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----2008---- Vol. 1 - Spring ----2007---- Vol. 2 - Summer ----2004---- Vol. 3 - Fall Vol. 2 - Summer Vol. 1 - Spring ----2003---- Vol. 4 - Winter Vol. 3 - Fall Vol. 2 - Summer Vol. 1 - Spring

	VOICE	MARCH 2004 Vol. 4, Iss. 1

Slowly but steadily the group has recruited a few solid, energetic volunteers. They serve on the Board of Directors, volunteer on Committees, or just work their hearts out in the trenches trapping cats or hosting fundraisers to help pay the veterinary costs these animals incur (mostly they do all three!). And just as slowly, but with the same determination, Animal Allies has "cleaned house" organizationally, and it’s taken just about twelve months to begin to see the fruits of our labors, but they are there – we have put in place a schedule for systematically tending to feral colonies through the Feral Cat Committee, and have implemented a twelve-month fundraising agenda to keep the money flowing so that we do not once again have to suspend spay/neuter operations of unowned animals due to lack of funds as we did in the Fall of 2003.

As exciting as it is to be proactive again, we must be extremely careful to manage our resources responsibly. More organized trapping means purchasing more traps and more cages in which to tempo-rarily house the cats pre- and post-surgically, as well as larger vet bills due to a greater volume of cats being treated.

Costs have also gone up in the past year. A review of Animal Allies’ veterinary costs revealed that treatment per cat increased from $49.91 in 2002 to $59.20 in 2003 – a jump of nearly 20%! Not all of that can be attributed to rising fees, however. Animal Allies often will provide veterinary care related to treatment of injuries or illness of feral cats, conditions which cannot be controlled by the group but which it feels morally obligated to treat.

Veterinarians’ willingness to work with us is critical to our success. Feral cats are not always the easiest to treat or handle, and we are deeply indebted to those veterinarians who recognize the importance of working with these animals to help end animal overpopulation. One of our goals for 2004 is to recruit more veterinarians to help us with our task, and to set up a regular and frequent schedule of feral spays and neuters so that we may more effectively manage colony reproduction. Please ask your veterinarian to consider offering time slots at his or her clinic for feral cats, and whether they would consider doing so at a discounted rate. A little effort goes a long way when it comes to litter prevention!

As we look ahead in 2004, we know that good things are on the way for the animals we serve – thank you for helping us make it this far!

Caregiver’s Corner A new column featuring personal reflections on caring for animals in need. Have a story you’d like to share? E-mail us at animal_allies@comcast.net Spay Week Is Upon Us! Though your thermometer would never tell you, Spring is right around the corner. Every year at this time, Animal Allies participates in the Doris Day Animal Foundation’s sponsoring of Spay Day. Because of its work with ferals, the group has tried to target those individuals caring for feral cat colonies as well as people in multiple cat households for this event. I had helped organize Spay Days in the past, and decided I would go one step further this time around and house some of the feral cats being altered. I had had a taste of caring for ferals when I participated in my first trap/neuter/release project last summer, and learned my lessons well (for instance, allowing feral cats to roam freely in a spare room is NOT a good idea in practice, no matter how nice it sounds in theory). Armed with this newfound wisdom of experience (and after I had repaired the sheetrock and repainted the wall in the spare room), I took stock of what tools I would need to safely and conveniently house feral cats on a temporary basis. First, a large enough cage to hold one or two cats at a time was essential – there needed to be enough room for a litter box, two bowls, and the cat itself. If the cage were too small, the poor cat would end up stepping in its water to get to the litter box, or getting litter in its food bowls – hardly five-star accommodations. The cage also needed to have a very large door opening so that the door of a carrier or trap could easily fit inside to release or receive the cat. The cage also needed to have a slideout base that could be accessed without disturbing the cats, essential for proper cleaning (feral cats are, if nothing else, messy). Once I did a little research, I found the cages that were right for me, and they were collapsible to boot, which is especially convenient for storage or transporting. Next, I needed the proper supplies: bowls and litter boxes, to be specific. Since these would end up being placed inside the cages, it was important that I be able to do this with as little fanfare as possible so as not to unduly frighten already scared animals. To accomplish this, I purchased multiple sets of the items. For each cage that needed two bowls and one litter box, I had four bowls and two litter boxes. When one set got dirty, I would prepare a clean set with food, water, and litter, and quickly remove the dirty set and replace it with a fresh, clean set. Next, each cage would have a towel on which the cat would lay. For this, I had several clean towels for each cage (I like to keep things clean, but I didn’t want to be doing laundry every day) so that when one got dirty, I would simply remove it on the slideout tray, add it to a plastic bag set out specifically to hold soiled towels, and replace it with a clean one. Lastly, I needed my perishable supplies; namely, food and litter. Dry food is easiest, and is what they are most accustomed to, and for litter, the non-scoopable kind is a must, allowing for easy cleanup. So I now had all the essentials in place. My cages were set up in my cellar, with a large bedsheet draped over three sides to minimize distractions (ferals actually prefer to be out of the way of people, strange noises, and activities). The only thing missing was the cats, and they arrived soon enough. I received two males and two females post-surgically, so they were in crates instead of traps. The transfer went easily enough: with very little coaxing from me they flew from their crate into the larger cage. I quickly closed the cage door behind them and left them to get comfortable in their new, albeit temporary, surroundings. I checked on them several times during the day to make sure they were all right, and I was struck by how they never touched their food or used their litter box, or even shifted position in the cage. Based on my previous experience, I half expected to find the cages turned upside down on the floor and the cats clinging to the side of the cage wall. I was quite relieved to find things in good order, and hoped that my practical planning had paid off. They were going to be with me for a week while they recovered, so it was either going to be a breeze or seven days in hell. So far, things were looking good. They had been quiet all night, and the next morning I went down to see if they had somehow escaped, but there they were, four pairs of eyes intently staring at me as I prepared fresh supplies for everyone. Apparently their silence belied their activities in the night, because in each cage all the food and water was gone, the litter box was on the other end of the cage, and the towel was full of litter and other things to suggest there was a little confusion as to what a towel ought to be used for. Undaunted, I focused on the bright side – at least they seemed content, and they hadn’t gotten loose. I had also had the foresight to wear rubber gloves, which made cleaning off the towels a much less distasteful task. Within fifteen minutes I had their cages looking like new. I soon learned as the days passed that this is a typical pattern of ferals – they keep a low profile during the day and conduct much of their activities in the night under the cover of darkness. The remainder of their time with me was spent uneventfully. We had gotten a pretty good routine down. The females even groomed themselves and ate food in front of me, so I felt fairly honored by this blatant display of trust. When the week had passed and it was time to release them back to their colony, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad over not having an opportunity to get to know them for who they really were. I firmly believe that with a few exceptions most of these cats would make loving companions, but I also realize that the kind of work we do is very time-sensitive, and there just aren’t enough resources to tame these cats and find them indoor homes. For my part, I feel privileged to have known them for the short time that I did, and I hope their lives have been made better by our efforts. My cages are now all cleaned and ready for the next batch of ferals who will be taking up residence with me in the next few days. I expect these cages are going to have a very busy year. By Donna Raymond

Thanks to everyone who donated to us during this past Holiday season, and to everyone who purchased tickets for Animal Allies’ Holiday Raffle. Congratulations to raffle winners Barbara Jellie, Ed Sysyn, and Kaley Lambert. We couldn’t have done it without the generous donations of a wreath and gift baskets from Board Member Lee Durling !!

We are also in the process of developing our own web site. Currently we can be located through PetFinder.org. Stay tuned for the details!

The Goonan Road colony of cats (totaling over 20 cats in all) is completed; however, additional reports of colonies have been received, keeping our total of colonies to be attended to at around 30, representing over 200 cats still to be trapped, neutered and released. Based on our average cost to treat a single cat, we estimate that our veterinary costs for these animals will total nearly $10,000.

In the near future we will be conducting a fundraising campaign especially to help us with this effort. Please give what you can to help prevent more unwanted litters being born to these cats!

If you or someone you know would like to help with assessing colonies or trapping cats, or if you can house a feral cat in your home for just one week, please contact Kathy Peirce at 228-6755 or at animal_allies@comcast.net.

Please do what you can to help – the animals are counting on you!

Coupon cards are $8 each, and contain 12 peelable coupons: 6 for $5 off a purchase of $15 or more, and 6 for a free 1-topping pizza with the purchase of a large. Coupons can be purchased from Animal Allies at animal_allies@comcast.net. Bon appetit!