My little mission

In the State where I now live, there are problems with cats as very few people neuter their cats and quite often they are dumped, especially when they are pregnant.

There is also a sickening and upsetting mentality here that cats are fair game to be killed if they are out on the streets, so all of my cats are inside cats with an enclosure to keep them safe.

To give you an idea, on Tuesday a neighbour stopped at the corner store and as she pulled up, she saw two grown men throwing a kitten around between themselves and the wall of the shop, kicking it when it fell. She rushed over and grabbed the kitten and gave these guys a serve as to what she thought. It all fell on deaf ears, as far as they were concerned it was just a cat and they could do with it as they pleased. The kitten is now safely living with my other neighbour, Vicki, and is doing just fine.

In the suburb where I live, there is a colony of feral cats. Two of my present cats came from there not long after I moved here. One has completely adapted to living with me and each day he is almost tame. The other, a little girl, had an eye injury before I got her so doesn't see much out of one eye, and is extra cautious of me. She will probably take me another year or two to tame.

At the same time I trapped these two kittens, I trapped an older one that went to live with Vicki. About a day after Vicki took her in, she gave birth to two, a boy and a girl. These also live with Vicki. We have neutered them all.

It is my intention to catch, neuter and re-release the colony cats. Hopefully I'll be able to get them all and stop the breeding cycle. It took me some months to find a vet who would listen to what I want to do, as all the others said they would put them to sleep if I brought them in.

Where I live it is tropical, so there isn't much of a winter at all, and there is enough food supply for them (from industrial bins that the local companies refuse to close and also what Vicki and I feed them). As for impact on the environment, there is very little wildlife for them to kill. There appears to be no cat flu either. So the catch, neuter and re-release would work perfectly.

It's up to us to do this, as the local councils don't care and the Australian Government will not do a thing. The rspca is full to overflowing and the one in my state is actually the most underfunded one in the whole country.

At the moment the problem I've got it is finding the money to pay for the vet bills and the time to trap them.

So that's my little mission. Well not so little really as I think we have at least a dozen older cats and a continually increasing number of kittens, so we have a few to deal with.

Thanks for listening!

Much to do, and a long way to go...

But there is no glory in cheap victories. Your quest is truly a worthwhile one.


You had made a very good beginning.



Good luck!

I shall try to skiss some thoughts. Perhaps you will have some support from them.

The situation is difficult, but not desperate.

It seems to be easier in your area compared to some other parts of Australia.
In your area the homeless cats are dumped homecats or offspring of them. They are no real nuisance either.

In some other parts of Australia there are lots of free living ferales being a real problem and actively hunted down... Thus homeless cats arent in high esteem either...

How is it with predators? Ie loose dogs, dingos and so on? Predators who hunt the weak and sick cats...

Ie, while trying to do TNR, is there a big problem with many of the trapped cats being sick?
This is a problem doing TNR in Sweden - we dont have many predators.
It is not a major problem in USA - I think because they do have many predators...


Try to get more people interested in your pursuits and work. They dont need to be active coworkers every one of them. It is more then enough if most of them are nodding in the right places.
Your petitions, ask, demands etc will be stronger if it is a big group, then two neighour-women. So it is.
Although the group need some real active members - you and Vicky and hopefully also others.
Also emergency homes, foster homes, and adopters...
Networks is always good if you can achieve and build up a network.

You dont need to persuade or convince everybody to support you. Begin with those you feel are sympathetic to you - OR real important for you. Like this vet you get contact with.

Good you have "acquired" this vet. It is necessary. Hopefully the cooperation will deepen with time and he will get personally engaged. I suppose he cant work for free: he too must live. But while he does charge for the spaying, he can hopefully make the examination for free... And such...

Most cat rescuers are not religious. But you can try to talk the religious into supporting you. For example the tale of the lost sheep is interesting here.
Matt. 18:12-13, Luk. 15:4-6.

Do you have breeders in your area? Many breeders are very cooperative into homeless cats. Dont overdo your expectations nor demands, but it IS useful to have a couple of friendly breeders in the network.

People abandoning the females when they get pregnant... Sigh. I suppose the big problem here is they dont want to pay for spaying.
Still, do make known a spaying is entirely possible also when the she-cat is pregnant. Try to co-work with the vets in the area on this. This should be in their interest too, as they will get more work and thus also better income.
BOTH the normal, preventive spaying, and also spaying on pregnant she-cats.

Raising funds to get the money for paying for the spaying and other costs... Yes, this is the hard part. But practice shows the rescue groups apparently usually manage this.

tip: dont misuse the few money you have on hopeless cases. Thus, dont try to save very sick cats, or where the treatment will cost very much. At least not unless you are sure of success.
Pity, but unless you have very good resources, you must choose. A sort of triage.
TNR is very cost-effective and the only way to effectively manage big groups in a human way.
Preferably completed by some fostering, adopting... But what you do more, depends on your resources...

You will surely find good ideas, and good links here on this site.

Good luck!

That is horrible!!! Sending mega prayers and vibes that others' hearts, minds & wallets will be opened to your cause