Usually, rescuers want to eliminate stress from the feral cats they catch for neutering. And they also consider the importance of using the appointments that have been very hard to find. This equates to trapping all night before the appointment in hopes of catching the targeted population. If successful, the cat is in the trap only long enough to fix, recover (1 to 2 days) and be returned.
GCCCP tries to always work with the caregiver. Because of this, we can control the feeding times, and we have an idea of the condition of the cats, including injuries, pregnancies and kittens. Working this way, we feel we can hold the ferals in kennels for a longer period, allowing us to collect cats for larger numbers of appointments set at one time.
The question and challenge are the stress on the cats. As I study the cats in my care, I have concluded that many are grateful to be guaranteed a quiet, clean place to rest and have meals served twice a day. Spa days, kind of. It is more work but there is something special about being able to spoil these unfortunate creatures that did not deserve such a hard existence.
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