fix-a-feral

Fix-A-Feral
You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed - Antoine de Sainte-Exupery

Since 2003, LAST HOPE has underwritten part of the costs for Good Samaritans spaying and neutering ferals on Long Island. By the end of 2009, we estimate the LAST HOPE Fix-A-Feral program will have helped alter over 8,000 cats on Long Island.

LAST HOPE’S FIX-A-FERAL makes it feasible financially for the public to spay and neuter the feral cats in their local communities at participating veterinarians on Long Island.

Since 1982, we are dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of death due pound, stray and abandoned cats on Long Island.

The cats are placed in foster care with volunteers while they await permanent adoption.

We neuter all our kittens and the regular neutering of all adult cats adopted through our programs ensures that NO LAST HOPE cat will ever contribute to the overpopulation problem.

LAST HOPE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT SOME OF THE MUNICIPAL TOWNSHIPS ON LONG ISLAND ARE FUNDING FERAL CAT SPAY-NEUTER PROGRAMS.

The Town of North Hempstead (Program has been operational since 2003)

The Town of Oyster Bay (Beginning April 1, 2008)
516-677-5784

The Town of Babylon (Beginning April 5, 2008)

We hope that the other Townships on Long Island follow suit.

Links
Animal Control and Shelters
Feral Cats
Feral Cats and the Vacuum Effect
Feral Cats and Predation
Feral Cats and Rabies
Cat Viruses: FeLV and FIV
more links below

To the kind people at Last Hope,
Thank you for your Fix-A-Feral program. I had two kittens spayed at Wooded Acres Animal Hospital in Middle Island thanks to your generosity. These two adorable kittens were hanging around a barn where I board my horse, and they deserved to be taken care of properly. I am also very appreciative of Wooded Acres Animal Hospital for their kind and caring attitude for these sweet kittens. Thank you again.
Ronnie Meltzer
10/2/07

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FERAL AND STRAY CATS

FERAL CATS are the 'wild' offspring of domestic cats and are primarily the result of pet owners' abandonment or failure to spay and neuter their animals, allowing them to breed uncontrolled. Feral cat 'colonies' can be found behind shopping areas or businesses, in alleys, parks, abandoned buildings, and rural areas. They are elusive and do not trust humans.

Many people assume their animals will survive when they move away and leave them behind. Contrary to popular belief, domestic animals do not automatically return to their "natural" instincts and cannot fend for themselves! Already, U.S. animal shelters are forced to kill an estimated 15 million homeless cats and dogs annually. The alternative to humane euthanasia for almost every stray is a violent end or slow, painful death. Many "throwaways" die mercilessly outdoors from starvation, disease, abuse --- or as food to a predator.

A pair of breeding cats, which can have two or more litters per year, can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring over a seven-year period, and the overpopulation problem carries a hefty price tag. Statewide, more than $50 million (largely from taxes) is spent by animal control agencies and shelters for cat-related expenses.

Studies have proven that TNR or trapping-neutering-and releasing is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat colonies with the least possible cost to local governments and residents, while providing the best life for the animals themselves.

A STRAY CAT IS NOT A FERAL CAT...A stray is a cat who has been abandoned or who has strayed from home and become lost...Stray cats can usually be re-socialized and adopted...A feral cat is an un-socialized cat...Either he was born outside and never lived with humans, or he is a house cat who has strayed from home and over time has thrown off the effects of domestication and reverted to a wild state...They should not be taken to local shelters to be adopted...Feral kittens can be adopted if tamed and placed in homes...First they must be socialized in their first weeks of life...If they aren't handled in time, they will remain feral and un-adoptable.

The Town of North Hempstead has funding available for feral cat TNR. *If you are a resident of The Town of North Hempstead please dial #311 from your home phone and state that you have a feral cat problem that you need help with*

**You must send back the completed agreement in the mail **

Click Here To Download Trapping Information and Instructions

Links:

"Tough Love: Socializing Feral Kittens"
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE

Some Helpful Guidelines for Socializing Feral Kittens

Taming Feral Kittens

How To Domesticate and Care For Feral or Rescued Kittens (PDF)

Medicating Feral Cats and Kittens

Organizations Helping Feral Cats
A state by state list
source: The Humane Society of the United States

Feral Cat Pages and Resources
source: The Humane Society of the United States

TNR-Handbook

ANIMAL HOARDING--IT'S NOT ABOUT PETS

Free Kittuns

Alley Cat Allies