Need help with ferals in my neighborhood

gratefulbear629

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Hi. I live in an apt. and in big red letters across my lease it says "NO PETS". haha That hasn't stopped me from getting a hamster and a kitty. But what I was wondering is how I can help the ferals in my neighborhood without my landlord finding out. I don't want to jeopardize my lease or my kitty's home. I have seen quite a few outdoor kitties -- some of them pregnant -- and I feel so bad for them. Especially with the weather getting so cold.

Any suggestions as to how I can help them would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

tnr1

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gratefulbear629

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The link didn't work... was that the one about the girl in Roosevelt? If so, I have read it. Very interesting -- my mom lives in Roosevelt.


I will contact KTLynn though. I feel so bad for those poor little critters. I can't wait until we get a house. I would like to start my own rescue group. I would now if I didn't have such a scary landlord to deal with! haha

But thanks for all the info!
 

ktlynn

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Hi GratefulBear! THANK YOU for wanting to help the ferals - too many people don't even notice them, let alone actually wanting to help them!

The short answer to helping them is TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release). You need a humane trap, which you can borrow from a vet or shelter (or buy yourself), and you need to find a low cost spay/neuter program in your area, since you mentioned seeing quite a few. Spayed/neutered kitties need a place to recuperate from surgery, so that could be a tricky part for you unless you find a vet willing to board them at a discount, or have a friend with a spare room or garage where they can temporarily be kept. Ideally, you should also be providing the cats with shelter - especially this time of year. Depending on your budget, you can buy ready-made doghouses, or do home-made ones inexpensively. Shelters should be located where they aren't easily seen.

I'm a Jersey girl but I'm drawing a blank on where Hamilton is located - is it in south Jersey? I'm in northern NJ.
 

mickey

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Hey, Grateful Bear. I can certainly understand what you are going through. I am in a NO PET building too, but have two cats. I guess I could always say they are not pets, but are my family! (Boo to landlords that have No Pet Policies!


I started down the TNR path about a month or so ago with 3 cats in my parking lot. It was a little scary at first, but once you figure out how to do it, it worked just fine. The worst part was trying to explain to the poor scared kitty in the cage that you were doing it to help them. I took them to my local vet and did not get any discount. It ended up being quite expensive after shots, neutering, etc., so try to find someone who can do it for a small fee. I had the vet hold them until they could be let out.

The good thing is that the kitties still come running to me when it's time to eat. It probably just seems like a cat nightmare now. I also built them a little cat home for the winter with a Rubbermaid bin and some styrofoam. Now all I have to do is convince them to curl up inside. I'll see tonight if they actually used it since it's so cold here.

Keep up the good work! The kitties will really appreciate it.
 
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gratefulbear629

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Hi guys. Thanks for contacting me so quickly, KTLynn. Hamilton is in central Jersey. I am right near the borderline between Hamilton and Trenton. How much would a trap cost me? I work at Hamilton Vet. Hospital but I don't think that we have one. I have seen a few people bring in ferals but we do not do them at a discount. I am going to look into the links Katie -- TNR1 -- gave me. Do you also know how much a spay or neuter would be at discount? I'm 19 and sharing an apt. with my boyfriend so we really don't have any money. haha! Especially it being the holidays.
If anything, right now I would like to make them a shelter. There is a somewhat small wooded area across the street from our parking lot where I could try to hide it. I feel so bad for them out in the freezing cold. Especially for the pregnant ones. I'm not sure if they had their kittens yet. I don't see nearly as many cats as I used to. I don't even know if those poor little kittens would survive in such cold weather.

I know I saw a couple posts about home made shelters built in the feral forums.. I just hope they didn't get erased!
 

ktlynn

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GratefulBear - Is it possible the vet you work with will give you a discount for any ferals you bring in? I know that the techs at my local vet get discounts on services for their own animals as well as any strays/ferals they care for.

Hopefully you'll be able to connect with a local rescue group with the info Katie gave you. They should be able to loan you traps, and steer you towards discounted spay/neuters if your vet won't help. There are lots of different low cost programs for S/N, so the prices vary. Make sure to also call any local shelters and ask if they offer low-cost spay/neuter services.
 

ldg

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Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
Hey Grateful Bear! I helped a woman down in Trenton with a similar problem. The townhouses were cracking down on people feeding the strays and ferals, and she had four she'd been caring four. I used this link: http://www.pets911.com/organizations/organizations.php

and just started an e-mail and phonecall campaign. I found a kind soul who helped her trap the cats and that person also took responsibility for having them spayed/neutered. In fact, she also found them homes. I hope you'll be as lucky as I was (she did it on her own time, not as part of an organization, so I can't share that info, sorry!).

NJ does have a low-cost spay/neuter program. It requires finding a vet that participates and filling out paperwork. I think a neuter is $35, and I don't know what a spay costs. Hit the yellow pages for vets in your area!

Good luck, and keep us posted!

And THANK YOU for being such an angel and doing what you can to help these cats! If nothing else, just having them spayed/neutered will help prevent more unwanted kittens in the Spring, and that truly is an act of kindness and mercy that is worth doing! Also, you can call around to local shelters to see if any of them could lend you a trap. The link I provided may help at least find a trap you can borrow.
 
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gratefulbear629

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KTLynn, I don't think I'd get a discount for any ferals. We don't have a TNR discount type program there and since they are already helping with my kitty's problems -- at no cost -- I'd feel uncomfortable about bring more animals in. It would probably be best to take them some place else anyway since we are booking surgerys so far in advance.

As for the NJ program, I know they do low/cost neuters for low-income families but right now they have met their quota for quarter. I think it starts up again in Jan. or Feb. but I'm not sure. I will have to look into all this when I actually get a chance. Unfortunately, that won't be tonight lol! We had one of the craziest days at work today
and I ***NEED*** some sleep!!


Hopefully I will get a chance sometime tomorrow or possibly this weekend -- who knows!

But thanks everyone for your help!!

 
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