LOCAL, LOVING, LOOKING OUT FOR CATS Cats are for life – not just for Christmas ...
Kitten season may be over – but that doesn’t mean the local cat charities and rescues are any less busy! Team Cat Rescue volunteers are ‘caring for cats all year round – Bonfire season and Christmas included’. Good advice is to Google advice to ensure pets suffer as little as possible at these noisy and busy times of the year. They deserve a happy 2020 too!
‘TNR’ – explaining Trap, Neuter, Return
There is one aspect of ‘cat work’ that goes on all the time. This is called TNR - ‘trap, neuter, return’. Here, Team Cat Rescue Co-ordinator Lynne Buffery gives an account of how TNR works in practice when the team stepped in to sort out a colony of feral cats in North Birmingham – and how vital this far-from-glamorous work is in keeping the cat population down and making residents lives better into the bargain.
Says Lynne: “Way back in July, I took a call from a local couple who told me that dozens of cats had taken to living in their back garden – what we call a colony. Mostly ferals, some strays, some poorly, some hungry and, as with all un-neutered cats – their numbers increasing by the day – litter after litter of unwanted kittens.
“Worried resident Beth said she first reported the problem when the colony was much smaller – 8 cats - but although the TNR job went on various ‘lists’ the problem grew, and we – TCR – got a desperate call for help. Those 8 cats had multiplied into 28!
“So we took on the challenge. And with the fantastic co-operation of Beth and the local community, by
Cats for Adoption
TABBY TED Tabby Ted is a real teddy-bear of a kitten - just 7 months old, neutered, vaccinated - and very playful. Like many Team Cat Rescue cats and kittens, he's had a bad start in life, but it hasn't put him off being cheery and affectionate.
SAMMY
Sammy is a happy and healthy boy - neutered, vaccinated and chipped - who loves his food. He is around 4 years old, mostly white with a lovely long grey tail. His fosterer says: “Sammy is easy to live with and enjoys a fuss. He might well suit an adopter with a busy lifestyle who could give Sammy unconditional love coupled with the independence he likes.”
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MOLLY AND CINDY Molly is white and tabby and the devoted sister of white and torti Cindy. The siblings have come intoTeam Cat Rescue care together as they've never been apart in their whole lives. Their elderly Great Barr
mid–September, the job was complete. And a new volunteer, Steve Bryant of Four Oaks, worked on the
job with me. His muscles at handling the heavy traps were invaluable!
“A great help too was the ‘community team’ who prepared photos and short biogs on each cat. This meant we could be confident, by matching moggie with mug-shot, that we trapped, neutered and returned every single one. Without catching the same cat twice!
“Now all the cats are neutered, ear-tipped, and had the benefit of any vet treatment they needed while under the anaesthetic. Sadly, but not really unexpectedly, three were too poorly to survive as ferals, and had to be put to sleep on animal welfare grounds.
“This was the largest colony we have tackled, but we know Cats Protection volunteers have dealt with much bigger ones, and that they are out doing this sort of work day in, day out – come rain or shine.
“Finally, TNR work isn’t cheap! Our vet bill for September was over £1,600, so donations and ideas for fund-raising most welcome. We have monthly fund-raising table top sales at the Swan Centre Yardley – see our facebook page for upcoming dates. Our thanks to Pype Hayes Vets for coping with all the ferals we spring on them!”
*To Contact Team Cat Rescue – to adopt, volunteer or support: call 0121 373 4596 or search on facebook -
www.facebook.com/teamcatrescue
Bitty
owner could no longer cope – she’d adopted them as tiny kittens. This purrfect pair of 9-year olds are spayed and their vaccinations up-to-date. Molly is the more timid of the two – she’s laid-back, semi- long-haired and has the softest fur imaginable. Cindy is short-haired, outgoing and very friendly.
Call Lynne of TCR on 0121 373 4596 between 9 and 5 for more details on any of these cats. See more on
www.catchat.org
To advertise please call 0121 371 0882
Community Life & Leisure
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