National Feral Cat Day!!! Woof!

Photo credit - Noah's Ark Rescue


Po'Kitties is a new program at the Foothills Humane Society where, as you may know, I have the privilege of being the SpokesDog. At any rate, they asked me to speak on behalf of the feral cats in our community.

OK...OK...I was rope-dragged into writing this by the Po' Kitties committee! But...truth be known, this world could stand to be a little kinder to the cats! I know I often make comments about cats....such as "blech", etc.... but I live with cats and while I may not always agree with them, they deserve to be treated with kindness and respect, just like all creatures.

National Feral Cat Day is this Tuesday, October 16th, and on this date Po' Kitties will be kicking off their feral cat trap-neuter-release program which is designed to help the feral cats in our community by sterilizing them. That way they will not be able to reproduce litter after litter of ...more cats!

As I understand it, the program has volunteers to help and advise with the process of humanely trapping feral cats, getting them spayed or neutered, vaccinating them, ear-tipping them, and releasing them back into managed colonies. Now, I don't mind admitting that some of this is a bit over my head, and I had to ask, "Exactly what are "ear-tipping" and "managed colonies"?

It turns out that ear-tipping is done while the cat is already under anesthesia to be sterilized, and the vet cuts off the tip of one ear. That way, anyone who sees the cat knows that the cat is sterile, vaccinated, and a part of a managed colony. The picture you see is of a cat that has been ear-tipped. A managed colony is a small group of cats who have permission to live in a certain place. Along with that permission, there is a person or a group of people who commit to providing food and water to the colony. The Po'Kitties committee will monitor these colonies and help where and as needed.

I was surprised and pleased to know that so many people in our community are already providing food and water to these cats. It makes me feel good to know that my neighbors are being so kind. If you or someone you know is feeding one or more feral cats, the Po'Kitties folks would like to hear from you so we can help get the cats spayed or neutered.

I guess I hadn't realized the extent of this problem until it was brought to my attention by Po'Kitties. I was distressed to learn that some people treat these cats cruelly. I think it is time to take matters into our own paws (er....or hands) and deal with this problem instead of sweeping it under the rug (or shooting it).

My contribution will mostly be through my blog, but there are lots of ways you can help. You can volunteer your time with the Po'Kitties program. You can drive a trapped cat to and from the vet's office. You can donate money so more cats can be spayed, neutered, vaccinated and ear-tipped. You can offer to provide food and water to a managed colony, either on your property or somewhere else, and you can do it every day, or once a week, or when the caretaker takes a vacation. Most importantly, you can be kind to these creatures when you see them.

Po'Kitties will have a booth at this Sunday's ANY AND ALL DOG SHOW. This cool event for humans and dogs is sponsored by the Tryon Riding & Hunt Club, and proceeds go to benefit the Foothills Humane Society. It's at Harmon Field from 1-3. They will have the awesome Po'Kitties tee-shirts for sale (get 'em while you can!). I will be there with some kind of stupid costume my humans will make me wear, and would be happy to say "Hello!" if you come over to see me.

I did want to mention that I have read lately in the Tryon Daily Bulletin that some folks are losing animals to predators like the coyote. Might I remind you that we Livestock Guardian Dogs not only make your life richer in every way (just by having us around), but for thousands of years we have been bred to protect livestock from predation. No coyote will ever get past ME or any other Livestock Guardian Dog. You can read more about it in the latest Progressive Farmer magazine (yes, the same magazine that touted Polk County as such a terrific place to live) in the article titled, "On Guard". And there is a place in Winston-Salem that specializes in training us rescue dogs to be the best Livestock Guardian Dogs around, so you can help save one of us and - - save your livestock too!

If you would like more info, please drop me a line!

See you at the show!

Woof!

CHAMP