|
|
The York County SPCA has recently partnered with the Nobody’s Cats Foundation to expand TNR efforts within York County
The SPCA will be hosting a TNR expert from Nobody’s Cats to give a 2 hour seminar on the steps and strategy needed to get started with TNR. The seminar provides step-by-step guidance for the TNR process, including tips and tricks from experienced mentors. First time attendees receive a binder of resources and are eligible for a voucher for a free TNR surgery at either the York County SPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic or the Nobody’s Cats Foundation Surgery Clinic. We welcome members of the public who may have their own cat colonies, individuals who want to learn how to trap/transport, and anyone who simply wishes to help improve the lives of community cats!
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
5:00pm-7:00pm
York County SPCA
3159 Susquehanna Trail North
York, PA 17406
(717) 764 6109
York County SPCA’s New Community Cat Initiative
For over 90 years, the York County SPCA has provided services to both animals and humans for all York County residents. As a service to the community, the York County SPCA takes in thousands of outdoor, free roaming cats that are brought to us by concerned citizens. In 2019, we received over 2,200 stray cats, and we spayed and neutered over 9,000 animals. These cats may be feral, friendly free-roamers, lost, abandoned, or pets belonging to unidentified owners. We work hard to either reunite stray cats with their owners or to provide live outcomes for unowned community cats. As many of our readers know, we must proactively address our community cat populations, or else they will become an out-of-control nuisance in the community. Although the York County SPCA’s high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic has kept the community cat populations from growing, we have not seen a meaningful reduction in our community cat populations.
Given this situation, the leadership team at the York County SPCA has developed a new, more progressive strategy that will significantly reduce cat populations over time, while providing healthy, lifesaving outcomes for all stray cats. We call our new program Shelter-Neuter-Return.
Concerned community members will still bring us stray cats as they historically have been. We would now ask, upon your arrival, that you fill out a questionnaire with any relevant information about the found cat. The cat will be taken into our shelter and given a medical examination. If deemed healthy, thriving, with no signs of ownership, we will spay/neuter, tip the left ear (the universal symbol to indicate they have been spayed or neutered), vaccinate for rabies, and administer deworming and parasite treatment when needed. These cats will recover overnight, be examined again the next morning, and, if all looks well, be released back to their original location by our field services agent. Cats that are injured or ill will be treated at the shelter and only released when they are back to full health. If it would be dangerous for the cat to be released into the environment where it was found, then they will not be released. It may feel counterintuitive, but Shelter-Neuter-Return has been shown to be the most humane, efficient way of stabilizing, and, over time, reducing, community cat populations. Nuisance behaviors such as spraying, excessive noisemaking, and fighting are largely eliminated, and no additional kittens are born, which will help make the lives of our community members better. Other benefits of this program include: cats have lower risk of disease, injury and infection from decreasing their instinct to fight after being altered, after being altered cats tend to gain weight and live healthier lives, spayed female cats are less likely to develop breast cancer and will not be at risk for ovarian and uterine cancer, neutered male cats will not be at risk for testicular cancer, and spayed females will no longer attract male cats to the area.
Our Shelter-Neuter-Return program is a REAL, long-term solution, that is endorsed by The Humane Society of the United States, the ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, and many other leading national animal welfare organizations. The following are two examples of why returning stray cats back into the community will give them a better chance of reuniting with their owners if they have one.
A study conducted by The Ohio State University showed that lost cats are 13 times more likely to be reunited with their owner when returned to the area where they were found. Secondly, the national average of reuniting a cat with its owner once it comes into a shelter is 2% or less. This national rate is consistent with what we see at the York County SPCA as well. Therefore, unless there are signs of illness or abandonment, it is better to return stray cats to their previous environment.
The York County SPCA is happy to remain the community’s leader in addressing our community cat challenges, but we cannot do it alone! We need your help. If we all work together, we will lead the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in demonstrating the most humane and impactful approach to controlling free-roaming cat populations. Here’s what we need from our community members:
1. Your financial support will allow us to hire a full-time veterinarian, which is needed to provide the anticipated 2,000+ additional surgeries the Shelter-Neuter-Return program will demand of the York County SPCA. All financial contributions can safely submitted online at www.ycspca.org or mailed to: 3159 Susquehanna Trail North, York, PA 17406.
2. We need volunteers to help our Field Services Agent, Otto Cruz, coordinate returning the many cats in York County that will be going through our Shelter-Neuter-Return program.
3. If there are free-roaming cats in your area who have not been spayed or neutered, please contact the Spay/Neuter clinic about Trap-Neuter-Return services at 717-764-6109 ext. 125.
4. Educate others and spread the word about Trap-Neuter-Return and the services offered at the York County SPCA.
For more information on caring for community cats and TNR please visit www.alleycat.org/resources-page
The SPCA will be hosting a TNR expert from Nobody’s Cats to give a 2 hour seminar on the steps and strategy needed to get started with TNR. The seminar provides step-by-step guidance for the TNR process, including tips and tricks from experienced mentors. First time attendees receive a binder of resources and are eligible for a voucher for a free TNR surgery at either the York County SPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic or the Nobody’s Cats Foundation Surgery Clinic. We welcome members of the public who may have their own cat colonies, individuals who want to learn how to trap/transport, and anyone who simply wishes to help improve the lives of community cats!
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
5:00pm-7:00pm
York County SPCA
3159 Susquehanna Trail North
York, PA 17406
(717) 764 6109
York County SPCA’s New Community Cat Initiative
For over 90 years, the York County SPCA has provided services to both animals and humans for all York County residents. As a service to the community, the York County SPCA takes in thousands of outdoor, free roaming cats that are brought to us by concerned citizens. In 2019, we received over 2,200 stray cats, and we spayed and neutered over 9,000 animals. These cats may be feral, friendly free-roamers, lost, abandoned, or pets belonging to unidentified owners. We work hard to either reunite stray cats with their owners or to provide live outcomes for unowned community cats. As many of our readers know, we must proactively address our community cat populations, or else they will become an out-of-control nuisance in the community. Although the York County SPCA’s high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic has kept the community cat populations from growing, we have not seen a meaningful reduction in our community cat populations.
Given this situation, the leadership team at the York County SPCA has developed a new, more progressive strategy that will significantly reduce cat populations over time, while providing healthy, lifesaving outcomes for all stray cats. We call our new program Shelter-Neuter-Return.
Concerned community members will still bring us stray cats as they historically have been. We would now ask, upon your arrival, that you fill out a questionnaire with any relevant information about the found cat. The cat will be taken into our shelter and given a medical examination. If deemed healthy, thriving, with no signs of ownership, we will spay/neuter, tip the left ear (the universal symbol to indicate they have been spayed or neutered), vaccinate for rabies, and administer deworming and parasite treatment when needed. These cats will recover overnight, be examined again the next morning, and, if all looks well, be released back to their original location by our field services agent. Cats that are injured or ill will be treated at the shelter and only released when they are back to full health. If it would be dangerous for the cat to be released into the environment where it was found, then they will not be released. It may feel counterintuitive, but Shelter-Neuter-Return has been shown to be the most humane, efficient way of stabilizing, and, over time, reducing, community cat populations. Nuisance behaviors such as spraying, excessive noisemaking, and fighting are largely eliminated, and no additional kittens are born, which will help make the lives of our community members better. Other benefits of this program include: cats have lower risk of disease, injury and infection from decreasing their instinct to fight after being altered, after being altered cats tend to gain weight and live healthier lives, spayed female cats are less likely to develop breast cancer and will not be at risk for ovarian and uterine cancer, neutered male cats will not be at risk for testicular cancer, and spayed females will no longer attract male cats to the area.
Our Shelter-Neuter-Return program is a REAL, long-term solution, that is endorsed by The Humane Society of the United States, the ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, and many other leading national animal welfare organizations. The following are two examples of why returning stray cats back into the community will give them a better chance of reuniting with their owners if they have one.
A study conducted by The Ohio State University showed that lost cats are 13 times more likely to be reunited with their owner when returned to the area where they were found. Secondly, the national average of reuniting a cat with its owner once it comes into a shelter is 2% or less. This national rate is consistent with what we see at the York County SPCA as well. Therefore, unless there are signs of illness or abandonment, it is better to return stray cats to their previous environment.
The York County SPCA is happy to remain the community’s leader in addressing our community cat challenges, but we cannot do it alone! We need your help. If we all work together, we will lead the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in demonstrating the most humane and impactful approach to controlling free-roaming cat populations. Here’s what we need from our community members:
1. Your financial support will allow us to hire a full-time veterinarian, which is needed to provide the anticipated 2,000+ additional surgeries the Shelter-Neuter-Return program will demand of the York County SPCA. All financial contributions can safely submitted online at www.ycspca.org or mailed to: 3159 Susquehanna Trail North, York, PA 17406.
2. We need volunteers to help our Field Services Agent, Otto Cruz, coordinate returning the many cats in York County that will be going through our Shelter-Neuter-Return program.
3. If there are free-roaming cats in your area who have not been spayed or neutered, please contact the Spay/Neuter clinic about Trap-Neuter-Return services at 717-764-6109 ext. 125.
4. Educate others and spread the word about Trap-Neuter-Return and the services offered at the York County SPCA.
For more information on caring for community cats and TNR please visit www.alleycat.org/resources-page
