Craig Street Cats

Well, our one week stint at St. Vital Centre is over, and I think we can call it a success.  We managed to raise quite a bit of money, raised awareness of the feral cat situation in this city, received donations from our wish list, accepted a few volunteer applications,  and have several adoptions in the works.  Our volunteer coordinator, Anne, did an amazing job of scheduling people to come out and help.  Our volunteers came out and did a great job working the booth.

The negative side of doing all this fundraising is that I can’t be in 2 places at the same time.  Spending 12 hours a day in a shopping mall means that I can’t be here to work with the cats.  We have many wonderful volunteers who come out to give me a break every now and then, but I still have to be there for the entire event.  Then I have to come home to feed the cats, clean the litter boxes, take care of the kittens, prepare the sale items for the next day, and do all the other little things that need to be done every day.  It is exhausting.

I think our next goal is to set up a fundraising committee that can plan and run events without me having to be there for the entire time.  With luck, that might happen by the fall.

It’s been a crazy month.  So far we’ve had 24 kittens come through, taken 4 cats in for TNR, rescued another 4, and had 1 cat take up residence in a wall in the back porch.  We have also added a feeding station on Valour Road.  Quite a month — and it’s only half over

The cat in the wall did, eventually, come out.  It was coming out to eat at night, and finally succumbed to the yummy salmon in the trap.  The poor fella was mighty scared after his ordeal, so I couldn’t transfer him to a kennel to wait for the next round of TNR.  He was released, and I hope he’ll wander back into the trap when it’s set in July.

The kittens are doing very well.  Another 8 have gone up to Pet Traders for adoption, leaving 7 here.  It’s very nice to be working with only one kitten pen.  For the last couple of weeks there have been 3 pens FULL of babies, and it was taking 6 hours per day just to feed and clean up after them.  We won’t be taking in any more kittens until the first week of July, but there are quite a few waiting to come in.

Next week (June 22 to 28) we’ll be at St. Vital Centre, in the community booth by Appelt’s.  We’ll be taking some of the adoptable cats there, for a few hours per day, and hope to find lots of adoptive or foster families for our amazing cats.  Of course, we’ll have lots of kitten cards, catnip toys and cat beds for sale, and we’ll be accepting donations, as well.  This is a major fundraising opportunity for us, and we’re hoping to do well.

Today I sat in on a Cats Alive! meeting at the Winnipeg Humane Society.  This is nothing new, I have been attending these meetings since last fall.  At today’s meeting, WHS Executive Director, Bill McDonald spent some time explaining the changes to the WHS trap/neuter/return program. 

According to Mr. McDonald, the changes are not as drastic as the wording on the WHS website makes them appear.  He suggested that some wording was too strong, and could be changed.  The items addressed are as follows:

1. Minimum $20 donation for each cat:  McDonald stated that feral cat caregivers will be asked for a donation, but that it will be voluntary.
2. The new program deals only cats that are “not socialized to human contact, cannot be handled and must be trapped”; not friendly strays or ‘neighbourhood cats’:  according to McDonald, touchable ferals are eligible for the program.
3. Friendly cats will become the responsibility of the WHS:  McDonald suggested that this wording could be changed to may become.  According to him, the caregiver who brought the cat in will be contacted and offered the option of reclaiming the cat or relinquishing it to the WHS.
4. “All cats are tattooed at the time of surgery; the tattoo will register to the Feral Cat Guardian who has registered with the TNR program. The Guardian will assume all responsibility for the cat, including medical treatment, and fines acquired if the cat is trapped by the City of Winnipeg in the future.”  McDonald suggested that this is a matter to be brought up with the City, as the current animal bylaws identify anyone who feeds or cares for a cat as its owner.

If the program is as explained by Mr. McDonald, it is much different than the program described on the WHS website.  It is my experience that policies described by senior staff and executives of the WHS are not the same as those carried out by clinic staff.  It is my sincere hope that the TNR program is actually as explained by McDonald.  Time will tell.

Well, here we are again.  It is kitten season, and we are scrambling to take care of both ends of the critters.  We are in desperate need of kitten formula (KMR, Nutrience, etc.) and clumping cat litter.  We also need dollars to cover the vet bills associated with kitten care.  Another kitten pen would be a big help, too.

So far this month we have rescued 24 kittens under 8 weeks of age.  All of these babies need at least some kitten formula to help them transition to cat food.  They are all weaned, but cannot yet handle a straight canned food and kibble diet.  If they were still with their mothers, they would continue to nurse until she went into heat, when they are about 4 months old.  They don’t need kitten formula for that long, but they do need some mixed into their canned food twice per day.  This is called kitten “glop”.  It helps them transition to more solid foods without getting upset tummies and the poops.

Of course, when you put food in the front end, you have to expect something to come out the back end.  The kittens use non-clumping litter, and the kitten boxes must be completely changed twice per day.  We are currently going through about 50 lbs of non-clumping litter per week.

The 15 adult cats are going through over 200 lbs of clumping litter per week.  Last Saturday we brought in 300 lbs, and we are now down to our last 5o lb box.  That’s 250 lbs used in 1 week. 

Another 11 kittens are waiting to come into care.  Unfortunately, all of our kitten pens are full, and will probably stay that way for another 2 weeks.  We have space for another kitten pen, but not the money to buy one.

It seems as though we go from one crisis to the next, with never a break in between, and the solution is always money.