Pets
Related: About this forumPlease help feral cats if you can.
For the last ten years I have lived in a rural neighborhood in Midway, Florida, filled with feral cats. I rescued and adopted as many as I could afford. But what I really needed help with was trapping, neutering and releasing (TNR) the feral cats. I went to local city council and did what I could to get funds. But, they wouldn't help.
Finally, this organization, It's Meow or Never came to my rescue. To date we have TNR'd 12 adult cats and the wonderful people of It's Meow or Never are fostering a litter of 6 I found in my yard. I recently found another little guy that I'm keeping. This is Freddy. He has 6 toes.
These are some of the kittens they are fostering.
I am hosting a fundraiser on my Facebook page for this organization, It's Meow or Never, they could really use some help with food, litter, medicine and doctor's visits. Even 5 dollars would be of help. Thank you.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10219272966597950&id=1323137605
Here is their direct link:
https://www.itsmeowornevertally.com/
alittlelark
(18,886 posts)Seriously - some ppl want nothing to do with facebook.
I donate to any pet in need, but have nothing to do with facebook
Rhiannon12866
(202,981 posts)Chin music
(23,002 posts)Lunabell
(5,920 posts)trueblue2007
(17,138 posts)thanks for posting this.. my hubby cares for feral cats. all 5 of our cats are rescue cats and 3 of them were feral kittens. God Bless you Lunabell.
Lunabell
(5,920 posts)This organization is awesome!
Rhiannon12866
(202,981 posts)I found my beautiful Felix as a kitten in a supermarket parking lot.
Duppers
(28,094 posts)TlalocW
(15,358 posts)In an apartment complex I used to live at. Some of my neighbors and I got together and rented the traps from the local animal charities and got them spayed or neutered on our own dime.
It kind of bothered me that they put a notch in the ears of the cats though... I didn't like the idea of a bunch of asymmetrical cats running around my neighborhood.
TlalocW
RockRaven
(14,783 posts)and then I learned what it meant, and I felt a different sort of mixed-up bad/good.
I suppose the people who do this have thought long and hard about how to make it obvious without examining the cat by hand which ones have been fixed or not, and this is the best they can do...
not fooled
(5,791 posts)Someone dumped an adult female in my rural area. I trapped her and took her to a feral spay-neuter clinic. Poor thing got anesthetized and cut open, whereupon the vet found that she was already spayed. She got her ear tipped that day. There is literally no way to know otherwise with a feral.
Asymmetrical cats.
pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)They are fed daily, given medication when health issues arise, and have a open door to my garage, especially in the winter. I do not "catch and release" due to the fact there are no spay-neuter clinics in my area. The vets in this area do not give a break for spaying at $175 per cat and neutering at $100 per cat. I can't handle that on my Social Security budget. Thanks for the link. I am going to look into this a little more.
I also have a young gold/yellow female that I brought into my home last November because she was too little/ young to survive in our harsh winters.
catchnrelease
(1,942 posts)Your area may be different, but here in SoCal there are many rescue and TNR groups that can get discounts for spay and neutering that an individual can't get from a vet. They will often offer vouchers or coupons for you to use at certain vets or at mobile s/n clinics. Or you can set up appointments through them on certain days etc. Lots of different scenarios to help people get their own or feral cats fixed at affordable prices.
pazzyanne
(6,518 posts)There are no dog or cat rescues in this area. Already checked vets in that same area for use of discounted spay/ neuter surgeries. Nada! Spay/ neuter clinics are in the twin cities area which is on the other side of the state (almost 200 miles away).
Duppers
(28,094 posts)I will donate.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)You are a treasure. Feral cats make great pets and I have had many over the years.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)down there. They sell puppies at fairs, etc. there are numerous kill shelters and rescue shelters all over the state.
We lived there for several years, I saw dogs kept in the back of thrift shops, waiting for adoption, everyone trying to pitch in, etc.
I could go on, but I wont
MFM008
(19,776 posts)In our neighborhood...
They all seem to be in our house.....
spinbaby
(15,073 posts)A young feral tomcat has discovered that we have a cat door and an endless buffet. He looks hungry and Im perfectly willing to feed him and pretend I dont see him, but he needs a visit to the vet and I havent figured out how to do that.
Lunabell
(5,920 posts)Their help has been invaluable.
femmedem
(8,188 posts)Now I can bring them in when they show up, but when I was too broke to do that, I would start GoFundMe's, post on facebook with a photo of the cat and the cat's story, and I always received enough to bring the cat in to the vet within a couple of hours.
spinbaby
(15,073 posts)Its catching him and keeping him contained until the vet can get to him.
femmedem
(8,188 posts)Most of the cats I've TNR'ed have actually been strays or cats who I'd been feeding until they came to trust me a bit, so that I was able to put out a have a heart trap in the morning at the usual feeding time, watch, then bring the cat directly to the vet. My vet supplied me with the trap and knew to expect me.
One time I found a litter of kittens and was able to get the mom into the carrier by putting the kittens in there. The mom's love of her kittens was stronger than her fear of being trapped.
pansypoo53219
(20,906 posts)no strays lately. i had 2 or 3 cats at the time. i should have kept the one that looked like poirot. he loved the car trip.
the stray my epal was feeding at work turned out to be female, not male & had 2 kittens at his plant. he took her home + she had a 3rd. he is kwepping mom + a kitten. the other 2 already have dibs. THEY ARE HUGE.
Freddie
(9,232 posts)Its the best ever name for an orange baby! We have 2 cats now and DH says thats all. Most of the time I agree but if an orange one found me I would not resist.
MLAA
(17,165 posts)Maybe because I didnt sign into Facebook (I dont use it), but I couldnt see where to donate, so I went to the direct link you posted and made a donation. So glad you called it to my attention!
😽😺😸😼
matt819
(10,749 posts)Two shelters in my area have TNR operations. And if the cats are deemed unable to be domesticated they are available as barn cats.
We eradicate five, three of whom went walkabout. Two have been together now for 7 years. Still feral. Cant get much closer than 10 feet of them. They keep the mouse population down and we also feed them.
Like most cats, they are very funny and ridiculously cute, even if they are feral.