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Feline Folks feed a feral cat.
The nonprofit organization Feline Folks provides for the humane management of stray and feral cats in order to reduce their overpopulation in the South Shore area. Volunteers of Feline Folks take care of free roaming cats, feeding them, watching their health conditions and having them spayed or neutered.
Following the organization’s principle of “Trap-Neuter-Return” (TNR), volunteers set out traps they receive from Feline Folks and bring the cats to a low-cost animal clinic that participates in the TNR program for spaying or neutering. The cats also receive a three-year rabies inoculation and a tipping of one ear to show they are spayed or neutered. After the surgery, the cats return to their original living site or colony and stay under the daily care of volunteers.
The size of a cat colony varies from the smallest of one to three cats to a large one of twenty to thirty cats. Usually, cats in an established colony will chase off a newcomer who will then try to survive alone or to form a new colony.
Most cats in a colony are feral cats, having grown up lacking any socializing with humans. However, some of a colony’s cats used to be pets and have become homeless by abandonment, neglect or abuse. While the former will hardly ever turn into house pets, the latter are good candidates for adoption, and volunteers try to find homes for them. Also, once volunteers have discovered a new cat colony, they are on the lookout for young kittens to socialize them and give them a chance for a home life.
To get in contact with Feline Folks, e-mail to: Info@FelineFolks.org
or call: 813-944-7651.
Feline Folks also regularly offers the community free educational programs, addressing topics of pet ownership and pet care.
For more information about Feline Folks, go to: www.FelineFolks.org
Comments
defend their territories. More at TNR Reality Check dot com.
You may have heard of Dr. Christine Storts, the vet who appealed to the Florida Wildlife Commission several years ago to end the killing of our native fauna by pets. She is dead set against maintaining such colonies. She is also dead set against letting house cats roam free.
Dr. Storts wants to see all cats indoors or on leashes all the time, and no feral cat colonies, even if that means trapping and removing strays, many of which will inevitably be killed in shelters. The environmental damage the cats cause and the diseases they can spread are too important to ignore, she said.
I guess it's all a matter of opinion. I personally like to have a feral cat around because it keeps the mice population under control.
What people fail to realize is humans have destroyed more of the natural habitat for birds and other animals with the constant building and clearing for property. There was a recent study done on this which you need to review before you make a blanket statement about these cats. The cats are in this situation because of irresponsible pet owners who will not spay or neuter their pets or if they get tired of the pets just dump them to fend for themselves. Shame on us for always wanting to kill things because they are doing what God has created them to do.
Sunny, God did not create the domestic cat man did and it is now our responsibility to clean-up the mess we made. Domestic cats belong indoors, period. If you need help with vermin control I would suggest keeping your surroundings free of food scrapes and encourage natural predators such as owls, skunks, raccoons, snakes .......but NEVER domestic cats!
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