TNR Web Log—Introduction
Hi. My name is Rachel, and I’m going to be taking you on a journey through the world of TNR. My husband Shane and I started rescuing, fostering, and adopting out homeless cats several years ago when we lived in Cincinnati, and continued to do so after we moved to Asheville. We didn’t look for cats to help, but we assisted those who came across our path. All that changed in April 2009, when we attended a TNR workshop held by Friends2Ferals. At the end of the workshop we were convinced—this is what we want to do! We began that week, and by the end of 2009 we had gotten 80 cats sterilized. More

The Unknown Kittens
We were on a ‘reconnaissance mission’ at a trailer park—that is, meeting residents and introducing ourselves, explaining what Friends2Ferals does, and finding out where the cats are, how many, who the caregivers are, etc. We met some very fine and generous people who, though they didn’t have much themselves, faithfully bought cat food and fed the homeless cats living there. On this day several residents steered us to a particular trailer where multiple litters of kittens were being born. We knocked on the door and met a young couple who said they had no cats. When we explained what we do, they confessed that their cat had had multiple litters and they couldn’t afford to spay her. There was a litter with the cat under the trailer, and the man said they were a couple weeks old and still nursing. Normally, F2F doesn’t provide services to companion animal cats (‘pets’ as some still refer to them). However, upon talking to this couple, we could see that care of their cat was not a very high priority to them. We felt certain that without our intervention, their cat would continue to produce kittens. So we told them we’d be back in a couple weeks to catch them all, when the kittens were older. More

Making the Unknown Kittens Known
The next day, after feeding the two kittens and cleaning their crate, I headed over to the trailer park, alone, as I reasoned that one person appears less threatening than two. My intent was to gather information as to the kitten-shooter. When I knocked on the trailer door, a heavyset young woman appeared. She stepped out onto the porch when I introduced myself. She told me that her son had been egged on to shoot the kitten by an older teen boy, and that her son had cried when the kitten died. I asked her what were the consequences of her son’s behavior, and she replied that there were none. When asked why she hadn’t taken the kitten to a vet for treatment, she responded that she had wanted to save it herself, and that she was afraid the vet would euthanize it. However, when pressed, she admitted that she had no veterinary or medical training whatsoever. Further questioning revealed that the kitten was unable to walk, and the woman said she’d thought it was getting better because it was eating but it “wouldn’t get up”. Sucking in my breath, I told her that the kitten COULDN’T get up because her son’s action had either broken the kitten’s back or caused it to be paralyzed. I told her that the kitten had suffered unspeakable pain and that it would have been kinder to allow the kitten to be humanely euthanized by a vet. I explained that most vets will euthanize a mortally injured homeless animal free of charge. More

Everybody Loves Bob
Our new trapping site was a trailer park, and we’d met two women who fed the cats and were supportive of our work. We asked them to stop setting out food on Saturday night, and Sunday night we set two traps at each trailer. The following morning we had captured two cats, one of whom was a large gray tabby, a bit scruffy, with a face that looked as though he’d seen a lot. When I called the caregivers to let them know about the cats, they both knew of this cat, and spoke fondly of him. One of them had named him Bob. Bob was neutered without incident, and he spent the night after his surgery recovering in our garage, as with all the cats we trap. Bob was friendly, and I was able to pet him through the bars of the trap. When I released him back at the trailer park, he didn’t bolt away as most cats do, but casually looked around, sat down, and cleaned his paws before ambling off. More

The Saga of Cleopatra
She was a slender young gray tabby, nothing remarkable about her appearance, except for her huge dark eyes. Living behind an abandoned industrial site, she would emerge from the underbrush for the daily feeding by a caretaker who lived a few blocks away. Two days after her spaying, Cleopatra was returned to the site. There were approximately 15 cats living at this site behind a building that used to house offices, and fortunately we were still trapping there when Cleopatra was returned. More

Motherless Kittens
We’d been trapping at the trailer park for several weeks when a frantic call came from one of the caregivers. She’d seen six kittens emerge from underneath the trailer across from hers, and had captured two of them. I immediately went over to investigate. The kittens appeared to be 3-4 weeks old. “They’re still nursing”, I told her, and recommended that we return the two, so she did. I figured their mother was still lactating, and would care for them for the next few weeks. When they were older we would trap the kittens and their mother. We put some canned food near the opening under the trailer for the mother. More

Saved by the Meowing Cell Phone
The following morning we returned to the trailer to retrieve the remaining kitten(s). Again we placed wet food near the opening under the trailer skirt and meowed. After a few minutes a tiny tabby head peered out and took a few bites. Slowly I moved the plate further away from the entrance, and the kitten retreated into its hideaway. For some time we tried to lure the kitten back out but were unsuccessful, so we set a spring-less trap, laid cardboard on its floor, and baited it with food at both the front and the back. We left and returned an hour later, but the trap was still intact with the food in it. Several hours later Nancy and Rick met us at the trailer to help out. This time the food in the trap had been eaten but the trap hadn’t been tripped. Before we had a chance to do anything, Nancy’s mobile phone rang. Nancy’s ringtone is the sound of a cat meowing, and the kitten immediately stuck its head out from the opening, crying in response to the cell phone meow. We opened a fresh can of food, placed it near the opening, and I called her phone from mine. As the phone meowed, again the kitten emerged, crying out and peering in all directions, no doubt hoping it had found its siblings or mother. We all suppressed our chuckles and held our breath. The kitten stepped to the can of cat food, and Nancy swiftly scruffed it and deposited it into the carrier. We all had a good laugh at this new cat-attracting strategy. More

Kittens Fear Their New Mother
The five kittens are still extremely frightened of their giant human parents. I use my baby voice, speak softly and move slowly when I’m in their room. They hiss at me and I pretend to cower in fear. Amazingly, they all began using the litter box right away, and I’ve not found a single poo or pee outside the box! They all have those huge blue eyes, and are eating all the wet food I give them. Surprisingly, they showed no interest in the kitten milk replacer I gave them last night. More