must be brought inside a cat trap. No carriers. This clinic is specifically for community cats that have been trapped either by individual community members or by local community cat rescues.

Here are some of the sixty eight cats that were SNIP’d in April. (hover that mousie over photos for captions purlease)

A little worried here!

Beautiful Russian Blue mancat

So many cats, young and old, are our cherished patients today.

I bumped my nose …am I going to be OK?

Other kitties were just as worried as the little marmie boy, but really this is gonna be a best day for all of them.

All but the most friendly will be released to live their lives outside with their feeders making sure they get at least one really good meal a day.

If you have a community cat rescue near you please be sure to donate any spare green papers or supplies. Almost all rescues have Amazon Wish Lists and that’s an easy way to help them out.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

PeeEss—Let me apologize for being missing on my Friday Memes post last Friday. My typist and photo editor was kind’a out for the last few days. Mom L had a real meowie ouchie in her back and wasn’t movin’ around so great. But she is able to paw my key board for me today! YAY!