When the winter months approached in Buffalo, NY, Jan Elizabeth quickly thought about her colony of feral cats living outside – many of them just young kittens with little chance of surviving the upcoming chill of the nights.
That’s when she took action.
Jan contacted a close friend, Marisa Stani, who contacted Hope Rises for help. What happened from there was a testament to the incredible woman Jan is, and why she is so deserving of our recognition.
Hear more from Jan here:
“I have been feeding and looking after feral kitties since I moved into the neighborhood 12-years ago. Yes, more than a decade. I thought I was helping by providing them their next meal, but I wasn’t doing anything to solve the problem of cats multiplying. I was on my own, as I had little help from neighbors.
I wanted to do more, but I was lost.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand to see the cats and kittens in need of medical attention, so I had to do something. I was up to nearly twenty cats and kittens that I was feeding on a regular basis, multiple times a day and night! They needed to be fixed and they needed better care.
TNVR was the solution. What does that mean?
TRAP. VACCINATE. NEUTER OR SPAY. RELEASE.
I was put in contact with Jamie Lawrence from Catt County Cat Nippers, an incredible rescue resource that has been extremely instrumental in helping me. Edie Offhaus also assisted from Feral Cat Focus – both out of Buffalo, NY. Thanks to Hope Rises (Kate Glaser) and, of course, my amazing friend, Marisa for coordinating this.
Pricing for the necessary vetting equated to $35 a cat, but that quickly adds up! Operation Pets was contacted and would help me with everything I needed including spay/ neuter for each cat and kitten, vaccinations, deworming and rabies shots. Jamie was wonderful in coming to my neighborhood and trapping the cats and kittens to transport them to Operation Pets for their surgeries. Many do not realize though that ferals must have somewhere to go post-surgery to ensure they recover well enough to go back to the streets. Jamie arranged for recovery homes, and even foster care for some of the younger kittens and friendly cats to hopefully be adopted and chosen to become indoor cats. She even cared for one feral mom, who currently has a broken shoulder.
Jamie and Edie have been returning the feral cats, the ones who are too skittish for a home, back to my neighborhood to remain where they wish to be – back together again. But, even better, they are now all vaccinated and have sought essential vet attention.
The success in all of this is so overwhelming – there are countless stories that make my heart so happy. All of these precious lives have been given necessary medical attention, so they can have optimal outcome of living a happier, healthier live. Several kittens are being placed into homes, which would have never happened without this rescue effort. I also ended up rescuing two of the kittens myself, who are now so joyful to be in a home with me.
I encourage others to think of TNVR in their own neighborhoods. Homeless cats do not have much of a chance to live a happy, healthy life, especially in a climate like Buffalo. Our winters, as many know, can be brutal. TNVR is the solution to keeping the cat population healthy.”
To support Jan’s rescue efforts, make a donation for the vetting of this colony here.
