What do you think is the biggest responsibility of a cat rescuer/foster?

Rescuer:

To make sure every cat you rescue is spayed or neutered.
Never giving up and continually monitoring the colonies for new unaltered cats.
Providing food and water on a daily basis.

What is the biggest challenge you face as a rescuer?
Funds of course!
Finding places for all the dumped “tame” cats.
Finding someone to fill-in on feeding when you’re away.

What can people do to help your cause?
Donate food;
Help feed;
Help trap;
Help transport;
Help educate about TNR.

Any additional insights, personal stories etc are appreciated too! Thank you again for your responses.

Personal story from a few years ago:

AzCATs have been helping us trap cats at the Park for over a year now. Thanks to several other trappers and ourselves, we have managed to TNR over 90 cats.

Just in the last 5 weeks we discovered 2 litters of kittens, one with 3 kittens, and one with 2 kittens. The 3 kittens were over in a woodpile with no mom in site (to this day we don’t know who the mom is). The 2 others were in a large fenced in area they call the chicken coop, with mom, a calico (this is one smart mom). We have been trying to capture her since AzCATs first started helping us. They even brought a drop trap one evening, but still no luck.

We decided to go for the 3 kittens in the woodpile first since they appeared to be older than the other 2. After several failures, Kevin decided to build a drop trap (after seeing AzCATs). One evening we set the drop trap up at the woodpile. In 5 minutes we had the 3 kittens, 2 females and 1 one male (Candy, Cobbles & Corky).

The following week we tried for the 2 other kittens (Cheeto & Einstein) and momma (Cricket) in the chicken coop area. This had to be the most miserable trapping experience we’ve ever had. First off it’s locked so we had to find the Park Rangers and ask them to unlock it for us. Then of all nights they decided to start irrigating. Since it’s a chicken coop, the ground was like slimy, mushy swamp mud that reeked in odor of chicken droppings. The irrigation brought mosquitoes and to top it off, the ants were all over the grounds because of all the chicken food. We again used the drop trap and in 5 minutes had the kittens….BUT…no Cricket. So we waited, and waited hoping to trap Cricket through her kittens. As time went on (which seemed like many hours), tempers getting very short, no Cricket in site, and conditions pretty much intolerable, we decided to give it up for the evening.

We went back several nights that week, only to have her lay there, look at the trap, then look at us like she was saying, “do I have stupid written on my forehead”? “HELLLOOOO do you think I’m falling for this”? So Sunday night we again brought the drop trap and went inside the chicken coop (much to our dread). Luckily they weren’t irrigating this week! Kevin got the trap set and we went outside and sat in the car. Just when we were about to give up, we saw movement in the grass…A CALICO! We waited until she went in the trap, pulled the string, and voila, trapped! We were ecstatic! We covered her and took her home. The next morning I went out to check on her, only with a look of shock and disappointment…wrong calico with ear tipped! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

So here we sit another evening, waiting and waiting. Finally she comes strolling out of an area we have never seen her in before. As sweat is rolling off of us (remember we live in AZ) we wait and wait watching her circle the drop trap, only for her to walk away. Finally an hour has past and we see her approach the trap once more. She’s going closer and closer this time and finally goes in to check out the food. As we excitedly watch her we pull the string, trap drops, hits her, and she springs it up and escapes! We go home feeling quite defeated and very bummed out.

OK, here we sit again! She’s in the area but will not come near the trap. All kinds of goodies are there and all the others are having quite the feast. She circles and circles but won’t go in. Oh my, now we have Lucky playing with the string, she bites and pulls it and there goes the trap with a few of the already fixed ferals in there! Cricket bolts away! We’re laughing but feeling defeated again. We don’t give up, reset the trap, and go sit in the car and wait. She eventually comes back to the area, but not to the trap. I go shake the food container and run back to the car. She walks up to it, but still doesn’t go in. 2 hours later she’s still awaits her food and we wait for her to enter. Now up walks a HUGE orange cat (who we believe has been the father of the majority of the litters). He goes in the trap and starts eating, Cricket runs off. We decide to go for him since it appears we’re not going to get Cricket. We pull the string and got him! He’s a strong one, had to hold the trap down with my feet! Got him to the vet the next morning, neutered, ear tipped, and a wound stitched in his neck. They said he was 14 lbs. of pure muscle. So the Cricket saga continues. …..


3 months later….

It’s 01/25 and tomorrow is feral cat spay day. We still have approximately 6 cats that we’re aware of in the park to catch. We gather 4 traps and the drop trap and head for the park. It’s fairly early and we decide to set a couple traps out and setup the drop trap. Within 10 minutes we have 2 of the cats we needed to trap, so we’re 2 traps down now. Cricket appears, but as usual is standoffish toward the trap. The usual ones (already altered)go in and chow down on the tuna as Cricket watches from a distance. We still have 2 traps and figure we’ll stay there hoping for a couple of the others. To our surprise Cricket cautiously walks over closer to the drop trap. Our hearts start pounding faster in anticipation. She starts circling and watching the two cats eating from within the drop trap. The food has disappeared, but we don’t want to get out and put more in knowing we’ll chase her away, so we sit there and watch. Oh my gosh….she’s going in…she’s only half way in and we know there’s no food in there. AHHHH she goes all the way in sniffing, we pull the string….WE GOT HER!! We’re jumping with joy. It’s been 1 ½ years trying to get her. We can’t believe it!! We feel pretty satisfied with our catch and only have one trap, so we decide to wrap it up for the evening. I ran to gather the other trap and much to my surprise, we have another one in it and it’s one that hasn’t been altered!

SO, we have 4 to add to the total #. Not many, but a major success with Cricket! Now we have one more momma and 2 more males (we’re assuming). That is, until someone else drops off their cat at the Park!

Kevin & Lisa Doyle