3 new caregivers, 9 kittens, 10 cats!
Laura’s first email to GCCCP told us her trailer park was overrun by cats left behind and producing generations of cats. It was craziness trying to drive on the street coming home because the road was taken over by cats. Laura was told to reach out to GCCCP about a trap and release program.
After the 4 kittens we told you about in the last newsletter there were …
… 3 female cats, 2 of these were sisters that had just had litters. One had 4 babies, the other 5.
Laura, Omunique and Myra were neighbors taking care of this group of cats.
GCCCP started by leaving Laura 3 traps for the 3 female cats, leaving the kittens with Omunique and Myra. Laura was enthusiastic and very motivated. We had those cats the same day!
Next, we tried out our new resource INTAKE option. We took up one of the litters to Idaho Humane Society, hoping they would go to the adoption floor. That didn’t turn out the way we expected. They had ringworm! And when we took in the other litter a week later, they had ringworm too!
IHS has a room for ringworm kittens, but it is full most of the time. And even when the kittens can be taken in, they sometimes spend months in a small suite and taken out for treatment.
GCCCP suggested our fosters sign up to be IHS fosters. Karen did. She stepped in and took on the challenge of treating one of the litters. Because she is an IHS foster now, IHS will pay for everything while the kittens are recovering!
The other ringworm kittens will be cared for by Omunique, their original caregiver. GCCCP will support her kittens’ needs.
Laura was excited about trapping. She
decided to talk to the woman at the other end of the trailer park that had a colony
Gail had a hard time believing that anyone wanted to help her spay and neuter her free-roaming cats without doing them harm. This is the usual reaction from new caregivers because in the past there was never support. We gave Laura paperwork to explain the process and information about GCCCP.
When Gail decided to trust us, she was ready and willing to help. Cats that are new to traps are usually easy to catch, so you want to get as many as possible as quickly as possible. Gail had 7 cats, and between Gail, Laura and GCCCP we trapped them all in about 3 days.
These 7 cats were able to be taken in as soon as they were trapped because of the RTH* program. We did not have to hold them in cages, or plan for one or two appointments a month like before the contract with Idaho Humane Society. Very exciting!
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