Pam's TNR Blog - 27 Aug. thru 5 Sept. 2010

Pam's TNR Blog Update:

You may have noticed that I am months behind on my weekly blogs and those weeks contain a lot of great trapping adventures. There are simply not enough hours in the day to schedule, trap, transport, wash traps, aftercare, fund raise, volunteer at clinics and spread the word about TNR and S/N. However, this last week had some memorable moments I want to share. As of this week I have TNR'd 1310 cats in 2010. Some think I am TNR'ing cats I feed - well, I do not feed feral cats and do not encourage feeding of feral cats unless they are fixed. These 1310 cats represent cats being fed by caregivers I've never met - until I trap for them. Over the years I have met some wonderful caregivers, many I never would have met had I not trapped for them. It is not just about helping cats, it is also helping people who love cats. and making a difference in their lives.

Friday: 27 August

It was a busy week with several trapping jobs. Although weeks normally end on Friday, we had good news - a new vet would be open on Saturdays. We would now at last be a seven day a week operation. Not to allow vet slots to go unused, I set up a job in Cordes Junction. Cordes Junction is about an hour N. of Phoenix off I-17. Storms were looming when Bill and I set off.to trap late in the day. I often go out of town to trap looking for a new adventure. Over the years I've been to Gila Bend, Coolidge, Salome, Prescott Valley, Wickenburg and Aquila, to mention a few. We are so lucky in the Phoenix area to have so many low-cost S/N options that many in outlying areas do not.

The job was at an RV park and was for initially seven cats. A deluge occurred as we approached passed the Blood Basin turnoff. We arrived in Cordes Junction in a downpour. Still, we managed to set some traps set under the RV. We found a nice place to eat in view of the RV and the traps. Within an hour or so we had the mother and all six kittens. There was at least one male left. Traps would be set overnight and we set off for Phoenix. It cleared out later in the evening in time to see a double rainbow as cool raindrops fell - what a relief from the 100+ temperatures in the valley.

Saturday 28 August

I took the seven cats to the new vet in the AM. I was surprised when the vet came out and actually helped me unload the cats from my car! Four other caregivers brought cats that morning. I picked the cats up early in the afternoon for aftercare. The caregiver did not catch the remaining male cat overnight but would try for the next day and I'd pick him up when the seven were returned on Sunday AM. The problem would be I was trapping for 15-20 cats for Sunday's MCACC clinic the next day. This would get tricky...

I set off with a full arsenal of traps that night. Barbara was trapping with me in a rough neighborhood. It was slow going and I was hoping for 20 cats to fill the clinic. After checking traps after dinner it was clear we'd need to look elsewhere for more cats. Cats were not cooperating. A mile or so away I knew of a trailer park with LOTs of cats needing help. We call this "low-hanging fruit". I called the caregiver and we set five traps overnight which were all filled in the morning. The caregiver had fed the cats but I knew we'd catch at least a couple of cats. We also set traps overnight at the first location. I'd be worried as usual, sleeping little, wondering if the traps would be there in the AM...and if they'd be filled. I still had to do aftercare on the cats in from Codes Junction. Sunday would be a very busy day...

Sunday 29 August

I'd be setting off before 5:00 AM to check traps at both locations. Good news was I had cats at both locations for a total of 16 cats for the clinic. I got there at 6:15 AM to unload. From there I'd go home to pick up the seven cats to return to Cordes Junction. I called the caregiver on the way (after stopping at the gas station of course) and he had not just one cat (the male) but two cats trapped! Since I did not want to hold them in the traps until Monday, I called to see if I could get them in late to the Tempe clinic. Good news! The vet agreed to do a couple extra cats - what a relief. Still I'd have to release the seven, pick up the two, and head to Tempe (and stop for gas)I was able to make it in time (by 10:00 AM) and was able to wait at the clinic until they were fixed. I call this "drive by S/N". One was a female the caregiver had not seen before. From there I headed over to the other clinic to pick up the sixteen cats and then home with all 18 cats to be after cared.

Monday 30 August

I set off early to released the 16 cats in town. the first caregiver had trapped again that night and caught one big male. After releasing at both locations, I headed to the vet with the one cat. From there I went home to meet SJ. She went with me to release the two cats in Cordes Juntion and pick u the remaining traps. We could do scheduling and calls in the car with her wireless internet connection. I'd have LOTs of traps to wash for the remainder of the week's trapping...this was only the beginning. I'd only have one cat in the garage that night. It seemed empty.

Tuesday 1 September

I released the one cat that morning. I had planned to pick up two more cats in the area at another MHP across the street where I'd trapped before. There was still one left which I'd try for that night. Fortunately this caregiver could trap on her own. Then, I got a call from someone with a cat in a trap which had to be picked up as well for a total of three cats to take to the vet. I'd have three in today.

That night I met SJ and BG for trapping a big job in Glendale. I had two other trapping jobs in the area to do before meeting them. The was a last minute attempt to TNR cats at an old motel being torn down for a bypass over Grand Ave. and new cats next door at a business where we'd trapped before. It was very spooky seeing the old rooms/apartments and the original adobe building thinking of the history of those who had rented there for probably over 50 years. Pictures still hung on the walls. These cats would be coming back in two days to demolished buildings as they were to be torn down the next day - this was truly a last ditch effort to fix these cats. Still, we had to stop the breeding. There were torties and calicos everywhere when we arrived.

One of my first two jobs was for three cats. The later was just for two males. The former was one of my "high-end" jobs where the caregiver was donating a lot for me to help her. This would help pay for the other job in Glendale. I caught two out of three at this one and caught both males right away at the other job.

Wednesday 2 September

We caught at total of 17 at the motel and adjacent business. I'd have one more from the previous night for a total of 22 cats to go to the vet on Wednesday. Besides delivery there would be pickup and aftercare. I'd have to re-bait traps for the last cat at the "high-end" job that night.. When I am promised a big donation I go the extra distance to make sure ALL cats are caught, even using the drop-trap when desperate. We were using the new vet so we had lots of help loading and unloading cats. What a welcome relief. Even if one lifting step can be avoided, it helps. SJ would trap again that night and caught a total of 10 more cats for Thursday for a total of 27 cats from the motel and adjacent business.

Thursday 3 September

I did catch the one last cat at the high end job overnight and got an even bigger donation than expected. SJ released the last 17 motel cats very early in the morning. I'd be delivering five traps to a caregiver in central Phoenix and setting traps for a lady Grant trapped for the night before. Little did I know that Friday morning would turn in to a lot more than just six cats going to the vet. f course there were the two males and 2 females to release at the two locations that were fixed on Wednesday.

Friday 4 September

I checked traps at Grant's location where he'd already released the two cats from the previous night. I had one cat. I had my drop-trap in the car and tried for one more to no avail. Then I headed downtown to pickup the 5 cats in traps...then set off to Glendale to released the last "high-end" cat and pick up my big donation. It had been a lot of work including several traps to the gas station - but well worth it! Then I got a call from a caregiver that was high-maintenance. They had not caught the mother cat (they hardly tried) they were after. I had been offered a bigger donation for pick up and aftercare of this cat. Well, I found out the 5 kittens were way old enough to TNR as well. I agreed to go by with my drop-trap and caught one kitten. (thinking of the big donation!). I asked the caregiver to try again with my drop-trap that night. Instead, as I was almost to the vet he caught one more kitten. I had to go back there and help him transfer the cat to the trap. I then headed to the vet with 8 cats. Of course there would be the usual aftercare and release the next day.

However, taking advantage of the Saturday clinic once again, I had a 20 cat job that night. I'd trapped there before but there were more there an 10+ at the neighbor on the other side of the alley. Fortunately they were able to do a lot of the trapping. I'd be transporting as they had no vehicle (or $$).

Saturday 4 September

In the early AM I released at the first two locations then headed to the third where I'd asked the caregiver to use my drop-trap to catch the last 4 cats (including the mother cat). He had done nothing! I swung into action. When I got there I helped him trap the mother cat and one kitten. I headed to the other job to pick up 20 cats (they caught them ALL) when he trapped the last two kittens. I headed back down there (again). I dropped off the 22 cats at the vet (20 from the big job and four from the other for a total of 24 cats). Both colonies were done!

There would be aftercare and released of all 24 cats the next morning (Sunday). There was no Tempe clinic that day due to the Labor Day holiday. We would be trapping on Labor Day evening but that will be in another blog if it ever gets written...

New estimates put the number of free-roaming cats at over 700,000 in Maricopa County. We can make a difference. Remember, "it starts with you". If everyone does one small thing each week help feral cats in their area reduce this number substantially.

Consider a $25.00 donation to the Spay Neuter Hotline to help one feral cat. Or, put TNR cards out at you vet or a local business. Talk to co-workers about TNR and how they can help. Donate items to our BIG yard sale in November. Little things make a big difference - they all add up.

To help please call the Hotline at: 602-265-7729 (SPAY).

Or visit our website at: http://www.spayneuterhotline.org/


































I'd be releasing the five cats from the

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 11/1/2009

11/1

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

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

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

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

11/2

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

11/3

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

11/4

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

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

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

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

11/6 and 11/7

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

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

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

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.