Pam's TNR Blog - September 2012

September 2012

It's been a hot summer! Despite the heat, I managed to TNR 800 cats since May. The largest colony exceeded 50 cats and the smallest was just one cat. The coolers ran all summer in the garage often housing up to 30 or more cats overnight. The difficult part about summer as cats have to be housed somewhere cool after they are trapped.

Often, trappers have to run the A/C in the car while trapping as there is no place to put the cats after they are trapped. Steel raps retain heat and the stress of the cat causes them to easily overheat. And, all cats then have to be unloaded in the garage to stay overnight before going to the vet - yet another lifting step. Still, there are clinics to fill and cats needing to be trapped before having kittens in the Spring. Alas it is cooler now and a trappers job becomes so much easier.

Trapping is rewarding but challenging. There is a lot of lifting involved, but often caregivers can be difficult and demanding, making the job even more challenging. It is expensive too. A few expenses include gas, car repairs, bait, tape, paper towels, tarps, cooler expenses, aftercare food and no compensation! Still, those of us that trap are compulsive about this odd obsession. Below is a photo of cats being after cared in my garage this summer.

Aftercare

The good news is the Spay Neuter Hotline now have clinics available nearly seven days a week. Also, the PetSmart Charities grant was expanded until 2013 and recently added two adjacent zip codes. And, the Arizona Humane Society began funding TNR in six zip codes in Phoenix. Now there are far more caregivers needing assistance we can help in a timely manner.
Also, a recent bequest and some donations are allowing us to help those in financial need who we could not help before.

Right now there are caregivers in Buckeye needing help and no one out that way to help them. And, in some cases there simply is not enough time or vet appointments to help everyone. Still, with Suzie's help and that of others such as Carla and Grant, we hope to eventually get to everyone.

If you are interested in becoming a trapper, contact the Spay Neuter Hotline @: 602-265-7729 (SPAY)

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 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!

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 12/13/09

As the New Year approaches I've been thinking of how lucky we've been to continue a TNR program with the Animal Defense League of Arizona. For those who do not know, I've volunteered with ADLA a long time and with the Spay Neuter Hotline almost since its beginning in 1991. You may not know this but over the past several years the Spay Neuter Hotline has been raising money through grants and donations to help pay for spay and neuter of tame and feral cats for those in need. So it seemed like a good idea to have our own TNR program. With the support of ADLA we are on our way to making this the most successful TNR program ever. I am now confident my vision of solving the free-roaming cat overpopulation problem in Maricopa County will become a reality. I become more committed to this cause each day. And every cat counts. Being on the "front lines", I see progress being made each day as I trap more and more already eartippd cats in neighborhoods I thought had never been trapped. I am now confident most people do want to fix their cats, both tame and feral, and only lack the resources to do it. We are making a difference.


I'd also like to thank the late Harry Bartel for his support and encouragement to go forward even in our darkest hour - when we thought there would no longer be a Valleywide TNR program. Thank you Harry for giving us the confidence to go forward...


12/13

Grant and I were trapping at three locations for the 1/13 clinic in N. Phoenix. We trapped ALL 14 cats at the first location that night. We did not trap aby cats that night at the second location but when Grant checked the traps early Sunday morning, all three cats were trapped! We never actually trapped at the third location as the cats lived in a hostile neighbor's backyard and the gate was locked. I did not like the idea of leaving traps there anyway. The cats were fed in the alley behind the house and when we met the caregiver, there were no cats in sight. This job would have to wait.

There were 60 cats at the clinic that day and lots of females. We had some new volunteers and everyone worked a long day. Tempe came in light that day and we only did about 110 cats. I say ONLY, but fixing 110 cats at two clinics is not too shabby. There would be a LOT fewer kittens this spring. I'd like to thank everyone who helped at these two clinics.

After cleaning up at the clinic it was nearly 4:00 PM before I got home with the 17 cats needing to be overnighted.. I'd had a lot of supplies to haul including spay packs from both clinics needing to be sterilized during the week in preparation for next week's clinic. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes in preparation for the weekend clinics.

12/14

Suzie helped me with the release the next day as we'd be working on stats later in the AM. We spend a lot of time working on stats in order to keep good records of how many cats have been trapped and where. It is important to keep track of this data for a lot of reasons, but mostly to show how successful we have been to grantors, donors and supporters like you. After that, I had to pick up 20 traps from some caregivers who had trapped for the clinic on Sunday. This had been a community effort and their community assocation and neighors were supporting the effort financially. It was exciting to see the commitment and enthusiasm of neighbors in a central Phoenix neighborhood. It is amazing what can happen in a community when neighbors band together to help cats. They even invited us to table at their home tour event in the Spring in order to spread the word. I had no trapping job that night - we had finished both jobs...

12/15

This night I'd be headed out on an interesting trapping job. As I do not reveal exactly where I trap for obvious reasons, all I can say is this night's job woud be at a very upscale resort in central Phoenix. A guest from California had seen feral cats while eating at the resort's restaurant and emailed me for help. She had already cleared TNR with management after initially wanting me to find homes for the cats. She offered a large donation if I would help them. There were only four cats. I of course, sprung into action due to the incentive of the large donation.

When I got there it became clear this would be a covert operation. The engineering dept. was in charge of the trapping and they had to set traps late at night as they did not want guests to see traps or cats. Even delivery of supplies to the hotel are accomplished before sunrise so guests cannot see trucks. So I became only the transporter. This would mean being on call each morning to pick up cats before it got light - along with all the delivery trucks. At the same time I'd pick up any newly trapped cats. Trapped cats would be left in a hidden location in the morning near the laundry and someone would meet me to release any trapped cats. They ended up catching two cats, one at a time, that week. They caught another cat the following week. As of this writing there is still one more cat to trap, the mother cat of course. I'll keep you up-to-date on this unusual trapping job. Needless to say I'll need to be "on call" each morning, waiting for their call.

12/16

I took the one trapped cat from the resort to the vet. The good news is it was a young tortie, a female. That night I had a trapping job with Barbara. Suzie was out of commission as she had company all week. This was a 15+ job in central Phoenix. The caregiver had trapped cats a few years ago but "missed one". The result, more cats needing to be fixed. As luck would have it we trapped all 12 cats that night. There were only 12 cats, not 15+ cats. Funny how some caregivers overestimate the number of cats being fed and some grossly underestimate the number of cats. Could it be that all those black cats and brown tabbys all look alike?

12/17

I took cats to the vet in the AM and after running around all day picking up and delivering traps I'd have 12 cats in the garage that night. The neighbor was to set traps at the elderly man's house that night but never bothered to set them. I should have learned by now I should do things myself to make sure they get done. There may be one male left there but he'd be difficult to catch now.

12/18

All I had was to release the 12 cats in the morning. I was done for the week.

Suzie and I would be trapping the next night to help fill the Tempe clinic on 12/20. Again, there were a lot of last minute cancellations for Sunday. I am not complaining - I love trapping!

Next week would be a short one due to the Christmas holiday. The vets would be open for business and we were having a special visit from a photographer from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. Stay tuned for some good photos...

Congratulations to ADLA's Veterinarian of the Year

Dr. Melanie Peters of the Tempe Spay Neuter Clinic has been named ADLA's Veterinarian of the Year.

Dr. Peters has been a huge supporter of ADLA's Trap Neuter Return program for feral cats in Maricopa County. She performs spays & neuters at clinics throughout the year. She has provided pro bono care for injured feral cats, and has performed thousands of surgeries.

Of all the veterinarians who support the Spay Neuter Hotline, Dr. Peters stands out because of the number of surgeries she performs and the compassion she shows for ferals.


Dr. Peters is pictured above at the clinic on 12-20-09. She is a very good sport as she is wearing the hand-made tiara crafted by Spay Neuter Hotline Coordinator Sonia Hernandez.


Thanks Dr. Peters!


If you need Spay Neuter or TNR assistance, please call the Hotline
866-952-SPAY (7729), email feralcats@adlaz.org, or visit the Spay Neuter Hotline,

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 11/22/09

11/22

I had another successful drop-trapping on 11/21. The caregiver had been trying for a long time to catch an elusive mother cat. She had trapped all the offspring over a course of several months. I told her I'd catch that breeder, don't despair. I got to her place late afternoon on Saturday hoping to trap her for the Tempe clinic on 11/22. I set up in the backyard and positioned myself inside the sliding glass door with the drop-trap located about 10 feet away in the backyard. The caregiver had a myriad of reasons why the cat would not cooperate. I always say, "If you keep saying the cat cannot be caught it won't". Bad Juju, I guess. The fixed kittens all came to eat several times and mom circled the fence finally ending up in the front yard. I waited, and waited. Patience is the virtue one needs most to successfully catch even the most difficult to trap cats. Finally she approached and I waited and then she could not resist - she went for the bait! I'd switched to that gross, smelly, tuna and egg cat food. This is the bait of last resort when they do not respond to tuna in oil, Fancy Feast Salmon or Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken (with the skin off and really warm). I had her and she'd be going with me on Sunday to Tempe. No more kittens for her!

We were able to do all the cats on Sunday despite several of us, including me, showing up with extra cats. I had Sunday night off...

11/23

That night Suzie and I set off for El Mirage to trap at yet another trailer park. We'd been to this one before and trapped close to 20 cats but it had been a while. The caregiver had been waiting since early this year for help and now it was finally time to make the trek out there. It was a pretty easy trapping at two locations in the park. We managed to have dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. We trapped 14 cats that night and Suzie made the trek back out there the next morning to pick up four stragglers for a total of 18 cats.

All 18 cats would go to one vet in the morning and returned to my garage for aftercare. One caregiver set four traps out that night hoping to get one last kitten.

11/24

We set out early to release the 18 cats and pick up any second night stragglers. Well, we caught just one, big black male. The last kitten was sitting there looking at the traps. After releasing all the cats I dropped off Suzie and took the one male cat to the vet. All told, we had trapped 16 males, two females, and one previous female (not tipped) over two nights. The vet said he had never seen this many males in one colony. They even weighed the males and the biggest came in at 18 pounds! At least those two female cats will be able to relax and enjoy life this Spring.

11/25

I made the long trip back to El Mirage at 6:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning to release the one male cat. It was cold and no one was up yet so I just released him in the yard and he took off for places unknown. There would be no Sunday clinic and no more trapping until next week. I love my Honda Element, spending many hours in it driving and listening to the XM satellite radio broadcasts. I often think of it as my home away from home. I've never had the back seats in since they day I purchased it and had cats in the back that night. I figure the passenger mileage well exceeds the Toyota Prius as rarely do I have fewer than ten cats in the back!

Right now is the time to TNR feral cats. It will not be long and kitten season will be upon us. Not only do we want to prevent kittens being born in the Spring, but the cost of surgery for female cats is less expensive this time of year. So we can save lives and save $$$ by fixing the cats now, before kitten season. To sign up for our TNR program please call our hotline at: 602-265-7729 (SPAY) or email us at feralcats@adlaz.org.

Next week - More trapping in "the hood".

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 11/15

11/15

Sunday was our one Sunday a month clinic in N. Phoenix. I had planned a 15-20 cat job not for from me as it is always busy in the AM getting ready for the clinic. Suzie, Beth and John also were trapping that night. I trapped 19 cats that night and four overnight for a total of 23 cats. The day was hectic as always but the adrenalin kicks in as if running a 10K and one just marvels at the number of cats being trapped and sterilized. We ended up doing over 60 cats that day. There would have been more except one trapping job came in with a bunch of already fixed cats. Turned out the adjacent business had trapped cats and had them fixed on 11/9, just one week before! We do try to correlate locations in our database but this one unfortunately slipped through. Tempe also had a successful day so over 130 cats were fixed that day. The caregiver managed to trap one more cat overnight for a total of 24 cats from that location.

11/16

I only had the one cat to take to the vet today. It was a slow day due to the weekend clinic. I did not trap on 11/16 as I'd be trapping with Suzie. Barbara could not trap this week and so Suzie and I had planned a couple Tuesday night jobs in Glendale.

11/17

We set out for Glendale about 5:00 PM for one trapping job for about 12 cats. The car was full of traps as we also planned another job in the same zip code for four to five cats - a trailer park. At this particular park we had already trapped a LOT of cats and at the end of this adventure there will have been 90 cats trapped in this trailer park since 2005! The park manager is good at contacting us when new cats appear, usually from new residents who have not spayed and neutered their cats - many leaving them behind when they move. Unsterilized tame cats are often the source of feral cats in these parks, especially in low-income areas. These are the caregivers and cats needing financial assistance. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the ADLA Spay Neuter Hotline TNR program this holiday season. Click here to donate.




11/18

We trapped 14 cats at the first location and six at the other location. Six cats went to one vet and 14 to the other vet. One cat would need an eye removal and would have to wait until the next day for surgery. There would be drop-off and pick-up of all 20 cats and then we'd be back at both locations for a second night's trapping (with the drop-trap in our arsenal of course).

We trapped six more at the one location and another six at the other for a total of 12 cats. We could not leave traps out overnight at the first location so we drop-trapped one kitten living in a vacant apartment gaining access through an empty air conditioning vent. We were sitting on the ground waiting and plotting our strategy for next week when I looked up and to my surprise, the kitten was eating under the dropper! I said to Suzie, "pull now. She was not even looking at the drop-trap! This kitten is still in foster with one of the vet techs at the clinic and hopefully will get a home. The one cat needing the eye removal ended up staying at the vet until the following Tuesday thanks to one very kind veterinarian. Neither of the caregivers had vehicles or places for aftercare so we needed to do all the work...

This drop-trappng story reminds me of my most memorable and classy drop-trapping experience several years ago while having lunch at a rather posh restaurant in Casa Grande. The cats were outside on a stunningly beautiful patio while we were eating a delicious lunch inside. As the cats we were after appeared, Suzie left the table and sat inside the back door with the string. Problem was she could not see the drop-trap from behind the door. I watched and told her when to pull the string. We then went back to eating lunch while waiting for the next "victim" to appear, repeating this process several times until all the cats were caught.

11/19

Upon releasing cats at the two locations and picking up six at one of these locations we set out again to two vets as it was Thursday and the relief vet was at the one clinic.

11/20

We released all 12 cats back at the two locations in the morning. All that was left was a LOT of trap washing to get ready for the next week and, of course, caregivers needing to pick up traps as well. We both spend a lot of time checking out traps and showing caregivers how to trap. After six years one would think I'd be tired it it but I'm not. I love it when caregivers call me and say, "I caught ALL the cats and I am so excited!"

Most of our caregivers do their own trapping and transport. Trappers like me, Wayne and Suzie go out on larger jobs and help those needing assistance. These include caregivers who have no vehicle or are elderly or disabled. That list is growing. If you are interested in trapping please let us know. We need people who can problem solve, deal with difficult situations, have patience and, of course, lift. It is very rewarding work and a good way to get exercise!

There was good news in that the caregiver I'd trapped ten cats for last week called me the night before and had finally caught the last cat, the mother. She took it to the vet on Friday. Her seriously wounded cat was fully recovered and getting used to being a house cat. I'd be picking up my rabbit cage and trap. Another job was now finished and there would be no more kittens in 2010. What a good way to end the week...

Next week - More successful drop-trapping and Thanksgiving. All the vets are closed - darn it!

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...

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.

Police to cat trapper: "Hands up and drop that fork!"

What a scare I had feeding the kitties on Sunday! As I was crouched behind the bush up against the building filling the dishes, I had no idea there was a silent alarm going off inside.

The next thing I knew, a police officer had two lanes blocked on Van Buren and was yelling at me from the curb to put my hands up! Of course I did – with a can of cat food in one hand and a fork in the other. They checked me for weapons and made me drop my fork on the ground … .

After 20 minutes or so when they decided I wasn’t a felon, the officers started giving me the lecture about how unwise it was to feed ferals, so I explained TNR. They ended up telling me how civic-minded I was to be performing such a community service!! I was wishing I had some of those S/N hotline flyers with me.

What an adventure this project is turning out to be!

Cathy

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 9/27/09

Photo above is of kittens feeding after their release on 10/8. "Yum, this food is sure tasty. Check out my eartip"!

9/27

There were fewer cats than expected on 9/27 at the Tempe clinic. Darn it - I could have trapped for the clinic! Frustrating to miss some vet slots when there are cats to S/N. I think there were about 63 cats.

9/28

I had been contacted by someone I'd helped drop-trap a cat in the past. Guess what? She had more cats to TNR. Having had health problems she needed "full serviece" this time and I was happy to help her. She said there were six or seven cats. I ended up trapping eight cats, several overnight. We caught them all (I hope)! I wish she had caught them all the first time around. It is difficult to do as often some do not come around until the next night and caregivers do not perservere. Sometimes this is because they can't stop feeding the cats. Leaving traps out overnight works well but can only be done in secure area like someone's backyard.

I've found a second night's trapping is essential to success at getting ALL the cats and making sure there will be no more kittens. For those in doubt, this does work. I often talk to caregivers I'd helped years ago and there have been no kittens for several years. And, most of those with large colonies of 30 or more say, "we are down to less than ten cats now". This proves that the life of a feral cat is often short. We rarely see "old" feral cats in our clinics. Most are young and amazingly quite healthly despite living outside.

9/29

I ended up at two vets on Tuesday due to a caregiver not getting to the vet on time. Thankfully one vet took her cats at 11:30 AM. Again, our vets understand the complexity of TNR and are usually willing to accomodate. It seems easy enough - set traps, trap cats and fix them. Wrong! The logistics of trapping and being sure ALL the cats get fixed rivals solving a a very complex physics problem with multiple variables. With people involved it becomes most challenging. I picked these cats up at both vets (at different times of the day course) for aftercare. It was a frustrating, although productive, day.

Later in the day I got a call from a caregiver I'd helped in early August. A cat that had been deemed a previously fixed female had kittens! What a mess. Occasionally this happens. It was made worse as I was the one who had helped her and she had claimed the cat had given birth before. The cat rejected the kittens and she was bottle feeding them. She wanted the mother fixed right away.

9/30

So I picked up the mother cat in the morning to go to the vet and later transported home cats Suzie and Barbara had trapped the night before at two different trapping jobs. I was back to two vets again due to overflow at one vet. And, if this was not enough, there were still five cats with no place to go. These five would have to be held in my garage until the next day. Things now were getting tight. I had to pick up 13 at two vets and had a trapping job planned for 6:00 PM.

When I arrived at the second vet they were still doing surgery due to our bringing too many cats. I had to wait 45 minutes at the cinic and still had to unload all these cats at home. There would be these 13 cats plus the five waiting to be fixed for a total of 18 cats in my garage. I arrived at the trapping site at almost 7:00 PM planning to trap six or seven cats. My friend Joyce was helping me as we planned on leaving traps overnight and a second night's trapping. Since Joyce lived near the trapping location this would save my driving back several times and we use a vet nearby - freeing up vet slots at the other vets for more cats.

10/1

Well, six or seven cats turned in to 13 cats (actually 16 as two more were trapped overnight and two the next night and one was a previously fixed cat). So there had been 18 cats in the garage and ten in the car overnight for a total of 28 cats at my place overnight.

Again, too many cats and not enough vet slots as our one vet normally open on Thursday was closed. So, it was back to the Healing Hearts mobile with 11 cats. Thank you Jan Wilson for helping us out again in a pinch. Three were from my trapping job, five were the left overs from yesterday, and three were from Suzie's second night's trapping at the other job she had trapped. I keep saying trapping is not as easy as it might seem! Oh and Joyce took two cats to the vet near her. These had been trapped overnight, so we were at three different vets today.

I took ten cats to one clinic and 11 cats to the mobile and Suzie picked up the cats at the mobile mid-day. I picked up the ten cats for a total of 23 cats at my place that night - all having to be fed later in the evening. Joyce set traps out overnight and caught two more cats.

That night I had a trapping job for only one cat. The caregiver had offered a large donation if I would help her trap and fix this cat. Her husband was not in favor of TNR nor of having her even feed the cat. So we set up a "cover" trapping operation. It felt again like a "drive by trapping" as I had the cat in less than five minutes. The term "drive by trapping" originated from a drop-trap situation a couple of years ago. I literally sat in my car and pulled the string through a cracked open car door on a cat under the drop-trap. This took place in less than a minute - hence the term "drive by trapping".

10/2 and 10/3

I took in the one cat in the AM and then met Joyce for the release of the 15 cats. We found two more cats in traps from the second night's trapping. I think we had trapped them ALL. We both dropped them off at the nearby vet. she would pick them up and release them. When I retrieved the one cat at the vet it turned out to be a previously fixed female! She was obviously an abandoned pet. I returned her the next morning to the happy caregiver. She gave me the promised donation despite my trapping an already fixed cat. She wanted to help other cats in need and there arep plenty of them out there.

Having trapped nearly 30 cats this week meant lots of traps and covers to wash and get ready for next week. Thank you Bill.

More and more caregivers are in need of financial assistance due to economic hardship. The Spay Neuter Hotline TNR Program depends on donations to pay our vets. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help those in need. For information on how to donate click here.

If you know someone feeding feral cats please call the Spay Neuter Hotline at 602-265-7729 (SPAY) for assistance.

We are also having a huge yard sale on November 6th and 7th. We need items for sale. So clean out your closets! To donate items for the sale please contact Suzie at 602-689-6069.

Next week - Too many cats again!

Pam's TNR Blog Week of 9/20/09

The photo above was taken by Wayne Begun. I guess he did not like being neutered. Thank you Wayne for sharing this with us!

9/20

I did not trap on Saturday night for Sunday's clinic in Tempe. I volunteered at the clinic and was prepared, as always, to take any "overflow" to another clinic the next day. And we did indeed have too many cats thanks to master trapper Wayne Begun. Nine cats had to be held in my garage until the next day. I released one cat Suzie had trapped for the clinic the next morning after dropping off the nine cats at the vet. Suzie retrieved them in the afternoon and Wayne picked them up in the evening to go back to the caregiver. This was just another example of how labor intensive TNR can be.

On Tuesday I headed up North for another volunteer archaeological survey and documentation project for the BLM. No trapping until next week...Stay tuned.

ADLA 'Fun Raiser' Event at Tom's Tavern

ADLA 'Fun Raiser' was a great event!

Thanks to all that attended the ADLA Fun Raiser at Tom's Tavern on Friday! The event included a performance by singer/songwriter Amy Sellner, a Silent Auction, Maker's Mark Bourbon tasting, and interesting presentations.

ADLA volunteer Pam Kalish shared her feral cat trapping adventures and discussed the importance of TNR (trap, neuter, return) in addressing cat overpopulation. ADLA's Feral Cat Program has sterilized almost 5000 feral/stray cats since March 2009.

Officers Linda Thornton and Amir Ashrafzadeh from Sheriff Joe Arpaio's MASH unit provided information about the no-kill shelter created to house and care for abused animals. Inmates spend 12 to 24 hours a day socializing mistreated animals until they are ready for adoption.

ADLA greatly appreciates the efforts of Terry Ratner, who donated her time in organizing and publicizing the event. Also thanks go to:

Mike Ratner, owner of Tom's Tavern

Pam Kalish and Suzie Jones, ADLA TNR Volunteers

MASH Officers Ashrafzadeh and Thornton, and Sgt. Sherry Beckley

Amy Sellner

Silent Auction Donors:

Embellish Home Furnishings
Mackie's Parlour
Diva Design Jewelry
North Central News
Jewelry by Rebecca Rosete
7th Street Consignment Gallery
Socio Salon & Day Spa
Phoenix Flower Shop
Esprit Decor Gallery
Rochelle's Salon & Spa

Also thanks to North Central Phoenix News and ABC 15 for featuring the event.

Pam's TNR Blog - Week of 8/30

8/30

I volunteered at the clinic in Tempe on 8/30. As sometimes happens, there were too many cats to fix that day. Volunteers Wayne Begun and Bob Janda had organized a TNR effort in a trailer park in East Mesa. They were going for 25 -30 cats and ended up trapping 48 cats... Go Wayne and Bob! Turned out that 31 cats could not be fixed that day as we only had one vet. The remainder had to go to another vet the next day. This happens quite often but I always say; "Better too many cats than not enough". After the clinic Suzie and I loaded up our vehicles with cats and headed for my place to hold them until the next day. Cats were fed and watered as they had not eaten for several days. It was about 20 degrees cooler in the garage thanks to the cooler, and they waited comfortably.

8/31

The 31 cats were transported to the vet who was again kind enough to do ALL of them just as another vet had done last Monday. Our vets are so wonderful and are always happy to see more feral cats. The cats had to be picked up later that day and aftercared in the garage. If this was not enough, I had a trapping job that night for 15 cats that turned in to a total of 28 cats! This was another example of an elderly lady whose family moved her out of state. My friend Joyce met the feeder and arranged for this trapping job. Joyce deserves a lot of credit for making this happen and was a lot of help in the process including bringing me dinner! Most of you know I do not often think about food when there are cats to be trapped. Thanks Joyce for your help including paying for some of the surgeries.

After picking up the 31 cats I loaded up traps to go trap in yet another older Phoenix neighborhood. It seems like the 85008 zip code has more feral cats than any other place in Maricopa County. I fed the now fixed cats upon returning home that night. Fortunately I was able to leave the newly trapped cats in the car overnight as it had cooled down. There were now 55 cats at my place - 31 in the garage and 24 in my car. I did trap two more overnight for a total of 26 cats then two more the following night for a grand total of 28 cats TNR'd in this colony.

This colony is 100% fixed - at least we saw no other un-eartipped cats. For the first time ever I actually trapped four kittens in one trap. The vet was able to fix about 11 six-week old kittens. If this were not the case I'd have been at a loss on what to do. One cannot release unsterilized cats but they had no place to go. It used to sadden me to TNR such young kittens but there are just too many cats and kittens and not enough homes for them. I always try to look at "the big picture" but it still hurts.

9/1

After taking 26 cats to two different vets I met Suzie at my house to load up the 31 cats in our two vehicles to drive them back to Mesa for release at two locations in the trailer park. From my place this drive is nearly as far East as Aguila is West - so it was back on the 202 eastbound as we had been on the Queen Creek job a couple of weeks ago. When people ask me how I know how to navigate around town without a GPS I say; "from trapping cats all over town". After a while one knows the best way to navigate around the Valley (I should probably apply for a UPS job or maybe solicit them to transport cats for me).

After releasing the cats I got a call from one vet saying someone had not signed their paperwork so back to the vet I headed. Between 4:00 and 5:00 PM I was back picking up the 26 cats at the other vet to bring them home for aftercare. I was now up to four trips to the vets today. Then I was off to set more traps for the stragglers.

9/2

I loaded up the 26 cats for release and headed back again to check traps. We caught two more cats overnight for a total of 28 cats. I took these two cats to the vet and picked them up later along with five cats at another vet that Suzie had trapped. So I had seven cats for aftercare that night. But after unloading these cats it was off to trap two cats at another location and drop off my drop-trap to a caregiver trying to catch one last cat.

9/3

I met Suzie for release of her five cats, picked up a straggler from that location and headed down to 85008 to release the last two cats from the large colony. Then I took the three cats to the vet and picked them up later for aftercare.

9/4

I released the one cat for Suzie and she released the two I had trapped Wed. night as the caregiver was closer to her place. There were lots of traps and covers to wash to get ready for next week's adventures. With the holiday on Monday, several vets were closed Friday and Monday there would be no vets. And, there would be no weekend clinics making this an uneventful weekend. I do hate holidays! I do, however, always trap on Christmas night and New Years night if the holidays fall during the week. By the way the person drop-trapping did catch the last cat and got it fixed on 9/4. Thank you Joe Wisdom for helping perfect the drop-trap design.

The Spay Neuter Hotline TNR program has sterilized nearly 5,000 cats since launching our program in March 2009. We need your help. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help us fix more cats. Our goal is to eventually TNR 20,000 cats/year and we cannot do it without your support. Remember to spread the word about spay and neuter of tame cats - the major source of feral cats. TNR alone will not solve the problem. There are low-cost and even free spay and neuter options for tame cats. For more information visit our website.

And, there will be Fundraiser on 9/18 at Tom's Tavern in downtown Phoenix. Check it out! I'll be speaking about our new TNR program and my ideas on solving the free-roaming cat overpopulation problem in Maricopa County and beyond. And there will be some good whiskey tasting too!