Facts about Trap-Neuter and Return Programs

• TNR is a humane and effective method for reducing stray cat populations in urban and suburban areas.
  

• Males that are neutered do not fight other animals or spray to mark territory.

• TNR services include a rabies vaccine and other treatments that prevent diseases in animals and humans.

• Removing a cat colony entirely creates a "vacuum effect" which encourages new, untreated cats to move in and take their place. TNR and maintaining a current cat colony prevents this from occurring.

• Cat colonies provide effective and free pest control to neighborhoods.

Our next meeting date - June 30 at 7pm!

C.A.T.S. will be meeting at the Forest Park Library

June 30, 2010

7:00pm

Lower Level meeting Room

Please join us to learn more about C.A.T.S. and how you can support our efforts!

The three amigos!

This is Annie (top left) an eight month old female, Feisty (above) an eight month old male and Whiskers (bottom), a year old female who had just had kittens eight weeks ago. We captured these cats on 5/26/10 and took them to PetVets in Oak Park Illinois for TNR. They were treated and released!

Our first cat!

This is Uno! Uno is a female who was the first cat trapped, spayed and released through the C.A.T.S. Program on 5/25/10. She was treated at the Animal Care League.

Three more cats spayed/neutered and released!

TEAM WHISKERS has captured three cats - two females and one male. The male was neutered and the females spayed at PetVets Animal Hospital in Oak Park, a local veterinary practice that supports caring for stray animals. (We love Pet Vets!) These cats were treated and released back to the WHISKERS colony in Forest Park. (Team Captain Terri paid for these services from her own funds, with a discount from Pet Vets.)

Congratulations TEAM WHISKERS!

Can you help?

Now that we're up and running, we're looking for Pet Taxis, towels, food containers and cat food. If you can help, let us know! Thanks for thinking of us!

We've started to care for cats!

TEAM WHISKERS has begun caring for a colony in Forest Park and has brought 2 cats to the Animal Care League for evaluation and care. One cat was spayed, tested for viruses (found negative) and received rabies and FVRCP vaccines. All services were paid for from funds raised by C.A.T.S. and this cat was re-released.

The second cat was found to have an advanced cancer (extremely large cancer protruding from the eye and into the brain) and lymph nodes were involved. Neighbors reported that this cat had been living with this condition for more than a year. This cat was put to sleep at the recommendation of the veterinarian. It is heartbreaking to find cats with such terrible medical conditions which require euthanasia and we hope this doesn't happen too often. However, in a few such cases, it may be a merciful option for the cat involved. Medical care was paid for by C.A.T.S.

The goal of C.A.T.S. is to provide trap-neuter-release services to cats in Forest Park, a humane response to stray cat colonies. Our aim is to maintain the health and well being of cats, while reducing the populations of cats in Forest Park through a spay and neuter program.

Check out our volunteer page!

We've added a new page to our blog - which lists volunteer opportunities for C.A.T.S. We are planning to have a volunteer training soon! Check it out, and see how you can help. We will also have volunteer brochures to distribute in the community to highlight our need for volunteers - if you'd like to help distribute volunteer brochures, let us know!

Did you know?

The Village of Oak Park and the Village of River Forest both have a paid staff of animal control officers, as well as a paid contract with the Animal Care League to provide services to animals found outside on village streets. Forest Park has no paid animal control officers and no established contract with the Animal Care League, so it's up to volunteers to get involved to help care for stray animals.

We're very pleased that the Village of Forest Park has passed an ordinance to support our volunteer-based trap-neuter-release program, and has been very positive in its response to residents concerns about how we can proactively work with the Animal Care League to establish this service. But there's a lot of work to do, and we need lots of caring animal lovers who would like to help. We also thank the Animal Care League for partnering with us in this effort.

Our goal is to develop teams of people that can work together to make the program a success, so that one person can accept a role that is manageable and successful for them - and it feels good to participate! Watch this blog for more info soon.

You can find us on Facebook!

If you prefer, visit us on Facebook for frequent updates and the latest information on our activities. We'll send you invitations to meetings and e-mail you about news and information if you "like" our page. If you're a member of Facebook, you'll find us online!

15,000 Homeless Cats

Do you know that according to the National Humane Society, there could be as many as 15,000 stray cats in Forest Park? These are cats that are dumped on the streets, because an owner who thought a kitten was cute no longer wants a large house cat. Or a new litter of kittens from a cat that has 2 litters a year.

Help us manage the cats that live in the alleys of Forest Park, to keep them healthy and safe. E-mail us to find out more.

Join Us!

C.A.T.S. for Forest Park is a new volunteer-driven organization which aims to care for stray cats in Forest Park. We are working in collaboration with the Animal Care League to care for and monitor cat colonies in order to trap, neuter and release cats in Forest Park. We believe this is a humane way to care for stray cats, help reduce the cat population and manage cats with medical problems.

If you are concerned about stray cats and would like to help, there are many ways you can join us. We need volunteers who are interested in fund raising, providing or soliciting donations for food, participating in regular feedings of cat colonies, monitoring cat colonies, serving as cat colony managers, and helping to communicate our goals to your neighbors and friends.

Managing a trap-neuter and release program on a volunteer basis requires a great deal of support and passion from community members and animal lovers. To become a volunteer, please contact us and let us know how you'd like to help!