Event Recap: Community Workshop with Alley Cat Allies

Posted on July 7, 2015August 23, 2021 by True Blue Animal Rescue

True Blue Animal Rescue hosted a free seminar to educate the community about how to help cats while controlling the population on Sat June 27th.The group picture was taken at the end of the event to show unification of rescuers moving forward to humanely care for animals in our communities.

Representatives Liz Holtz and Hannah Shaw from Alley Cat Allies out of Maryland flew in to teach us what they know and help us begin a successful Trap, Neuter and Return program in our community. Alley Cat Allies brought facts from studies showing that programs such as these are the only way to control the cat population. Cats have been living in our communities for hundreds of years just as raccoons, squirrels, possums and skunks do. They do not damage, harm or attack humans and their property. As natural hunters Cats help control rodent and snake populations in rural communities. The population can get out of control but killing them or removing them does not solve the problem. When one leaves, another will come and take it’s place. They can be controlled through Trap, Neuter and Return programs. They will be vaccinated when they are fixed and ear tipped so you’ll know which cats are done. Once they are fixed and returned they are no longer breeding, fighting, multiplying and they are disease free and vaccinated. They will stay in their own colony and live peacefully among the other animals and humans. We ended the seminar with Amy reading Tiger’s story so we wouldn’t forget him and would carry on to help other cats in his memory.

This program will take manpower and money. True Blue Animal Rescue volunteers have begun the process for our community and we started a fund called Tiger’s fund so we can pay to spay, neuter and vaccinate all the cats we’ll be helping. If you’d like more information go towww.alleycat.org or www.t-bar.org If you’d like to help in Washington Co or your community email [email protected] or call 936-878-2349 and we’ll tell you how!

Watch TNR video:

You can read Alley Cat Allies recap here

Success Stories: Smokey

Posted on March 12, 2014August 23, 2021 by Alissa

Nearly everyday, T-Bar receives emails from the caring people who have found, fed and sheltered an animal that appears to have been dumped and left to fend for themselves, but who are unable to keep the animal. Sometimes we are able to take in one or two of these animals when there is an open space in a foster home, but when T-Bar foster homes are full we reluctantly have to tell these compassionate people that we have nowhere to place the animal and we are only able to offer networking assistance through our RAIN (Rescue Animals In Need) Facebook page.

Animals who are born and grow up feral are better able to care for themselves than a domesticated animal whose had their food, water and shelter provided for them their whole lives. For Smokey, he was one of the lucky ones spotted on a porch bench at a Mexican restaurant in Somerville, Texas by one of T-Bar’s wonderful foster parents. When she walked up to him, he physically reached out to her as if he were asking, “Can you please help me?” After discovering that he was dumped, there was no possibility that she could leave him there on his own.

At that point, Smokey was only 6 months old and needed lots of food and TLC. At first, he was very anxious about his new surroundings and the woman who was caring for him. Sometimes he would be so scared he thought he had to defend himself and hide. But after a few weeks of being slowly socialized and shown love, he learned to trust this kind stranger.

For months, he waited and waited for his forever family to find him. Thanks to a Pet of the Week listing in the Brenham Banner Press, Smokey’s forever family had finally found him. When it was time for his Meet-n-Greet, Smokey did his best to charm them and show them that he was a very special boy. His new mom, Emilee, fell in love with him that day. She knew he was the right fit for her and began preparing her home for his arrival. It did not take long for Emilee and Smokey to bond. He is so happy to finally have his own girl to love him and spend the rest of his life with.

Thank you, Emilee and Jan, for opening your hearts and home to our sweet Smokey.

Pictured is Smokey and adopter, Emilee.

TBAR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit no-kill animal rescue organization. If you would like to help animals such as this one please consider donating to TBAR, volunteering, fostering, or adopting. Donations go directly toward care, feed, and veterinary care of the rescued animals and every little bit helps us to help another animal in need of safety and rehabilitation. Save a life: adopt instead of shop and spay or neuter your pets!

October 16: Feral Cat Day

Posted on October 16, 2013August 23, 2021 by Jess

National Feral Cat Day 2013

October 16 is National Feral Cat Day, as broadcast by Alley Cat Allies. This is an awareness day that seeks to spread the word about Feral Cats – to teach people the difference between pet, stray, and Feral cats, and to teach the community that Feral cats can have full and happy lives living outdoors.

The difference between stray and Feral cats is that Feral cats have been born and raised outdoors, enjoying the freedom that comes with “returning to the wild”. They are not socialized and they do not have the ability or desire to become domesticated. Once trapped and re-homed, it is unlikely that Feral cats will warm up to humans, and they will not prefer their new indoor captivity to the life they were used to outdoors. In contrast, as stray cat is one that has been lost or abandoned and is able to be rehabilitated and re-homed.

Because most Feral cats cannot be re-homed, TBAR does not support the trapping and surrendering of them, and so we are unable to place them in Foster Homes that can rehabilitate them. That being said, TBAR is a huge supporter of the Trap-Neuter-Return initiative, which not only takes care of spay/neuter, but also takes care of vaccinations. In these situations we ONLY help people if they are willing to feed and monitor the returned cats. We have special funds that supporters can donate to that allow us to pay for fixing and vaccinating Feral cats and helping to control the population. We are also able to take in kittens that were born outdoors and socialize them before they become Feral, thus allowing them to become adoptable. If you have Feral cats in your area, please take a look at these tips for helping to manage them:

– Consider a Trap-Neuter-Return program. If you need to borrow a trap, or if you need assistance in funding, please contact us. Click here for more info from Alley Cat Allies on Trap-Neuter-Return.

– Feed and monitor your feral cat community, but only in safe locations (do not feed close to roads, or neighbors with aggressive dogs). Animal control should be alerted if you have a cat that looks sickly in your cat community.

– Feral kittens have a short window in which they can be collected and socialized. Keep an eye on your Feral community and identify any pregnant Feral cats so you can know when the kittens are born.

– If you know anyone that is considering trapping and surrendering, please offer them advice on deterrents. The use of deterrents is an effective way to convince Feral cats to find a new location to live in. Some deterrents are very easy and affordable: lemon peels, coffee grounds, chopsticks, rock beds, and car covers.

– Inform others of the vacuum effect: once one cat is removed it only creates space for another Feral cat to move in the territory. Trap-Neuter-Return prevents the continual rotation of the population.

– Click here for a brochure with even more information on living with cats in your area

Fun fact: one of the greatest examples of a Community Cat program is in the “Happiest Place on Earth”: at Disneyland! The Disneyland program cares for around 200 cats and has done so for at least the past 25 years. They practice Trap-Neuter-Release (which includes spays/neuters and vaccinations), they adopt out kittens, and they also have a community management system that watches over the health and well-being of the cats and feeds them in secure locations away from the public. In return, the Feral community controls the rodent population of the 85-acre theme park in Anaheim, California. Don’t expect to see these cats though, they are great at hiding during the day and prefer to be active at night, when the park is empty of crowds.

Post by Jessica Ripley

TBAR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is a no-kill facility. If you would like to contribute to the spay/neuter fund which is used to help control Feral cat populations, you can click click here to donate and just make a note that it is for the Feral cats! Every little bit helps us to help the cause.

Please note: as a no-kill animal shelter TBAR is not a part of the statistics this video notes about the deaths of feral cats in pounds and shelters. TBAR does not take in any feral cats out of their home environment because they are not adoptable and it is considered inhumane to try to hold them against their will. This statistic does refer to those that trap feral cats and dump them at their local pound or shelter. Please consider the above-mentioned alternatives to trapping and removal.

Resources from alleycat.org

Please see this brochure for information on how-to Trap-Neuter-Return: Click Here

“How to Live with Cats in my Neighborhood” Brochure: Click Here