Craig Street Cats

April was the first month for TNR (trap / neuter / return), for this year.  We trapped a total of 5 cats and had them sterilized at the WHS.  3 were from Craig Street, and 2 from Dominion St.

April marked the beginning of a new relationship between Craig Street Cats and the Winnipeg Humane Society.  In a meeting with Executive Director, Bill McDonald; Director of Shelter Operations, Lisa Rosin; and Animal Intake Manager, Loretta Purchase; an agreement was reached that will formalize our dealings with each other.  Craig Street Cats is entering into a contract with the Winnipeg Humane Society.  This will eliminate the surprise charges, and allow us to budget our resources.  More information will be posted once the contract is finalized and signed.

life jumps up and smacks you upside the head.  After the success of our rummage sale, I was feeling as though, maybe, we had moved into the black, and things could get back to what passes for normal around here.  No such luck.

9 cats and kittens have come into care over the past week.  All of them are at least partly social, which means that they cannot go through the Humane Society TNR program, and must be taken to private vets for sterilization.  Another 5 kittens and 2 queens will probably be coming in over the next few days.  These are also social.

The money we raised at our rummage sale and at the Forks last week (a total of just over $4,000 for the two events) will run out long before the last of the current crop has been adopted.  Another major fundraiser is going to be necessary in order to make it through the summer. 

I’m thinking music, summer breezes, fruity drinks with little parasols in them.  Hmmmm.  Stay tuned.

Week 1 of the drive to manage the Craig St. feral cat colony has been a great success. Four females were trapped and spayed. They will be released this weekend, to live out their natural lives. Although this may seem to be a small step, the simple act of sterilizing 4 female cats will prevent the births of almost 100 unwanted kittens this year, and thousands over the next 5 years.

Just so no one can pooh-pooh the statements in the previous paragraph, let’s do the math. Female cats can have several litters each year. Let’s assume that our females would each have had 2 litters of 5 this year. That’s 40 kittens, half of which would be female. After the birth of the first litters we would have 14 females. The new girls become fertile at about 4 months of age. So, now we have 14 females giving birth to an average of 5 kittens each. That yields 70 kittens for the second litter of the year. Total unwanted kittens in year 1: 90.

After the second litter we have 49 females.

Litter 1, year 2: 245

Now we have 171 females.

Litter 2, year 2: 855

If you’ve been keeping track, you should have a total of 1,190 unwanted kittens after just 2 years. All from 4 females.

Week 1 has been a resounding success. The process will be repeated in May. Appointments have been made for 2 cats on each of the 14th, 15th, and 16th. With luck, we’ll manage to use all of those slots.