A tribe of happy feral cats lives near the FundRaiser office and several staff members are involved in helping care for them. Last September, I mentioned this colony in the FundRaiser newsletter. Newsletter readers responded warmly and we received quite a few emails expressing concern for the cats. Along with sharing our feelings for the cats, many hoped that we had plans to spay and neuter them.
This month, Autumn Shirley of FundRaiser organized a campaign to do just that.
Anyone who has been involved in caring for feral cats knows the challenges of capturing wily felines. Autumn started by locating a veterinarian to help with physical exams, spaying, and vaccinations. "A lovely friend of mine has helped make arrangements with an angel vet to spay and neuter them for a discount," Autumn's facebook posts began. "I need a little help to pull it off." She followed up with a list of the equipment she wanted to borrow (live traps and cat carriers) and a request for volunteers to help catch the cats and donations to cover the veterinarian costs.
Autumn's network responded quickly. In a few days she had enough funds to spay about 1/2 the cats and the equipment she needed, included a cat-net that looked to me like a net for a super-sized butterfly. Then the process of catching the cats began.
"After a few initial mishaps (there was a guy mowing and weed eating right by my traps, then a little tornado of a dog blew through and scared them all off), we finally have four cats trapped and at the vet. We'll be checking every hour and taking any new cats that we trap right over to the vet throughout the day and tomorrow. Wish us luck - I would love to trap at least 6 more!" posted Autumn.
After two more days, the job was done. "Final kitty report... caught a total of nine. Seven were female (!!) and two were male. All have been fixed, vaccinated, and released. Many, many thanks to everyone who helped!! I've raised almost exactly enough to spay and neuter all of them, and they all received their rabies shots and two even got a dose of antibiotics. The vet was amazing! I will continue to feed them every day, and seek vet care when necessary but it's a huge relief to not have to worry about all the litters that those seven girls might have had!" wrote Autumn.
Thanks to the newsletters readers who expressed an interest in the cats. As Autumn says, our involvement continues. We'll socialize the cats who allow it, find homes where possible, and simply enjoy the cats who have found a place in our hearts.
To learn how fundraising software can help you be an effective fundraiser for the issues that are closest to your heart, take a look at the FundRaiser Software product comparison chart