By Michelle Lloyd
Treasurer, Board of Directors
Verde Valley Humane Society
Cottonwood AZ (October 15, 2015) – Join us in celebrating cats on National Feral Cat Day®! Inspired by this year’s theme, Evolution of the Cat Revolution, cat advocates are committing to continue their own evolution by taking the next step – whether it be neutering a cat or helping raise awareness about the needs of strays and feral cats and TNR. Today and every day, let’s protect the lives of all cats.
The Verde Valley Humane Society supports and promotes TNR as it demonstrates a socially-responsible and humane approach to serving the cats and the community.
So far this year, the Verde Valley Humane Society have spayed/neutered 97 feral cats, and 89 stray cats that were able to be adopted, amounting to 186 cats that were unaltered and loose in the community. This is not the end of the population, as we receive hundreds of cats per year.
From 4 months old, cats can go into heat three or more times per year, and give birth to approximately 6 kittens at a time. That is 24 kittens a year per cat! Assuming that half the stray and feral cats brought to the shelter were females, 2,160 extra cats could have been roaming our streets within a year.
As there are so many wandering cats on our streets, it is very important that the community focuses on sterilizing as many as we can to help control the cat population. This is why TNR is critical.
When the Verde Valley Humane Society receives a feral cat that is brought in from either the city animal control officers or from a Cottonwood resident, we hold the cat for 3 days for evaluation. If the cat is healthy after our holding period, the cat is taken to a local vet’s office to be vaccinated and spayed or neutered, as well as having its ear-tipped for easy identification to prevent needless trapping and surgery.
We then hold the feral cat for a short period before we release it as a barn cat, or at a local winery for rodent control.
Education is also a key and understandably many people have questions about TNR and feral cats. There are numerous resources on the internet – one of them being Alley Cat Allies, who launched National Feral Cat Day in 2001. For more information about National Feral Cat Day, or for tips on how you can help care for feral cats in need, check out the Alley Cat Allies website at www.AlleyCat.org.
The Verde Valley Humane Society would very much appreciate any financial assistance from the community to support our TNR program, which in turn also provides public health benefits to the community. If you like to enhance our TNR program, please visit our Donate page at www.verdevalleyhumanesociety.org.
Your assistance will help stray and feral cats live healthier and more peaceful lives. Your generosity will fund vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries that will protect and improve the quality of their lives.
Studies have found that stresses associated with mating, and nuisance behaviors like yowling, marking and fighting, are greatly reduced after a spay/neuter. Cats also tend to roam less which is beneficial for their safety. Additionally, colonies become quieter, cats become better neighbors, calls to authorities decrease, community members’ feel more at ease and their spirits improve.
All cats deserve to live a long, healthy and humane life. Together we can reach our goals – help us make a difference and save lives by supporting our TNR program.
Please call Angie Hare, our Shelter Manager, at (928) 634-7387 for more details on our TNR program. If you live in the County jurisdiction, we have barn cats available at no cost to you.
Thank you for your compassion and generosity.
Michelle Lloyd
Treasurer, Board of Directors
Verde Valley Humane Society