Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 11/9/09

This photo was taken at a prehistoric rock art site in Arizona. It could represent a bobcat or mountain lion (or a coyote). Any guesses?

11/09

I had trapped for a caregiver on Saturday night for Sunday's clinic. A total of 22 cats were trapped and fixed at the clinic in Tempe. For once there were no "leftovers" for Monday. I dropped off the cats on my way home from the clinic and the caregiver did the aftercare. The garage was empty that night. It seemed odd. Funny, but I had only 18 cats when I left on Saturday night and the caregiver thought there might only be one or two more cats. Luckily I left six traps and quess what? She filled them all! One always has to be prepared for more cats...

11/10

After a day off from trapping I was set to help a lady in the W. Valley to trap 10-12 cats. It seemed like an easy job but unfortunately most of the cats did not cooperate while I was there. This meant a trip back in the morning for the stragglers and then another trip back the next day for one more straggler. This job turned into a four day adventure as they most always do..

11/11

I ended up at two vets on Wednesday forgetting again that the vet at one clinic was gone all week and the relief vet was there. When I showed up with nine cats and saw eight cats being unloaded at the first clinic, I know I was in trouble. Fortunately the other vet agreed to take six more cats. I thought all was well but it never seems to be in the feral cat volunteer world. At 4:30 PM I picked up the three cats at the first vet. They were ready but one cat had a bad wound that needed to be cleaned and stitched and the cat would have to stay confined for a week or so and be seen by a vet in a couple of days. I called the second vet to tell them I was on my way and was told they could not get to my six other cats that day. Bummer! So now I had three fixed cats and six cats still waiting to be fixed. The caregiver was trapping again that night herself so all I had to do is feed and water the nine cats in my garage.

11/12

I left for the far W. Valley before 6:00 AM. I had with me the three cats to be released, the six cats waiting for surgery, and the rabbit cage and supplies for holding the injured cat for a week. Fortunately, the caregiver was able to care for the cat. She had caught one more cat overnight (but not the mother cat of course). I released three cats and headed to the vet with seven cats. This job had yielded a total of ten cats so far.

In the afternoon I had an interesting trapping job. I'd planned to take my drop-trap to one of our volunteers so he could catch a cat in his car parts warehouse. This bully was terrorizing another cat they were feeding. The bullied cat recently had to be taken to the vet for a costly surgery. When I arrived, I of course, could not resist trying to round up not only this cat but several other unsterilized male cats living in the warehouse. The cats have free roam of the place and it was quite a sight to see. The cats run up and down the mobile staircases and across the shelves admidst all the spare parts. The tom I was after was amazing! He was long-haired with a lion's mane making his "chuckle head" look even bigger. I scooted around on the floor moving the dropper around the warehouse to no avail. I did manage to ruin a perfectly good pair of shorts in the process (the backside is now are covered with grease and has been religated to the "trapping only" category). Still, it does not get any better than this.

I loaded up three cats from the warehouse minus the tom (darn it - he is still on the loose but is not staying outside of the warehouse and is no longer a threat). Then I picked up the seven cats at the vet about 4:00 PM and put them in the garage. From there I set off for two jobs. One was to pick up a mother cat whose kittens were now weaned and the other was for two kittens left over from a previous job. The latter was a bust so I had only one cat for the vet on 11/13. At least they are too small to reproduce yet...

11/13

I set out early for the W. Valley to released the seven cats and headed to the vet with the one cat. I left the trap at the place where I released the seven cats and the caregiver did manage to catch the mother cat a week or so later and they are now done trapping. So three more colonies are now completely fixed. It is so important that we take the time to finish colonies and that caregivers follow up and fix ALL the cats including ones that show up in the future. The SNH does keep a database of those who are trapping and the number of cats fixed and when, but caregivers need to be vigilant, especially looking for new cats showing up to eat. One unsterilized queen will defeat all efforts ... Oh, I forgot to mention I had to release the three cats back to the warehouse on my way to the vet. Fortunately it was on the way.

11/14

I released the last mother cat back in the AM. I'd be trapping that night for the monthly clinic in N. Phoenix on 11/15...more on that next week.

The Spay Neuter Hotline TNR program has clinics available every day of the week and most Sundays. We fix cats almost every Sunday in Tempe and one Sunday a month in N. Phoenix. We do provide trapping assistance for those needing assistance. This is mostly for large colonies, the elderly and disabled, and those without a vehicle. We also provide financial assistance for those in need. Please spread the word that help is available. These are tough times for many individuals but help is available. The wait may be longer but we do try to help everyone.

Spay Neuter Hotline Update

This October was a fantastic month for Spay/ Neuter Hotline’s TNR Program:

Total cats sterilized in October: 943 (Our highest monthly total to date)

Cats sterilized during week of Oct. 12th -18th : 313 (our highest week since our TNR Program began on March 9, 2009)

Cats sterilized for National Feral Cat Day we celebrated on Oct. 18th: 190 at two high volume s/n clinics

Garage Sale

SNH Volunteers & Litter League combined efforts to have a 3-day (Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th) rummage sale to benefit both organizations.
With the great work of all involved Spay Neuter Hotline received $1,500.
The monies raised will benefit Spay Neuter Hotlines’s TNR Program.

Thank you to all who volunteered their time to transport items, assist with sorting & who gave time to help during the days of garage sale.
*A special thank you to Suzie Jones, who coordinated much of this event! Thank You- Suzie J

TO-DATE NUMBERS:

Over 6,700 feral cats have been trapped, neutered, and returned between March 9th thru Nov. 15, 2009!!

November 15th:

On Sunday, November 15th , Spay Neuter Hotline celebrated the life of our dear friend Harry Bartel by TNRing 143 feral cats at two high volume clinics. This day was “The Harry Bartel (Feral Cat) Memorial Spay Day”. We will continue to honor Harry every November for his contribution & dedication he gave to the life of feral cats.

Results have been made possible due to the hard work, time and dedication of our supporters, veterinarians, clinic staff and most of all, our volunteers…
Thank you everyone!

You can find ADLA online here
Become a Fan of ADLA through Facebook

Have a wonderful weekend & Happy Holidays,

Sonia Hernandez
ADLA Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator
shernandez@adlaz.org
http://www.spayneuterhotline.org/ (Low-Cost & No-Cost S/N Services)
To Donate: Click here to support Arizona's animals!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 11/1/2009

11/1

I had set up a big trapping job for a caregiver in Phoenix needing assistance. Cats were to be fixed in Gilbert the next day, Sunday, 11/1. This was "Make a Differerence Day", and a clinic was sponoring a special event - a free S/N clinic for cats and dogs. All the cats would be ferals and all would be cats from the our TNR program - cats whose caregivers needed financial assistance.

I already had two cats for the clinic on Sunday in my garage (the leftovers from last week's trapping). This new job was for about 20-25 cats. I ended up with 24 cats plus the two from last week for a total of 26 cats for the special event. I was not able to set traps overnight due to the long trek to south Gilbert in the AM (back on the 202 eastbound once again!). Many of you know I'll go anywhere to get cats fixed - especially for free! There were a total of 27 ferals and I volunteered at the clinic all day. The SNH supplied the spay packs and spay boards which also had to be transported. That night I'd be back at the caregiver's house to finish the job catching 15 more cats overnight for a total of 39 cats at this location. So much for having 20-25 cats in this colony.

I want to thank the Arizona Animal Wellness Center (AAWC) in Gilbert for sponsoring this event and helping fix 27 feral cats for the SNH. Thanks go out to Dr. Parva, Dr. Ford and her staff and volunteers for their kindness. They also fixed 16 dogs that day for those in need. You can visit their website here.

Well, if having 26 cats for aftercare plus setting another 20 traps that night was not enough, Suzie had 16 cats left over from the clinic in Tempe that day. All of these cats would need to be fed and watered as well. So we met at my place and unloaded and fed 41 cats.

11/2

Suzie and I were off to two vets in the early AM. Fortunately the 16 cats left over from 11/1 would go back to the caregiver for aftercare as I had another trapping job that night within view of the one on Satuday night. I must say this was living proof that colonies can live side by side and not interact in any way. I'd been to this location twice before not knowing there were nearly 40 cats living less than 200 yards away! I caught nine there that night and overnight. The nice thing was I could release the other crew right nearby. I always try to plan these jobs to save on travel time and gas. It does not often work out that way but I try.

11/3

I took the nine cats to the vet in the AM and after pickup I set off to try to drop-trap the last female (of course). Suzie and Barbara were on a big job nearby. I was able to drop-trap her almost immediately while hiding in my car next to a heavily traveled street. Normally transfer is pretty easy but this one would not cooperate. I called Suzie and Barbara to come over and help me transfer the cat to the trap. Voila! She went in almost immediately. I call these quick trappings from the car, "drive-by drop-trappings". This is an appropriate name for this technique and it has proved useful throughout the years, especially when one is in a hurry. We then went to dinner to celebrate our success. I then left for home while the dynamic duo set off to finish that what ended up being a 17 cat job over a two day period.

11/4

We again ended up at two vets on Thursday once again and had the usual aftercare at my place. I had helped in the release of Suzie's cats as well. Her caregiver set traps that night and caught another seven cats - all except for the breeding mother cat. Darn it! These cats had to be split up between two vets as the slower relief vet was at our usual hangout. Some people hang out at bars and movie theaters - we hang out at vet offices. I'm not complaining. It's where I'd rather be - with LOTs of cats.

After dropping off cats it was off to set up for the three-day yard sale. We had collected a ton of stuff in the fall and stored it in a warehouse in anticipation of this huge weekend event. We also had collected loads more stuff and had been picking it up over the last couple of weeks. All had to be unpacked and sorted for sale on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Suzie did a lot of the organizing as did Linda Brock whose organization, The Litter League" was partnering with us on the yard sale. The sale was at Linda's house and we had lots of volunteers helping with sorting and selling over that weekend. I'd like to thank all of them for thir time and effort especially Linda, for use of her place for the sale. We raised nearly $3,000.00 total for both groups. The Litter League finds homes for kittens from feral moms and does a lot of TNR through the SNH. Linda has always been a big supporter of ADLA and the SNH.

After sorting all day I had another "high-end" trapping job at the hospital. I sat with my dropper trying to trap one cat for several hours to no avail. I was skunked. Then I found food had been placed out! What a bummer. Since the caregiver was donating a lot it was worth the effort. As I said I take on these "high-end" jobs to try and help the cats being cared for by the less fortunate. It is always a trade off but unfortunately it never quite balances out as there are so many of the latter out there waiting to be fixed. Kitten season is just around the corner and these cats need to be fixed now.

This is why we need your help. Please consider being a monthly donor to ADLA. Almost 100% of donations go to spay and neuter as ADLA has very low overhead. We have a great group of dedicated volunteers who work hard to keep our costs down. Or, consider having a small fundraiser to raise money for TNR. We all can make a difference in the lives of feral cats.

11/6 and 11/7

Friday and Saturday were devoted to the yard sale and then Saturday night I had a trapping job for 20 cats for the Tempe clinic on Sunday...part of next week's blog.

Thanks again to everyone who made the yard sale a success. We plan to have another one early next year so stay tuned and start cleaning out your closets...

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 10/25/09

10/25

Well, as often happens, we panicked late last week and decided we needed more cats for the clinic on 10/25 in Tempe. We were not sure a few caregivers would come through so Suzie and I went out Saturday night to trap at a vacant house near 24th St. and Roosevelt. I managed to get in touch with the caregiver to withhold food. These cats were not fed much anyway. The photo from last week's blog tells it all. This colony needed help! This week's photos are of some of the cats after they were fixed.

We trapped 17 that night and soon realized we'd have to hold the cats until Monday. Of course everyone showed up the next day as planned and the cats had to be held overnight. After working at the clinic all day we set out to trap again that night - and forgot the drop trap! We trapped one cat and one very ill kitten. We decided to leave a trap out (hidden) out overnight despite our concerns about the area and did fill it for a total of 20 cats to take in on Monday to two different vets. Later that day I had to deliver 20 traps to a caregiver I was transporting for the next day, 10/26. Then it was off again to the vacant house to trap again. We caught one cat and two cats there overnight and we think this colony is finished except for one intermittent tom. The sick kitten did die before surgery but it was a blessing.

10/27

I picked up 19 cats from the other caregiver and ended up this time at three vets. Suzie helped me as it was impossible to be at three vets at once - and to pick up the two cats trapped overnight at 24th St. and Roosevelt. The other caregiver was in N.W. Phoenix. It was back to the QT once again - seems I was just there yesterday! All told we had 22 cats in between three vets that day. Suzie had a trapping job that night after we picked up at all the vets and transported the cats to my place for aftercare. I had a night off except for aftercaring the cats.

10/28

The caregiver with the 20 cats in N.W. Phoenix had two more cats to trap. Suzie had dropped off four more traps to her just in case, on her way to trap (nearby). She managed to catch one of the two cats overnight. The elusive "last cat" with a bad eye problem was out there but not going in the trap. The cat was under the trailer and came out to sniff around but no go. So, I rebaited the trap, had the caregiver shake the food, and waited in my car in the street. Round and round she went, then left, then came back - Grrrr! Then, she started into the trap and, the trap did not trip. So, with great stealth, I climbed over the fence and tip toed over to the trap and quickly bumped the door. I had her! It was off to the vet with the two last cats. This is a feeling only serious trappers can appreciate. Nirvana! As it turned out the last cat needed an eye removed and had to recover inside for a week - thank you Roni for taking care of her.

A word on elective surgeries. Often feral cats come in for S/N and the vets find serious medical conditions that are treatable. Many procedures are expensive, but without them the cats could suffer or die if left untreated. We try to raise donations to help pay for these surgeries. If you want to help with the cost of the eye removal, tail amputation, or other medical treatment for ferals, please contact ADLA either by phone at 602.273.7842 or email or donate online and specify "feral cat medical treatment fund". We've since had two more of these conditions and they are quite expensive. Your help is appreciate.

Later that afternoon I met Suzie at the place she trapped the night before. She had trapped two cats and the third one needed to be drop-trapped. We had her (the mother cat of course) within five minutes! ...two wonderful last cat success stories this week. We love having the drop-trap in our arsenal.

10/29

I took the mother cat to the vet that day and Suzie aftercared and released her the next day. I'd was off that night to trap at two locations in W. Phoenix - both in 85019, one of our targeted
zip codes for TNR. I set traps at the first location and caught them immediately. Then I was off to the other closer location. I ended up with a total of eight cats at that location including that night and overnight. There were still two left so I left my drop-trap knowing these two would have to wait until Sunday's Tempe clinic if caught (It was Friday). The caregiver managed to catch them both. I helped him transfer the cats into traps later that afternoon, held them in my garage, and took them in on Sunday, 11/1.

Next week - The yard sale.

Thank You Harry!

The Animal Defense League of Arizona's Spay Neuter Hotline lost a good friend today-Harry Bartel. Harry found the Hotline through extraordinary volunteer Pam Kalish. Harry lived in Chicago, but had business in the Valley.

Harry loved cats. We are extremely grateful for Harry's generous donations, but more importantly, he inspired everyone with his passion for our Trap Neuter Return Program for feral cats.

He believed in our program, staff and volunteers and what they could do. He encouraged all of us to do more. He also worked side by side with volunteers. While visiting the Valley, he jumped in to help at a clinic. Harry helped volunteers raise funds for the Hotline, by organizing garage sales.

Thank You Harry! We will miss you so much; but don't worry, you inspired us. We will keep it going!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 10/18/09

10/18

October 18th was our National Feral Cat Day event. We had two clinics that day hoping to fix 150-200 cats in one day. Again, last minute stress over cancellations and not filling the clinics sends us all into a spin. I'd had a cancellation for 10-15 cats from someone getting traps from me. Weird thing about this is that he volunteered for the Humane Society and decided TNR would be "too stressful" for the cats. So, thinking we'd have too few cats for the north Phoenix clinic on Sunday, I called a caregiver and told her to "pick up the food right away" - this was Saturday morning.

Well, it was like "shooting fish in a barrel" at her place, despite food not being withheld for two days. These cats were hungry for tuna! We trapped 14 cats right away and the cats had been fed. Amazing! Well, we ended up fixing 78 cats in north Phoenix and 107 cats in Tempe for a total of 185 cats. We had met our goal. And, Wayne and Bob Janda came through and trapped at the Peppertree Mobile Home Park (31 cats). Thanks go out to all who contributed financially to this effort - especially those from Phoenix Feral Friends. You guys rock!!

10/19 and 10/20

Of course there were stragglers from the previous night's trapping. Two were caught overnight. The caregiver set the traps so we were able to go home and relax after working at the clinic all day. Suzie also brought in two from another caregiver who trapped a second night and could not transport on a Monday due to her work schedule. This is often a problem as people have to go to work early and work late. We do our best to help these caregivers and they appreciate our great volunteer service. Every cat is important and I try, often too hard, to help those in need. Unfortunately, some caregivers take advantage of us but that is the price of what we do. We have to put the cats first despite difficult people.

I had a trapping job that night in a mobile home park (MHP) I'd trapped at for many years. There were two locations (caregivers) that needed help. I ended up with 13 cats between the two places, and transporting to two different vets. The "mother of them all" was still out there resulting in a sleepless night (I promised myself this would never happen again but it did). A superbreeder on the loose that would have yet another litter if I did not do something! I might mention I had to pick up another cat downtown on my way to the vet. Another stop at the QT. A word about the QT: It seems lately I 've been stopping there in the AM for gas then again in the evening for dinner...not a diet I recommend!

Of course those cats needed to be picked up and aftercared (a given). But I had to get the "superbreeder". I did have to also pick up 12 other cats at yet another vet for a caregiver needing assistance. Suzie, if I recall, picked up the other cats at one vet and I picked the four cats at the other vet at 1:00 PM. We just shuffle them around as needed. If that was not enough I had to pick up 12 cats at yet another vet and return them to 32nd St. and Van Buren. I had visited three vets today.

I was back at the MHP that evening scouting out that elusive superbreeder. I did manage to catch her with the drop-trap after waiting for nearly an hour and caught one cat overnight for a total of two cats. Now I'd done a total of 15 cats at the MHP. There was one white male cat left but I figured he'd move on where the girls were more cooperative and interested in him.

10/21

I took in the last two cats to the vet in the AM. I delivered traps to someone I'd helped numerous times down in central Phoenix at the city disabled housing at 22nd St. and Roosevelt. Fortunately this was near the family homeless shelter where I'd delivered the 12 cats back from the third vet. See a pattern here? We do help a LOT of caregivers needing not only trapping assistance but financial assistance...at homeless shelters, disabled housing projects, and other low-income areas. This is where the greatest number of cats are because people in these areas cannot afford to S/N their cats. The caregiver at the disabled housing uses a motorized wheelchair as do many in the complex. Please consider a donation to help not only cats in need but the caregivers in need as well. Consider a donation to ADLA as part of your holiday giving. It goes a long way to help cats and people too.

10/22

Got up very early to release that last two cats at the MHP. Then, I picked up three cats at the Phoenix housing complex and six from another place I was transporting. I have a friend who often finds caregivers who will trap but cannot transport cats to and from the vet. Today I'd have a total of nine cats at two different vets. I'd also have the usual pickup and aftercare. However, it is now getting cooler so aftercare is much easier.

10/23

I released all the cats at all the locations in the AM. There would be no second night trapping. I did, however go by a location near the Phoenix disabled housing project that had 20+ cats needing help. This photo is of some of the cats before being fixed. This would be next week's trapping job - abandoned house and of course, no donation.

Next week - See what these cats look like after they are fixed!

Now off to the vet with the superbreeder and her cohort.

Calling All Animal Lovers with Shopping Genes

Garage Sale Reminder

Spay Neuter Hotline TNR Volunteers & The Litter League

will be holding a Garage Sale to benefit both organizations.



Friday & Saturday, November 7th & 8th

7am-2pm (both days)



Location:

3412 E. Stanford Dr.

Paradise Valley, 85253



Designer Shoes & Clothing & many other AMAZING items for sale





Suzie & Pam are requesting volunteers for the following tasks:



November 5th: SORTING & ARRANGING

Help sort donations and set-up for sale
(Thursday volunteers will also have a chance to preview & purchase sale items!)



November 7th & 8th: GARAGE SALE

Assistance is needed to help during the garage sale for both days.



If you are able to volunteer, please contact Suzie Jones @ suziej49@cox.net or (602) 689-6069.




Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.



Sonia Hernandez

Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator

ADLA (Animal Defense League of Arizona) &

S/N Hotline (a program of ADLA)

shernandez@adlaz.org

www.adlaz.org

www.SpayNeuterHotline.org