TNR

On Sunday, I volunteered at the local feral cat clinic for the first time. There are lots of farms around here and people tend to dump unwanted cats at farms, assuming that the farmers will be happy to take care of them. Unfortunately, cats multiply quickly, and 3 or 4 cats become dozens in no time. Once a month, one of the area's animal rescue groups hosts a free spay/neuter clinic to help combat the cat overpopulation problem. Most of these cats are terrified of humans and not adoptable. Instead, they live in feral cat colonies, residing in barns, mousing and being fed by the colony's caretaker. Because the cats are wild, their visit to the cat clinic may be the only veterinary care they ever receive. The cats are trapped in humane traps, brought to the clinic and anesthetized. Once asleep, they are spayed or neutered, given rabies and distemper vaccines, microchipped, treated for fleas and ear mites and their ears are tipped to show that they have been sterilized. Yesterday, 42 cats were treated at the clinic (apparently, that's not very many--in the spring, the clinic takes care of up to 70 cats!)
The weather was awful (snow and freezing rain) but so many volunteers braved the roads to help. Veterinary students from Cornell drove more than two hours to assist with the surgeries. It's easy to become angry at all the irresponsible people who don't take care of their animals, but yesterday I was reminded of how many people are out there trying to make a difference, trying to make life a little easier for all those poor stray cats. I was amazed at how efficient the whole process was. Five veterinarians assisted by vet techs performed the surgeries, then the cats were carried to my station where one lady vaccinated and chipped them and tipped their ears while another lady recorded the chip numbers and vaccine batch numbers. My job in the assembly line was to put the cats back into their traps and carry them over to the recovery room where another group of people monitored their vital signs and kept them warm with heating pads.
Time seemed to fly, and before I knew it, the last cat was beginning to wake up in the recovery area. I know I had just a small part in this whole process, but I still felt so fulfilled at the end of the day. At the same time, it's heartbreaking to know that this clinic was only the tiny tip of a massive iceberg--there are so many more cats out there, and there will be so many unwanted kittens born this spring. When I finally made it home through the snow and ice, I hugged my own kitties tightly (and gave them some catnip!)