Pam's TNR Blog - May 2012

May 2012

It is already July and I found out I had never finished this blog I started in May! Here goes:

We have been very busy this year with the free Humane Society clinics for 100 feral cats once month. To get 100 cats to these clinics, about 130 cats need to be scheduled. Of course every spot must be filled so Suzie and I usually swing into action. The photo below is of us checking in a colony of 28 cats Suzie trapped at a mobile home park in the W. Valley for the AHS clinic on 30 April. These were the result of a second night trapping from Saturday's clinic where we had in 23 cats for a total of 51 cats at this park. I also trapped 23 cats for the 30 April clinic and eight cats for the following day for a total of 31 cats in this colony! A total of 82 cats TNR'd in five days. Most importantly, there will be no more kittens born in these colonies.

Suzie and I checking in cats @ the AHS on 30 April 2012

You may be wondering how we keep going with all this trapping, transporting, lifting etc. Consider that between us we lifted about 10,000 lbs in TNR'ing 82 cats. This includes about six lifting steps with from 13-20 lbs of either traps or traps with cats in them (say an average of 15 lbs). This is five tons of weight being lifted to TNR 82 cats! Multiply this my the number of cats I TNR per year (2,200 cats) and this excludes the extra two to four lifting steps for aftercare and storage in the warm summer and cool winter months and this comes up to about (15 X 6 X 2,200 = 180,000 lbs or 90 tons of cats and traps. None of this includes the trap washing lifting steps that require even more tonnage of equipment

Let's also consider the $400.00 I spent in gas along in April and all the tuna, bleach, detergent, tarps, aftercare food and now in May the swamp cooler running the the garage and its maintenance (thank you Grant). How about the phone calls that start at 5:00 AM and end at about 9:00 PM... 

Well, why do I do this? I do it because there are too many cats and not enough homes for them. Most who love cats already have too many cats (like myself). We are trying to solve a problem that is epidemic in Maricopa County. How much easier it would be if people fixed their cats...I realize many cannot afford to and cats just "find them". Those that know me know I am a champion of personal responsibility yet I work daily with those abdicating their Ms (that's a philisophical argument for another blog). Most want "someone else" to fix their problem like taking the cats away or finding homes for them. Still it is like putting acid on a wound but I continue to punish myself in hopes that someday free-roaming cats being fed will ALL be fixed. Some ask...what are you trying to prove? My answer is nothing. I just someday want to be able to justify purchasing my beloved prurebred Singapura cat - without feeling guilty!

I wanted to write about last month's AHS clinic because it required dealing with many more caregivers and driving all over town trying to fill the clinic. However, even though I wrote it all down, when I looked at the list it all was a blur months later. I often feel like "if it is Tuesday it's Belgium". Where have I been? Where were these cats? I can hardly remember. I do know I was @ 24th St. and Indian School in Phoenx than @ 48th Ave and Glendale - all in the same night. I also remember having about 60+ cats in the garage that night. I do remember taking this photo of Suzie with her neice Kristin at last month's (April's) AHS clinic - loading cats into her truck. There were kittens from two litters too and Suzie fostered them...



Enough of rambling from my soapbox. The photo below is a one I took while while recently trapping with Carla at an apartment complex and trailer park. We trapped about 40 cats. This is the quintesential photo of where we spend at lot of time trapping. Not sure if you can see the sign in this photo but it says "please do not throw trash on the ground". Cats love trash and this was the perfect place for them - a magnet for feral cats. I can picture them living in this couch - perhaps even having kittens inside! When I am looking for free-roaming cats, I often look in such places. I remember the last day of 2008 trying to break the yearly goal, I went to the trusty coach down on Indian School Rd. to get more cats - always a sure thing.

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I've been doing this since 2004. As I drive by areas of town I now see LOTs of places I've been over the last eight years and I see ear-tipped cats. I also get calls from or stop by previous caregivers I've helped and the number of cats has diminished substantially. Many have died which saddens me. Yesterday, I stopped by to visit one elderly gentleman and he was down to about six cats - and we had fixed over 20 cats there. This tells me TNR works!

So what can you do to help me make my job easier? Encourage people to fix their cats. Recommend trap-neuter-return (TNR) for cats they might be feeding outside. If they need help, offer to help them or donate for them if they do not have any money. Spread the word in your "sphere of influence" about the importance of spay and neuter. Facebook is a good place to start.

To help with the Hotline's TNR program in Maricopa County, AZ...please call us @: 602-265-7729 (SPAY)

Thanks for your continued support.



Pam's TNR Blog - October 2011

October 2011

It has been a busy October so far! The most exciting event was the first Arizona Humane Society (AHS) clinic on October 11th. There were 75 cats in the door including cats from several large colonies trapped by me and Suzie. I brought in 27 cats from three colonies and Suzie brought in 29 cats from three other colonies. It is exciting that ADLA is now partnering with the AHS to reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens being turned in. Many are euthanized due to lack of space, are not adoptable because they are too young, un-socialized or unhealthy. Trap-Neuter Return (TNR) continues to be the most humane and effective methods of stabilizing free-roaming cat populations and of reducing cat euthanasia at open intake shelters such as the AHS.


The photo above was taken at the colony at a motel on Van Buren. These cats would never have been fixed had not Sharon, a neighborhood activist, had not taking action. I've worked with Sharon for years helping to sterilize tame and feral cats in her neighborhood. Very few caregivers in this neighborhood can afford to fix their pets...least of all the free-roaming cats they are feeding. TNR would be "world away" from them if not for Sharon's involvement and persistence. We are truly making a difference. Sharon makes sure all cats and dogs are spayed and neutered in her neighborhood and is relentless in her efforts. I am happy to have been a part of this effort over the years. Thank you Sharon. The photo above was taken after 21 cats were released at the motel on Van Buren near I-17...where they were eating a welcome breakfast!
October has always been our busiest month and this year should be no exception.


I'd like to thank the Spay Neuter Hotline (SNH) for starting a TNR program in 2009 so we could continue to sterilize over 10,000 cats/year. Personally, I have been doing TNR since 2003. My involvement with the SNH goes back to 1992 when it was started to help bring low-cost a first attempt to those in need. The SNH is celebrating its 20th anniversary this coming year. We've come a long way since then but not far enough...especially where free-roaming cats are concerned. However, things are changing and thanks to visionaries like Jan Raven, TNR in Maricopa County is approaching a level not seen by any other community in the country and perhaps the world. Thank you Jan for your efforts to get TNR going in the valley. In 2011 we hope to sterilize more than 10,000 feral cats thanks to all our caregivers, volunteers, donors and grantors and everyone who has helped make ADLA's Spay Neuter Hotline's TNR a tremendous success!

To sign up for the TNR program please call the Hotline at: 602-265-7729 (SPAY) or email: feralcats@adlaz.org.

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.

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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!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 12/6/09

12/6

On Sunday we had the regular Tempe clinic. There was no overflow once again thanks to Suzie's extraordinary scheduling. There were two vets that day and there were exactly 110 cats, just what we had planned. No one can imagine how difficult it is to predict the exact number of cats that will be trapped. There are so many variables that make up the equation. Suzie is the expert, hand's down. No one could do what she does week after week as she has done for more than seven years.

12/7

I had what started out as 11-12 cat job on Monday night but it turned out there were only three or four ferals. Eight others were tame cats living in the house. These I'd do later through the MCACC voucher program. The caregiver was quite elderly, in poor health, had limited financial resources, and no vehicle. She needed help. I did manage to catch two cats that evening and would try for the others the next night when I'd be out trapping two more jobs in the same area with Suzie and Barbara.

12/8

I took the two cats to the vet in the AM. It seemed weird having so few cats in that day. The doctor looked at me and said, "Only two cats?". There was one other cat there for a total of three cats. It was sad as he could have done 15 cats that day and these vets slots were going to waste. It would be kitten season soon and every cat done now is critical, not only to prevent kittens but it is less expensive to do cats that are not pregnant. In this business it's all about money and timing.

I picked the two cats up in the afternoon, deposited them in the garage, and headed over to Suzie's with traps for another night of trapping. We first set traps at my previous night's job and drove off to the two other jobs. Of course my first stop was at the gas station.

The first was a mobile home in Glendale we had trapped twice before. This difficult and demanding caregiver is disabled and feeds at the top of a wheelchair ramp rising up from the carport. This ramp extends into the back yard with railings making it difficult to set traps (and also on the landing which is very small). One has to climb through the bars to set traps in the backyard after stepping over cat dishes and other debris on the small landing. We were going for six to eight cats and set ten traps before leaving for the third location. For sure we'd catch a couple of already fixed cats. We'd be back later in the evening to check traps.

This next trapping location was a new (first time trapping), an eight to nine cat job in the 85037 zip code. I think this zip code has more cats than any other place in the valley. Fortunately, this neighborhood association had money from the city of Phoenix for fixing a limited number of feral cats. The caregiver had suffered two broken legs and had an ambulatory husband confined to the bedroom. Both needed a full-time caregiver who was present. I have to comment that I'd never seen so much useless stuff in one house and garage. Collection of "stuff" seems to go with the territory - i.e. feeding lots of feral cats. I could not resist suggesting to her that she should donate some of these prized possessions to our next yard sale. She said, "You can have everything in the garage". This included several walkers, numerous models of toilets for the challenged, and even a wheelchair!

The cats went in and out of a partially enclosed back room. We had to navigate through a narrow passageway through a myriad of odd items stacked as high as the vaulted ceiling. We did manage to trap all the cats (seven that night and one overnight) despite several other impediments including setting traps in the backyard as well. To get in the backyard Barbara and I had to cut down an overgrown bougainvillea blocking the gate using a bent pair of clippers the caregiver managed to find in the garage full of "stuff".

Suzie would be checking traps in the AM. After a relaxing dinner with Barbara we loaded up, set traps overnight, and headed back to the mobile home to check traps. We had five cats in traps. Then we set off to the first location where we had caught the third and last cat. The fourth cat, the mother of course, had not been seen for a while.

12/9

I took the five mobile home park cats to one vet and met Suzie at the second vet with the other eight. She had the stragglers that had been caught overnight. We had a total of 15 cats in that day, ten at one vet and five at the other. There would be no second night trapping at either location.

12/10

After loading up 15 cats in the early morning I picked up Suzie for the release. We'd be at the three locations again releasing cats. Of course there would be the usual cleaning out and washing traps as we had a big clinic in north Phoenix on Sunday and lots of caregivers would need traps from me for that clinic. I love it when there are no traps in my depot. This means they are ALL catching cats and this is where they should be, not sitting idle.

That night I'd be down once again in "the hood" downtown trapping a mother cat and two kittens and trying to drop-trap a male cat a couple houses away. I'd been after him for a long time and now it was time to get serious. Well, I caught him within about 20 minutes despite having to wait for all the eartipped cats coming to eat first. Finally he could not resist! The other three were nowhere to be found and I'd have to make the trek down there in the AM to catch them. Another trip was required but it was well worth it as I had the tomcat in my possession and he had caused problems there for years.

The nice thing about this place is that a concerned resident watches out for new cats in the area and always calls me before things get out of hand. TNR is truly a community effort.

12/11

I was up early and back at the previous night's location by 6:00 AM. The three cats were waiting for breakfast just as predicted. I caught all three within 30 minutes and was off to the vet with the tomcat, his girlfriend, and the two offspring. I say this not knowing of course who the father was, but if it was him, he'd have no additional child support to pay!

12/12

I released these four cats in the AM and was home by 9:00 AM to check out traps to the four caregivers trapping for the clinic on 12/13. We'd be shooting for 60 cats in north Phoenix and 75 cats in Tempe. Grant Erling and I would be trapping Saturday night to help fill the clinic the next day. We'd had a couple of cancellations and would have to find more cats to fill the clinic. These big clinics usually result in last minute challenges and this was typical. Stay tuned...

This week's blog post highlights some of the desperate situations out there. By this I mean there are caregivers in dire need of help. The Spay Neuter Hotline TNR Program depends on donations to help these cats and caregivers. I know you probalby get tired of my pleas but please consider becoming a monthly donor to help those in need. For information please contact Sonia Hernandez at shernandez@adlaz.org

To those of you who are already monthly donors...Thank you for caring.