Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 12/20/09

12/20

Again there were last minute cancellations for the Tempe clinic and Suzie and I had to scramble and find a couple of trapping jobs to fill the clinic. We settled on a couple jobs nearby so it would not be too hectic in the morning for picking up traps left out overnight. We ended up with ten cats from one place (eight that night and two overnight) and three from the other. (two that night and one overnight). These were people who really needed our help. I cannot emphasize enough how much financial assistance is needed for caregivers and cats.

We again had too many cats at the clinic and the vet could not fix four of the cats we had trapped - one from the group of ten, and none of the group of three. These would be going to the vet on Monday. One can never predict what the caregivers and cats will do. Since some of our cats were needed to fill the clinic (75 cats maximum), our efforts were not wasted.

We both worked at the clinic that day and I took the fixed cats home for aftercare along with the four awaiting surgery the next day. As I drove home I thought of the number of times I've driven home from the E. Valley clinics with cats in the last six years. Suzie set additional traps at both locations that night to try to snag stragglers. It is important to fix ALL the cats, especially the females, in a colony to fix the problem.

12/21


I received a call at 6:00 AM that the resort in central Phoenix had trapped another cat. I headed down there to pick up the cat along with the four carryovers from the day before that were stored in my garage with the already fixed cats. Suzie would be picking up a couple of strgglers at one of the trapping jobs form the day before. On the way to the first vet on the 51 freeway I started to hear a periodic clicking noise in the rear of my vehicle and its frequency changed as I increased and then decreased speed. When I got to the second vet I looked under the car thinking a plastic bag or some other debris was hanging from it - nothing. When I got home Bill looked at the tires as I rolled forward and voila! There was a quarter inch bolt with a washer embedded in the tire. Fortunately the tire had not gone flat or I'd have been stuck on the freeway with a carload of feral cats.

So, Bill and I loaded the nine fixed cats from Sunday into the Jeep and he helped me release them. We then drove to the tire store and fortunately they were able to fix the tire. In this business one cannot be without a reliable vehicle and regular maintenance is a must. Nothing could be worse than being stuck in the "back of beyond" or in an unsafe neighborhood at night with a load of cats on board.

This was the week the Best Friends photographer was coming to Phoenix to get pictures for the article they are writing about us for their bi-monthly magazine. She was coming down today and would be in town through Wednesday. She was meeting me at my place at 5:00 PM to go trapping. We had a busy week planned. There would be only three days of vet appointments due to the Christmas holiday so we we'd be busy. It is important to fix cats before kitten season, not only to prevent kittens from being born but because it is less expensive to fix cats that are not pregnant. NOTE: It's time to start fixing cats before kitten season!


That night I had a 12 cat job planned. Fortuntely, I was able to get my vehicle with the new tires in time for her arrival. Molly, the photographer, met me at my house about 5:00 PM and we drove to a nearby residence to trap. The caregiver had trapped before and had confined most of the already fixed cats to cages and carriers (don't ask me how). This was one of those jobs where ALL the cats were caught within one hour. We caught a total of 13 cats. We left the eartipped cats in traps overnight and set traps before we left. Molly got some good photos but we started too late and lost the light. Tomorrow night we would need to start trapping earlier while there was still good light...


12/22


I ended up going to two vets in the morning and Molly met me at the second vet. I released the resort cat very early in the specified place. They had caught another cat but it turned out to be one of cats we had fixed last week. There were no more cats in traps at last night's location. I met Molly at the second clinic and introduced her to the vet who gave her the tour. Of course I thanked the vet for helping us day after day with these feral cats. Each morning when I am there, he comes in the back and asks in a happy voice,"How many do we have today?" We met back at my house to discuss the day's itinerary. I found out that she wanted photos during the day of eartipped cats. Knowing that most feral cats are usually hiding during the day, this seemed like a tall order.

We loaded up the stragglers from Sunday and met Suzie to release the cats. She got some great photos of the release including one in this blog where the cat actually ran into the camera as it bolted from the trap!


After the second release we headed for Suzie's to hook up with Beth and John who were to wash traps for that night's trapping job. Beth and John are Best Friends volunteers and wanted to meet Molly and talk about their sanctuary. Meanwhile, Suzie and I got on the computer searching our database for a big previously trapped job nearby where cats might be out during the day. We found two places. After washing traps we all headed over to the first location and about ten cats were milling around. I had trapped over 30 cats there and they were ALL eartipped. This was a perfect place for her to take some great shots. From there she and Suzie headed over to a trailer park near 67th Ave. and Glendale where we had trapped over 90 cats in the past several years. This was nirvana for a feral cat photographer. I headed home as I also had traps to wash and cats to pick up at the vet that afternoon. We had a big trapping job that night for 20+ cats and Molly was to meet us there later in the afternoon. She spent most of afternoon at the trailer park.

I headed home to wash traps at my place and as I was about to cross I-17 at Thunderbird I got a call from the warehouse where I'd tried to drop-trap the big nasty tomcat. They had him in a trap. So I detoured south literally moving from the middle lane to the right turn lane to pick him up. It was 11:30 AM. I called the vet immediately and they agreed to take him late. So I headed back to the vet again (I was up to three trips there). I'd be back at both vets about 4:00 PM to pick up cats - a total of 14 cats. I then loaded up 17 traps and headed to that night's trapping job. Barbara and Suzie had met Molly there early and they were in high gear when I arrived. We ended up with 22 cats at this location. There would be no second night trapping due to the holiday, but we were confident we had caught them all. Still, one would never know in a neighorhood like this. There are so many unsterilzed animals is these low-income neighborhoods and without a conserted effort to mobilize the community - well, there will be more cats to fix. We also had a nice dinner with Molly while waiting for stragglers to go in the traps. A couple were caught overnight. All 22 went to a single vet the next day.

12/23

After taking the 22 cats to the vet in the AM we released the 14 cats the next morning and met Molly back at my house. The tomcat would go back later that morning. Molly planned to spend the day at the trailer park with the manager looking for great shots of eartipped cats. - before heading back to Kanab. She had a lot of great photos to choose from for the article.

12/24

We released the 22 cats back in the AM and were done for the week except for lots more dirty traps and covers to wash. There were no vets open on Christmas Eve or that weekend due to the holiday.

Next week - New Year's trapping extraganza!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 1/10/10

1/10

There were last minute cancellations for the Tempe clinic so on Saturday morning we called a couple of caregivers at the last minute and told them to pull the food. Beth and John were also trapping at a railroad park and I'd be transporting cats to the clinic for them. I'd also had a last minute call from an apartment manager with a stray, abandoned female cat needing fixing. I arranged to pick this cat up on my way to trap.

Barbara, Suzie and I planned to meet up at a trailer park in the West valley to trap approximately eight cats. I'd be stopping to pick up the cat at the apartment complex that was pretty tame and the caregiver had her confined. Suzie took five traps to a lady who could not figure out how to use the traps - yes, you heard it right. Between these three jobs we'd be able to make up for the cancellations.

I got to the trailer park early and started trapping. When Barbara arrived she indicated there were also cats at the dumpsters near the railroad tracks - a mom and four kittens (see photo of Siamese kitten with eartip - kitten trapped at the dumpster). We later found out there was a lady feeding them that had 10 cats at her trailer needing to be fixed but those would have to wait. Subsequently we found two other colonies needing to be trapped as well. This park needed help! There were also free-roaming dogs everywhere, many in terrible condition - some appearing homeless. This park had been there a long time and surely would become one of my long-term projects.

When Suzie arrived we already had more than eight cats trapped. Barbara and I set off for the dumpster and caught all five cats within 15 minutes - they were hungry. This trailer park was right on Grand Avenue and the train tracks were less than 50 feet from the dumpsters. We set a few more traps at the trailer, went to dinner, and found all the traps filled upon return making a total of 17 cats trapped (so much for 8 cats!). All told we'd have 24 cats for the next day including the five Suzie trapped on her way over and overnight at the other place and the apartment cat. Now instead of too few we had too many cats. Sound familiar?

The Tempe clinic was a great success due to wonderful trapping weather. Only one of our crowd got fixed (the apartment cat) and we'd have 28 cats to go to the vet the next day including the railroad park cats Beth and John had trapped. They had been back trapping on Sunday morning and caught a total of six cats.

1/11

I took 17 cats to one vet on Monday and Suzie took 11 to another after feeding the cats at my place the night before. I'd have a few (28 cats) to aftercare that night before setting off for East Phoenix to trap 10-15 cats for a caregiver needing help. That night I only trapped 10 cats in a rather high-end residential neighborhood (Arcadia). What a contrast to the trailer park and the dumpsters on Saturday night.

1/12

I released the trailer park cats the next morning. while releasing the mother cat and 4 kittens at the dumpsters the train came by. The noise was deafening and I had to wait to release the cats. they all ran under a nearby trailer where I captured this photo of one kitten.

I took the 10 cats to and from the vet the next day. This caregiver would be trapping on her own that night trying to catch one last cat. One of the cats had an eartip I'd missed. It turned out the neighbor across the street had trapped a couple weeks before and I'd missed the address connection. Working on a really good database of trapped colonies is on our "to do" list. Barbara and Suzie trapped at two locations that night caught a total of 14 cats; 12 at one location and two at another. I'd be picking them up at two vets for aftercare and release the next day but unfortunately I'd be missing a nice dinner with them that night.

1/13

I released the 10 cats and picked up the one cat caught overnight and took it to the vet. Suzie has busy all day so I came home and loaded up all her cats to release at her two trapping locations. Just before I arrived at the second location I noticed the car listing to one side and feeling sort of mushy. As I pulled up to the curve I confirmed the worst - another flat tire! These were the brand new tires I'd just purchased. Fortunately I was able to release the cats as I waited for Honda Roadside to arrive to change the tire. I loaded up the dirty traps, unloaded them at home, and headed back to the tire store once again. This time there was a nail in the tire, probably picked up at the dumpster several nights earlier. The bad news was it was not repairable. Fortunately I had the extended warranty and they replaced it for free. I had to wait again but it was worth the wait.

That night I was set to trap three cats for a lady in another mobile home park (55+). I'd trapped for years in here and have written about some of these episodes in previous blogs. We were after three kittens. Well, I caught two of them, one right away and one the next night. I took them to the vet early and when I went to pick them up they were not fixed yet. The vet had been called away on an emergency. I decided to take them home and wait until Sunday's clinic in N. Phoenix to have them fixed. Fortunately I was able to catch the last kitten that night so I'd have all three for Sunday. Oh - and I had to release the one cat trapped overnight on Thursday as well as pick up my traps.

Next week - Back to the same trailer park for more cats.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to ADLA to help caregivers in need like those at the trailer park we helped this week. To donate please visit our website at:

http://www.spayneuterhotline.org/

Thank you for your support!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 1/3/10

1/3

There was no Tempe clinic on 1/3 due to New Year's. It was now 1010 and 7,796 cats had been sterilized in 2009. What a way to end the year. Now it was time to charge ahead, to fix even more cats in 2010. With kitten season looming, it would be critical to fix as many cats as possible before kitten season begins.

One of our vets had said he could take a lot of ferals on 1/4. Due to the holiday they only had a few surgeries scheduled and were looking for business. What an opportunity! So on Friday, Suzie and I looked at some possibilities for filling up the clinic. I called a caregiver in the West valley who had been waiting for help since June. She was feeding about 13 cats and the neighbor across the street was feeding 40 cats - a total of 53 cats. The vet said he wanted cats so we looked at each other and said; "let's go for it".

I filled my vehicle with 28 traps and Suzie packed in 25 for a total of 53 traps. We figured we could double them up if there were a few extras. Our caravan headed West to Surprise driving to an address almost the White Tank Mountains. It was a perfect trapping night. We kept driving and driving thinking it must be at the end of the road...and it was!

Upon arrival Suzie started trapping at the first caregiver's place on the E. side of the street. I started at the caregiver across the street. These cats were really all part of the same colony as many went back and forth looking for the most tasty dinner. When I pulled in the driveway there were more cats than I'd ever seen in one place. The photo gives some idea of the numbers but one had to be there to really appreciate it. Clearly there were more than 40 cats. With the help of the caregiver I started trapping with lightning speed. At least five cats were in the front seat of my car trying to get the tuna. This was a trapper's nirvana. When Suzie arrived after catching about 6 cats across the street I had already had filled up all 28 of my traps. We started baiting her traps and within a half hour or so her traps were also full. We then started doubling up cats. That night we trapped 63 cats before running out of smaller cats to double up. I hated to double up a couple of big tomcats so the rest would have to wait until the next night.

I texted the vet tech from the clinic that wanted lots of cats the next day and she confirmed that "a lot of cats" only meant 25 cats maximum. Well, we had 38 cats too many and there were six other cats scheduled for that clinic already. the new plan was for me to take 31 cats to Tempe, Suzie to take 22 cats to N. Phoenix and the caregiver to drive in 12 cats to one of our West side clinics.

1/4

I drove to Tempe very early to deliver 31 cats. I picked up the second batch of 20 cats later in the day and Suzie picked up the other 12 cats. We drove to Tempe together pick up the 31 cats. After unloading all 63 of the cats in my garage we headed back out for a second night's trapping. This time we went together in my vehicle with only 24 traps underestimating once again just how many cats there were. After doubling up again we ended up with 32 cats! These would go to three vets in the morning. The logistics of this was getting interesting. The cats we trapped had to be left there overnight along with a couple of traps we manged to free up by doubling cats. Since we were coming back in the morning to release the 63 cats we'd be able to them up. I knew ALL the traps would be filled and and we still saw cats!

We headed back to Phoenix, stopping at Suzie's so she could get her car. Our plan was for both of us to feed the cats at my place. When we got to my place we decided to load the cats up in bother vehicles after feeding them as we knew we would be too tired to do this in the AM.

1/5

After a few hours sleep I met Suzie and we both drove out to Surprise with 63 cats. Between the ones trapped the night before and the ones trapped overnight we had a total of 33 cats. After releasing the 63 cats we loaded up 19 cats in Suzie's vehicle to go to one vet and 13 in my vehicle to go to two vets as one of the three already was at capacity. If this was not enough I had received a call at 6:00 AM and the resort in Phoenix had another trapped cat. This one would have to wait until I dropped off 7 cats needing to be at that vet by 8:00 AM. I picked up the one cat in Phoenix and headed to the second vet with the six plus one for a total of 7 cats.

All cats were picked up and brought back to my garage once again. After that I had a trapping job nearby for about eight cats which I caught pretty easily that night and overnight. Those were left in the car overnight.

1/6

I released the resort cat very early...then took the cats in the car to the vet before setting out again for Surprise to release the second wave of cats. This time we had enough room for the drop-trap to go after some of the cats still alluding us. Before releasing we drop-trapped for several hours and caught four more cats including the calico on the E. side of the street. These cats would have to wait until Thursday to go to the vet. We took as many dirty traps back as possible but left the drop-trap for the next morning.

1/7

I took the third wave of cats to the vet in the AM after releasing the previous day's cats from the other caregiver. I can hardly remember much of what happened that day. We were approaching over 100 cats not including the other ones I'd trapped at other places. I know I managed to set traps at the nearby place that night but caught no cats and I aftercared the third wave of cats.

1/8

We headed back in the AM to release cats fixed on 1/7. We had left the dropper there and planned on trying again for a few more. This time we caught only two cats making a total of 101 cats total. This was the largest single colony I'd ever trapped. I'd trapped 110 cats over a 4 day period in a trailer park in 2008 but cats were at several different locations. It took a total of seven days from start to finish as these two cats would need to go to the vet late on Friday and would not be ready until Saturday morning (thanks to one of our wonderful vets who took them late and held them overnight for aftercare).

1/9

Suzie picked up the last two cats from the vet and released them in the morning. We'd have to swing into action that night to try to fill up the 1/10 Tempe clinic as once again there were last minute cancellations. At least we had a day to wash traps. There were several more out there including a dilute tortie we could not catch. The caregiver also had 21 tame cats in the house we'd be going back for in a month or so - with the drop-trap to catch that tortie! One breeding tortie can cause a LOT of damage and she needed to be caught.

The sad part of this story was that nine cats out of this colony had to be euthanized. When colonies are allowed to get this big, even as many (or few) as 30-40 cats, there is a lot of inbreeding and disease. The cats were well fed and the caregivers truly cared about the cats. However, things quickly got out of control until the point where they did not have the resources to fix them. Being well fed allowed them to breed prolifically while all the while the colony was "trying" to stabilize. The result was a lot of suffering. This is why I cannot emphasis enough how important it is to fix the cats before this happens. It is also important to fix ALL the cats and to continue to monitor the colony for any new unsterilized cats. Also, do not look for cats to feed. Unfed, truly wild cats, produce fewer litters and have fewer kittens per litter. One is not doing cats a favor by feeding them and not fixing them - in my opinion this is animal cruelty and I saw it first hand. This is the way nature works.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to our TNR program to help caregivers in need. Our vet costs are higher this time of year due to in-heat and pregnant cats. We need your help. Visit our website at:

http://www.spayneuterhotline.org/

Next week - More trailer park tails!

Please Support Spay Neuter Hotline Veterinarians

The Spay Neuter Hotline is lucky to work with a number of veterinary clinics in the state. We recognize those private clinics in the greater Phoenix area that have gone the extra mile for the animals, and ask you to support them when you need a veterinarian, or make a recommendation to family and friends.

This list includes the vets who do surgeries for our Trap Neuter Return program, and the vets who have been with the Hotline doing low cost spay neuter surgeries for companion animals for years! When you visit their clinics, please thank them for their service to the community. Let them know you are a member/supporter of ADLA and the Spay Neuter Hotline, too!

Please support:

Dr. Melanie Peters
Spay Neuter Clinic
1425 W. Southern, Tempe  (480) 829-1002

Dr. Katie Andre
Bethany Animal Hospital
2524 W. Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix  (602) 242-1657

Dr. Arden Anderson
North Phoenix Spay Neuter Clinic
1610 E. Bell Rd., Phoenix   (602) 787-4240

Dr. Suzanne Johnsen
Van Aken Pet Hospital
3869 W. Indian School, Phoenix   (602) 278-6632

Dr. Aleck Burgess
Indian School Pet Clinic
7342 W. Indian School, Phoenix  (623) 846-3979

Dr. Liz Archuleta
Spay Neuter Clinic
925 S. Gilbert Rd., Mesa   (480) 633-1734

Dr. Lisa Levin
Spay Neuter Clinic
12416 N. 28th Dr., Phoenix  (602) 863-0116

Dr. Mel Pence
Arizona Spay Neuter Clinic
6835 E. Thomas Rd., Scottsdale  (480) 874-3647

Dr. Kathryn Allen
Indian Bend Animal Hospital
3923 E. Thunderbird Rd., # 123, Phoenix (602) 867-2992

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 12/27/09

12/27

There was no Tempe clinic on Sunday due to the Christmas holiday. I had set up a job for Sunday night but it fell through. At the last minute I called a couple in a mobile home park not far from me who I'd trapped for before. There were about 10 new cats. I'd already trapped over 40 cats thee years but there were more. I'd put this off for a while as the woman never stops talking - never. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it is not, believe me. I like to be stealth in my operation and constant chattering disrupts the process - not to mention I have already heard "who beget whom" numerous times. When this happens I tell the caregiver to go inside and only come out only infrequently to shake the dry food and call the cats. I then ask them to go back inside as the cats tend to wait to be fed rather than make an effort to go in the traps. I call this "conservation of energy". Funny how cats spend the least amount of energy possible to get by whereas humans seem to spend the more than they need to to accomplish everything. Still I did catch 10 cats there that evening and overnight despite these obstacles.

12/28

I checked traps in the AM and headed for the vet. Monday was a light day due to the holiday - well, at least the vet where I was. Wayne Begun was off work this week and was trapping every night for the Tempe clinic. He had 15 cats in on Monday - go Wayne!

12/29

I was back at the MHP that evening to set traps. I had picked up a cat that another caregiver had drop-trapped during the day. Suzie was on a drop-trapping extravaganza this week and had caught a last cat for a caregiver. We'd have a total of four cats in and I'd be picking them up for aftercare. Wayne was out on a couple more trapping jobs and had a bunch of cats in. Wayne was beginning to see what it is like to be a full-time trapper. Just keeping track of all the cats and caregivers is often challenging.

We had decided earlier in the week to ring out 2009 with a HUGE trapping job. This would mean releasing cats on New Year's day as one vet was open on New Year's Eve and was looking for business. We jumped at the chance to fill a clinic.

After picking up the four cats at the vet and loading up traps I met Barbara and Suzie at the trapping location, an older neighborhood in central Phoenix. There were a lot of foreclosed vacant homes in the neighborhood and the caregiver was feeding over 30 cats. When I arrived, there were cats everywhere! It was dinner time and tuna was on the menu tonight. They were already trapping cats as fast as they could and still there were cats, cats and more cats - cats everywhere. We caught a total of 30 including some trapped overnight. We also has a nice dinner at Pei Wei, one of our favorite restaurants.

12/30

I checked traps left out overnight before heading to the vet. It is strange that many caregivers (like this one) cannot even wake up in the early AM to check traps to see if there are cats in them. I am so anxious to check them I can hardly sleep waiting to check them in the AM. I headed off to one vet with 10 cats and then met Suzie at the 2nd vet to help check in 20 cats.

All the cats came back to my place for aftercare. Suzie was off to drop-trap that night on the far West side so I set traps at the previous night's location for stranglers. We had seen a few more cats lurking around. After setting about seven traps I headed to S. Phoenix where I had two trapping jobs. Fortunately they were neighbors. This was a pretty unsafe neighborhood. I'd been there a couple of times before and would never be alone there at night. These caregivers had lived there a long time and were just the kind I love to help - grateful and appreciative of getting first class service! They both really cared about the cats. I caught three (all) at the one neighbors and four at the other's.

12/31

I got up early to check the traps I'd set the second night at the big job and I'd caught 5 more! We were now at 35 cats - this job was finished. I headed off to S. Phoenix and she'd caught one cat overnight. Then, she caught the last one after I was half way to the vet and I had to turn back to pick him up. The good news was we had caught them ALL! I then headed off to the vet with the last five cats from second night trapping, and the seven cats from S. Phoenix. Suzie drop-trapped the last cat she was after on the W. side and was also at the vet. This make a total of 13 cats in on 12/31 at one vet. What a way to end 2009. Wayne, of course, was ringing out the year in the E. Valley bringing a load of cats to the Tempe clinic.

From there we headed to my house to load up the 30 cats in my garage for release. Seeing those beautiful eartips and knowing there would be no kittens this Spring was delightful.

Later in the day I was out and about running errands got in my car and the key would not turnin the ignition. I solicited several able bodied folks to help be to no avail. I then called Honda Roadside and they sent help. First they mistakenly sent a guy with a battery charger and it was the ignition. Then they sent a tow truck. The car was towed to the Honda dealer and the driver took me home to get my spare key as they suspected it was a bad key. No go. I needed a new ignition. By this time it was after 4:00 PM on New Year's Eve and I had 13 cats to be picked up from the vet by 5:00 PM. Bill was out of town so Suzie came to my rescue. She picked me up at the dealer, we picked up the cats, and she dropped me and the cats off at my place for aftercare. The photo shows the jacked up car being pushed to maintenance. They'd be installing the new ignition on Saturday - thank goodness. We had the biggest job ever set for next week starting Sunday night and I needed my car.

1/1

In the late AM we returned all the cats on New Year's morning - the five to central Phoenix, the seven to S. Phoenix and the one to the far W. Valley. Suzie drove as my car was in the shop. It was indeed a Happy New Year for all! I do think the cats were the happiest of all of us...

I never would have thought 2009 would end this way. Last March I almost gave up and even cried at the vet thinking everything had fallen apart. But it didn't. This year has been a challenge in many ways but many fewer kittens will be born this Spring thanks to all of you who have supported the Spay Neuter Hotline in spirit and financially. For this I will be forever grateful.

Next week - Ringing in the New Year...trapping the biggest colony ever!