Crazy busy weekend!

While we have got adoption events today and tomorrow at PetSmart Knightdale
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pet/4644045902.html

the biggest effort this weekend is a TNR project for a colony in Knightdale
Last night they had gotten 54 cats trapped, and 4 kittens. The kittens could be picked up and they all need urgent medical care.

 more pics after the jump (includes picture of kitten with a bad eye)

Urgent TNR situation, donations needed

Large TNR project underway being funded by Alley Cats and Angels - 14 appointments for spay/neuter this week alone. Please consider making a donation of cat food for this colony or monetary donation to help with the cost of spay/neuter.

Alley Cats and Angels (AC&A) has been asked to help with a large local TNR project in collaboration with Operation Catnip Raleigh (OC). AC&A will fund the entire project, an OC volunteer/board member will coordinate the project and schedule spay/neuter appointments, and the person who initially approached OC for help will do the actual trapping, transporting, and recovery. If there are kittens in the colony that can be socialized for adoption, Alley Cats and Angels will take them into our adoption program.

It’s a dire situation with a short timeline, and such a sad story. An older gentleman is living in his truck after his mobile home burned a few weeks ago, killing his long-time companion dogs and a litter of kittens. This is devastating for the man and he is sharing the little space in his truck with a number of unsterilized cats, which need to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. There are also approximately 30 feral cats around the house that need to be TNR’d (trap-neuter-return).

The timing for this project is short because volunteers from a men’s church group will help the gentleman reclaim and sell metal and remove the debris. The large group of volunteers, heavy equipment, and noise will frighten the cats and they will scatter. We need to get them TNR’d as quickly as possible.

We are thankful for the neighbor who cares enough to ask for help and who is also helping herself, as she will trap, transport, and recover; and for the project coordination support from Operation Catnip.

If you would like to help, we will happily accepts donations of cat food for this colony and the gentleman's personal cats (canned food for trapping and dry food for daily feedings) and monetary donations to help with the cost of spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations.

Free TNR 101 Workshops in the Triangle, NC Area

Multiple local rescue groups, shelters, and Wake County Animal Control are partnering together as the Wake County Cat Committee.  One of the action items is the plight of the feral cats in this area and how to address those needs.  Alley Cats and Angels is pleased to be part of this ground-breaking committee and thanks all the participants for their love and dedication to the animals.


Would you like to learn more about how you can help feral and free roaming cats?   If so, please attend one of the following TNR 101 workshops.  Workshops will be held from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM and are free of charge.

• November 1 at the Wake County SPCA (Raleigh, NC)
• December 6 at SAFE Haven for Cats (Raleigh, NC)
• January 3 at Cat Angels Pet Adoptions (Cary, NC)

The November and December workshops will be lead by Alley Cats and Angels' Vice President, Marie Brewer.

See the attached for more information:

• Local low-cost spay/neuter options: http://alleycatsandangels.org/SNResources.pdf
• TNR 101: http://alleycatsandangels.org/TNR-101.pdf
• Detailed TNR and feral colony management information: http://alleycatsandangels.org/TNR-FeralColonyMgmt.pdf

Meet the Symphony Kittens

The local SPCA has a food bank program and once food has been distributed if there is food leftover, feral cat caregivers can get some for their ferals -- this is a great program because in this economy so many people are struggling but don't want to give up their pets.  However, all animals must be sterilized and vaccinated in order to receive food.  The SPCA forwarded information to us about a colony of ferals with a very limited income caregiver and our one of our TNR Task Force Leaders, Marie P, has been working for the past week trapping for TNR at that colony.  There are approximately 15-20 adult cats and about 10-12 kittens.  So far, 7 of the ferals were "fixed" through our Alter an Alley Cat program last week and we hope to get the remaining cats done this week and next week.  8 kittens have been trapped so far (6 black and white kittens and 2 all black kittens) and there are approximately 3 more kittens to catch.  The kittens are approximately 5 weeks old.  Thankfully, there was someone in the area that is willing to foster the kittens and we are ecstatic because we truly had no available foster homes for them.  Two of the household members play for the North Carolina Symphony so we have dubbed the kittens the "Symphony kittens".  No word yet as to if they will be named after famous composers (Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc.).

We are also fortunate because the caregiver and friends have been working the area to get donations to help offset the cost of spay/neuter of all the ferals.  We have spayed/neutered and vaccinated 175 cats through our Alter an Alley Cat program this year (that does not include our February spay day).  It's amazing what a small group can do on a very small budget but the Alter an Alley Cat fund is getting dangerously low and we will still need to finish TNR for the colonies we are currently working on and need to have funds for those.

So here are the first pictures of the Symphony kittens. 

TNR (trap-neuter-return) works!

We spent a good part of two springs and summers doing TNR at a colony downtown Raleigh.  I took on the colony at a request of a friend (surgeries were paid for, just needed trapping and transport help).  Initially, thought there were about 14 cats.  The first night I trapped two summers ago, I caught five cats in 20 minutes but sat back to watch the cats after I put out food.  I counted at least 22 cats and that was only the ones that would come out when people were around.  I TNR'd 23 cats from that location and took in kittens and then turned the project over to our TNR Task Force Leaders, Tricia and Marie, who thankfully took it on.  The two of them TNR'd a bunch of cats and we took in the kittens.  Tricia and Marie P persevered until every cat had a cropped ear (which is the goal with TNR - make sure you TNR ALL the cats in the colony).

Marie P stopped by the colony last night to check on things and the colony made it through the entire spring and summer without one kitten appearing.  The caregiver will contact us if any new cats show up or if they see a kitten, but all is well.  This is proof positive that TNR works. (And a big thanks to Tricia and Marie P.)

If you would like to learn more about TNR, check out the below websites or email us at tnr@alleycatsandangels.org.  If you're interested in becoming part of our TNR Task Force (we always need lead trappers and trapping assistants), please email us at tnr@alleycatsandangels.org.

• http://www.alleycat.org/
• http://www.feralcat.com/
• http://www.feralcatcaretakers.org/
• http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/
• www.indyferal.org/
• www.americancat.net/
• www.urbancatleague.org/
• www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/resourcelibrary/feralindex.cfm
• www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/qa/feral_cat_FAQs.html
• www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.html

 

Cool items for sale -- all to benefit the cats

Check out Wildcat Woods vintage Treasures: http://wildcatwoodsvintagetreasures.blogspot.com/.

This family has rescued and cares for feral cats. They even moved ferals to another town with them so the cats they previously TNR'd would be forever cared for.  They have some great vintage items for sale including jewerly, books, clothing, housewares, home decor items, etc. All the proceeds go to care for the cats to help pay for food and medical care.  And they have quite a few kitties with chronic health issues. 

Please check out the site and hopefully you'll see something you can't do without -- because again, all the money goes to care for the cats. 

Alley Cats and Angels' First Annual Feral Cat Spay Day a Success

Alley Cats and Angels celebrated National Feral Cat Day by holding a $10 spay day for feral cats on October 14, 2010. A lot of feral cat caregivers are on extremely limited incomes and this is one way Alley Cats and Angels can help both the cats and the caregivers.  Many of the caregivers participating in the spay day truly could not afford the $10 co-pay per cat but were not turned away as long as appointments were still available. 

Our TNR (trap-neuter-return) Task Force helped trap feral cats the day before the clinic and transported them and from the clinic. 24 cats were spayed/neutered, vaccinated and earcropped today; of those 14 were female and 10 were male. 

This was Alley Cats and Angels’ first Feral Cat Spay Day but it will become a yearly "tradition" for our rescue group.

We would like to thank Dr. Barbara Farmer of Greystone Animal Hospital in Raleigh for helping make this day possible. In addition, we would also like to thank Whole Foods Market on Wade Avenue, Raleigh and our donors for your generous donations which helped cover the cost of this spay day.

Additional thanks to our TNR Task Force Leaders, Tricia Andrews and Marie Pickering, for their tireless devotion to feral cats.

Update on Sunny with a Chance

After twelve days at the vet, the beautiful little Sunny got to come home from the vet last night.  She still has a special bandage on her head that is stitched on and she'll have to go back to the vet a couple of times per week but she is doing well. 

Here's a picture of her thinking "ahhh come on, do I have to wear both the bandage beret and the cone?".  I do get a sense that it's combined with a little bit of her thinking "oh please, who could possibly resist all this cuteness?"!! 

You have to admit - even with the bandage and the cone, she is pretty darn adorable!

Update on the Weather Girls

Spoke with Dr. Jodi's office this morning and Sunny is doing well.  She is very playful, has a good appetite, and her head is coming along nicely.  The earliest she'll be able to come home from the vet is Thursday, although she might need to stay longer -- we won't really know until Thursday. 

I thought you'd enjoy a picture of Windy when she's not wet and "screaming".  She's mind blowing cute and her ears don't seem quite as big (although they are pretty darn big) when she's dry with all her long hair.

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and warm thoughts for Sunny and the other Weather Girls.  We are very happy we could take these babies in.

The "Weather Girls"

Yesterday, we introduced you to Sunny, the Siamese mix with a hole in her head.  Dr. Jodi said she did really well today with the procedure on her head.  Because the area cannot be completely closed, Sunny will need to stay at the vets for about a week so she special wet-to-dry bandages can be applied, which will help encourage tissue growth.

The other three kittens are tabbies and we've dubbed the litter the "Weather Girls" - Sunny, Stormy, Cloudy, and Windy. There are two very "floofy" tabbies and one short-haired tabby.  They received the full spa treatment (baths, ear cleaning and ear drops (terrible mites), claws clipped, etc.) last night after being examined by the vet and they were not at all appreciative.  Their foster mom took one picture which she dubbed "Windy and the silent scream".  See below. 

Sunny

The Weather Girls chilling in a carrier

Windy and the silent scream (look at those big ears!!)

Meet Sunny...with a chance

There's a television show on the Disney Channel called "Sonny with a Chance", well, this little kitten is named Sunny and after several weeks of working to get her turned over to our care and finally succeeding, she is now Sunny with a Chance.

Sunny and her siblings, three pretty tabby kittens, were born to a feral mom and were finally relinquished into our care.  Sunny has a head trauma with some part of the skull visible.  However, other than her head, she appears to be healthier than her siblings.  Her siblings are terribly underweight for their age.  Sunny and her siblings have an appointment with Dr. Jodi at Harmony Animal Hospital today so we can work on getting these babies all healthy and happy and then find them great homes.  Pictures of the tabby siblings forthcoming.

Alley Cats and Angels Announces 110th Spay/Neuter Surgery Through Alter an Alley Cat Program

The Alter an Alley Cat spay / neuter assistance program has subsidized 110 spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations this year, and we still have 3 months to go! In addition, 16 cats were sponsored on our 2010 Spay Day (100% of expenses were paid by AC&A). And on October 14th, Alley Cats and Angels will be sponsoring our first $10 Spay Day for feral cats in honor of National Feral Cat Day.

The Alter an Alley Cat program paid 100% of expenses for 90% of the surgeries performed, with the remaining 10% subsidized at varying percentages.

Alley Cats and Angels is extremely proud of this achievement. We’re a small rescue, but we are making a BIG difference in the lives of Triangle, NC and surrounding area cats.

Alley Cats and Angels’ Alter an Alley Cat Program provides subsidized spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations for cats owned by low-income/hardship families and feral cats whose caretakers have limited incomes. People requesting spay/neuter assistance are referred to us by our website, feral cat caregivers, veterinarians, AnimalKind, Spay NC Hotline, and other rescue groups. Our Alter an Alley Cat Program is just another example of our commitment to help end pet overpopulation.

It's been a hard couple of weeks

Yes, we've had fantastic adoptions, but we've had some losses as well.  And those are always hard - it doesn't matter if we've had the cats 2 minutes or 2 months, it really still hurts all the same and it rips a little piece of your heart out everytime. 

Not quite two weeks ago, we took in a mama and her three 4-week old babies.  Right away it was apparent that one of the babies was definitely not thriving and something was wrong with him, so the priority was vet care.  Upon examination, some of the one kitten's internal organs were not where they should be and at four weeks old, he was about the size of a 1.5 week old kitten.  I hoped he could be "fixed" with surgery but he was so little and in such bad shape that surgery was not an option, so we had to make the hard decision to have him put to sleep. 

Late this past Sunday, we took in an itty bitty orphaned orange kitten (about 3-days old) from animal control.  We had a nursing mom so it was good for the kitten.  The kitten went to the vet early yesterday and stayed the night (well, Jennifer, the goddess of vet techs at Harmony, took him home and took care of him overnight).  As of last night, he was going to have part of his foot/leg amputated today, even though he was tiny, it had to be done.  But as of mid-morning today, he was not doing well at all and appeared to have other serious health issues, and it was decided it was in his best interest to end his suffering.  We were prepared to do whatever needed to be done medically and surgically (that's why we fundraise, I don't ever want to not be able to take a cat solely because we can't afford extended medical care), but it just wasn't an option anymore.  Little boy was with us such a short time he didn't even have a name.  That makes me want to cry even harder.  But at least we were able to help end his suffering and he's not in pain anymore.  

We'd like to thank the absolutely wonderful Dr. Jodi Reed for her incredible care of our rescue kitties and also for letting us know when we need to make the decision.  And thank you to all the staff at Harmony Animal Hospital for your loving care of the babies. 

It's a sad day today, but sometimes knowing it's time to "let them go" is the best thing for the cats.  But it sure doesn't really make it any easier when they are gone.

Nathan Junior's Extreme Makeover

Upon rescue/intake (August 11): sicky and sticky:

Picture taken September 19:  all healthy, handsome, and ready for adoption: