Hello to Everyone!

A quick e-newsletter to update you on the past few months.
 

FERAL CAT NEWS

The following excerpts are from websites from two Canadian cities. TNR is now getting mainstream and is being enacted by various municipalities. Please take every opportunity to tell people about TNR and how effective it is. The faster all municipalities get on board the faster the results!

EDMONTON, ALBERTA  - Trap Neuter Return Pilot Project - from the City's website

"In 2012, the City of Edmonton in partnership with Little Cats Lost (a local not-for-profit agency), carried out a small pilot project.  The aim of the project was to test Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as a method of managing and reducing the feral cat population in Edmonton.  Four test sites throughout Edmonton were selected based on existing knowledge of feral cat colonies and caregivers willing to participate in the project.  A small area in your neighbourhood was among the test sites chosen.

This area has been home to a large colony of feral cats for several years.  In 2012, through TNR efforts 36 cats were altered and 70 kittens removed and adopted out.  During the first six months of 2013, only eight kittens have been born into the colony suggesting the altering of 36 cats in 2012 is already having a positive impact (by reducing feral cat reproduction)."

www.edmonton.ca

LONDON, ONTARIO – FERAL CATS - from the City's website

www.london.ca

Summer is always busy and this year is no exception. A few of our rescue stories below to share with you.

HANDSOME

He's still in care but getting better. Lorrie, from SNAPPS, alerted us to this poor guy in the Lower Lonsdale area. He was first spotted behind a building in a fenced storage area and everyone thought he was trapped and couldn't get out. Food and water was pushed underneath the gate the first night by a friend of Lorrie's.

We thought him likely feral so figured we'd be doing TNR. On closer inspection of the storage area during a visit the next day, we discovered there were several exits from the fenced area and spotted him lying in a narrow area between the building wall and the storage shed. It was clear this was his hiding place. We put out food, pushed it under the gate, called him and he came forward with great hissing and warbling to snatch the food. It would be unusual for a feral to come so close to someone on the other side of the gate so I reached under the fence and pulled the dish out to see if he'd come. Warily he did and then I could see how thin he was. While he was wolfing down the food I gently touched his body – just a skeleton! I ran to get a kennel but he was back under the fence very quickly and would not come out again.

I was back the next afternoon as soon as the construction site shut down next door. Again, he was waiting behind the fence, hissing and warbling, but came under the gate to eat the trail of food I placed leading into the kennel. Got him ! It was 6pm on the stifling hot Friday night of the August long weekend, and we were so glad as we worried about whether he was also dehydrated.

He went to the vet immediately and we eased the hissy little guy into a kennel with food and water. Enough stress for tonight – just let him be! The next morning he was checked - no ID, no microchip and really bad teeth. We put out posters to see if we could find an owner as we thought he must have had a home at one time. He wasn't feral but it was apparent that he had been on the street a long time.

He only pecked at the food the first day and we were concerned so we ordered blood and urine tests to see what might be going on in his frail body. The results weren't good – pancreatitis and very poor kidney function. We aren't sure if it's acute from starving or chronic from a long term situation. Only time will tell. So, we moved him from the vet to a foster home and he is definitely feeling better. We can pet and hold him now and he accepts getting his subcutaneous fluids without fuss. His appetite is back and he is gaining weight. Once he is better we will address the teeth issue. In the meantime, he is in loving care.

Click here to see Handsome.

SUNDAY . . . and her kittens

We trapped her on a Sunday night so that's what we named her! Last May, a patron of a North Vancouver restaurant near the waterfront reported hearing what they thought were kittens mewing somewhere in bush near the parking lot. A couple of people searched but couldn't find anything.

The restaurant is in an industrial area of North Vancouver and there is a lot of bush around giving hiding places for a feral cat. While talking to the restaurant employees out back of the building we spied a brown and white cat dash out of nearby bush and enter the dumpster storage area at the back of the property. They had seen the cat from time to time before but hadn't seen any kittens.

The next night when all was quiet, we brought a trap in the hope that the cat might be there and we were right. Same time; same place. The tuna fish smell lured the kitty and we had her within 5 minutes. She was spayed the next day at a nearby vet clinic but the vet said she was producing some milk so we knew, for sure, that there were kittens in the area. We returned her as soon as possible and hoped she would reunite with them. For days we canvassed the area and spoke to the different businesses to put them on alert for kittens. Nothing for a month. In the meantime, we had set up a little feeding station so mommy “Sunday” could eat properly every day and have strength to feed the little ones. The feeders spied her on occasion so we knew she was staying in the area.

One day we received a call from a marine business down the road to say they had spotted little kittens under one of their shipping containers and had started feeding them. They knew the kittens were feral and so needed help to catch them. We put two and two together and assumed these were Sunday's kittens. We were there the next morning and spied 3 kittens sneaking food out of the dishes so set traps and caught two right away. The third disappeared and wasn't seen for many days. The two caught were about 12 weeks old and VERY feisty. We wanted to give them a chance to settle to see if they could be socialized and they are still in care. They are making progress but it is slow and we're not sure yet whether they will tame up. We still can't hold them but they are allowing some brief touching.

Helen at the marine business just spied another two kittens which have started showing up so we will be setting traps there and doing pediatric spay/neuter when we catch them. And Sunday has started to show up at the feeding station with another kitten in tow, so we will be trapping it as well. It is wonderful to know that she and the little one are getting fed daily and that she is spayed. The adjacent property to the station has lots of bush and is surrounded by a high chain link fence where equipment is stored. There are plenty of dry places for shelter for them. Stopping a new cycle of feral cats being born is essential. All the businesses in the area are happy to have the cats around as they keep the rats and mice from their businesses so it is a welcome environment for them and a very progressive and co-operative atmosphere for us to work in!

Click here to see Sunday and her kittens

LOVE . . . . AND LOSS

This is a hard one to read . . . we couldn't save her. But she was rescued from the street and received love and food and tremendous veterinary care before she went. She will be in our hearts always.

There was a long stretch of blazing hot days leading up to the Sunday of World Cup Soccer Day in July. About 11:30am both an urgent phone call and email came to us from the caring employees of the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. A little cat had climbed up the tower steps and was lying on their stairs in the full noon sun and she didn't look well. Her fur was heavily matted and when they gave her something to drink she just leaned over the dish. They knew she was in trouble and needed immediate help.

Within the hour we were there. She had climbed down the stairs and was now lying under the tower on the hot, but shaded, tarmac. About 6 lanes of parked cars were on one side and a concrete wall on the other. Everyone thought she must have escaped from a car but there were no reports or enquiries by passengers. She didn't look feral but she was hissy and we carefully reached under the tower to engage her. She sniffed the food and then slowly wandered into the kennel but didn't eat the food.

She looked very weak and dehydrated and we rushed her to Blueridge-Cove Animal Hospital and got her into the cool, air conditioned clinic. We were pretty certain we would receive a call from a panicked owner overnight but no call came. She had a tattoo but it was untraceable and there was no microchip. She was a beautiful little Himalayan ragdoll but she was obviously in rough shape.

Her general condition made us worried and, in order to assess her health better, we had her heavily matted coat shaved off the next afternoon. She was extremely thin under that matting. Supportive therapies began while we attempted to locate anyone looking for her. All the ferry employees had been alerted for enquiries and we plastered Horseshoe Bay and missing cat websites with photos.

She ate tiny bits and seemed to be rallying after a few days of treatment so she was released into our care. We named her our little “Bay Girl”, ran her photo in the North Shore News and still . . . no one contacted us. It was apparent that the rally was only temporary and we re-admitted her to the clinic for intensive treatment to try and save her. Through blood tests, x-rays and other diagnostic efforts the vets at Blueridge did everything they possibly could. This time she couldn't rally and, after 12 days of trying to stay with us, she said good-bye, comforted in our arms. A sincere thank you to all the vets and staff of Blueridge-Cove who tried so hard. Thank you also, to Willow, who was with us at the end to comfort her and thank you to all the very concerned ferry employees who sought help for her. A very special thank you to Taylor for all your efforts.

Our Little Bay Girl - with love  . .

MORE RESCUES  . . . .

A few photos and stories of some of our other work during the last few months . . . .

If you would like to help defray our veterinary and cat food expenses, please go to our website for a link to Paypal or Canada Helps.  As well, we have continuing monthly medical expenses for some of our senior cats!  A tax receipt will be issued for any donation over $10.  Or you can mail a cheque to our post office box at # 735 - 1641 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, BC  V7M 2J5.  It would be very much appreciated to help us continue our work!  

Lana Simon, Director Pacific Animal Foundation www.pacificanimal.org
	Sophie, one of the beautiful ferals we helped, along with her 3 siblings.