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| The Stiles family |
The Stiles family (from left, Eric, Nathan and MacKenzie),
adopted Sparkey and Karma, two former feral cats
who were helped through the TNR program. |
By Nancy Peterson
Ann Maffett and her husband, Wayne, returned to Ann's five-acre childhood home in Tabernacle, N.J., when her father's health began to falter.
They soon discovered that maintaining the house and the property became as time-consuming as the full-time jobs they kept after the move.
While caring for their pony one night, Wayne noticed a black cat in the barn. He would occasionally see a white cat as well. The black cat delivered kittens in their barn several times, and Ann and Wayne found homes for most of them.
"We did get one or two sterilized but couldn't afford the fees to do all the cats," said Ann. "Also, we didn't know what to do with those we couldn't handle."
Education
Ann had never heard of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) until she attended Burlington County Feral Cat Initiative's TNR training program, run by veterinarian Gordon Stull. But she would later participated in a mass trapping of her feral cat colony.
BCCI educated Ann and her mother on how to trap their colony and care for them during recovery. It also provided the equipment and subsidized the costs for the colony to be spayed and neutered.
"I thought divorce was in my future when I told my husband not to feed the cats for a few days," Ann said, referring to the practice of withholding feedings prior to trapping in order to lure the hungry cats into the food-baited trap.
Ann created a holding area to care for the cats in her barn following their spay and neuter surgeries. "When my husband came to the barn and the cats heard his voice, they all started talking to him. He said good night to each of them. It was the one and only time he was in the barn because it was difficult for him to see them recovering in their traps."
TNR 411
TNR, in its most basic form, should include humane trapping, sterilization, rabies vaccination and treatment for illness or injury; ear-tipping and returning feral cats to the same location where they were trapped provided they would not face imminent danger (i.e. if the building in which they lived was to be demolished); and providing lifelong care of adequate food, water and shelter and regular monitoring for sickness, injury and the arrival of new animals.
TNR should also include placement in homes of friendly lost or abandoned adult cats and socialization of kittens for adoption. The goal of any feral cat management program is to maximize quality of life for the cats and eliminate the existing colony over time through attrition.
Nancy Peterson, Feral Cat Program manager for The HSUS, applauds the work of everyday people like Ann and professionals like Stull.
"The HSUS is proud to be funding Stull’s good work and hopes that more communities will consider TNR and other non-lethal methods to manage their feral cat populations," said Peterson.
A Helping Hand
Ann volunteered at another BCCI mass trapping in 2006 in gratitude for all the help she'd received with her colony. She and her husband and mother volunteered to take some kittens who needed fostering and socializing until they were ready for adoption.
As a result of another BCCI trapping in 2007, Ann fostered a mother cat with a litter of four kittens when their original caretaker could not. The dark tortoiseshell mom had an atrophied leg and was named Peg by her caretaker. The caretaker called two days after the cats were spayed or neutered. She'd found another kitten, and because Peg loved caring for kittens, Ann agreed to take one more.
The caretaker called this kitten Karma because she survived with no food or mom for several days. Peg took her in as if she was hers. Peg and her kittens were kept in a large dog crate that contained a cat carrier and litter pan. "When I walked into the room, Peg would hiss at me and usher her kittens into the carrier," said Ann. As time passed, the kittens didn't always run into the carrier.
Karma soon became the most distant. Although she clung to her mom, she never hissed when Ann cuddled her, and eventually she would roll over for belly rubs.
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| The Stiles family |
Sparkey is now living with the
Stiles family. |
A New Home
Two months passed before BCCI contacted Ann about a family looking for a kitten. Ann contacted Eric and Lydia Stiles about Sparkey—the most independent and well-adjusted kitten of the bunch.
"Lydia and I spoke and began making plans for adoption. We emailed more than we spoke, and Eric and Lydia would write the things that their children— MacKenzie and Nathan—would say about adopting Sparkey. I loved that. I sent pictures and would hear how the children kept them by their beds."
Ann teased Lydia about considering taking two kittens because she already had two children.
"I know you must think I was a schemer, and in some ways I was. I would watch Karma and Sparkey play, and they had a bond. I was convinced they were the two kittens who were not actual siblings. I knew that Sparkey would be fine on his own, but I wasn’t sure about Karma."
To Ann's surprise and delight, Lydia and Eric agreed to take both kittens on the day of adoption. Peg was returned to her colony and is now healthy.
The More You Know
Ann's life has changed since she became involved with BCCI.
"I'd never volunteered for an organization, and now know more about cats than I ever thought possible," she said. "I have also met some truly amazing people, including Dr. Gordon Stull and the Stiles family."
For more information on managing feral cats, visit www.humanesociety.org/feralcats.
