Instead of May, it was July that ‘came in like a lion’ for No Kill Harford … or more like a ‘feral’. During the first week of July we we’re able to successfully trap, spay/neuter, vaccinate, and return 14 of Harford County’s feral cats!
The cats came from 6 different colonies across the county. Feral cat caregivers in Darlington, Bel Air, Joppa, Abingdon, and Aberdeen all helped to collectively stabilize and vaccinate our communities cats. The week was truly a collaborative effort. We had caregivers to help identify and trap cats and some worked closely with trappers for help with the stubborn kitties. We also had transporters who dropped off and picked up traps and took cats to spay/neuter clinics. Our TNR team provided climate controlled spaces for the cats where the males and females could spend time in recovery after surgery. Finally, our caregiver coordinators assisted with returning the cats to where they came from. These cats will now no longer produce kittens and because they are vaccinated, they will act as a barrier between wildlife and the public to help protect people from disease.
One of the cats that was trapped (a young calico that was living on a farm) let us know almost right away that she was very comfortable around people. After she was spayed & vaccinated, it was clear that she would be a great candidate for adoption and we transferred her to a local rescue that is going to help find her a forever home. Identifying friendly “strays” among the feral population and removing them so that they can be adopted into a home is another way that TNR helps to stabilize and reduce the number of cats in our community.
The No Kill Harford TNR team did an amazing job last week even in the face of huge setbacks. The oppressive heat forced us to trap in the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning. The heat also had us shuffling around recovery locations and scrambling to find portable AC units. Early in the week one of our spay/neuter clinics was cancelled due to the power outages in Baltimore and we had to make last minute arrangements with local veterinarias that were incredibly generous with their time and flexibility.
Even with the great week we had, we could still do more with your help. With additional volunteers and donations we could be doing a lot more to help our county’s cats.
Hoping in the fall, when things so down, I might be able to help in some way! Beautiful story.