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Home > Out of the Cage! > January/February 2006 > NYC Feral Cat Council: NYC Feral Cat Initiative's "TNR Coaches" Enjoy Success NYC Feral Cat Council NYC Feral Cat Initiative's "TNR Coaches" Enjoy Success by Valerie Sicignano, NYC Feral Cat Initiative
The NYC Feral Cat Initiative, a program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals administered by Neighborhood Cats, begins its second year of operation with Meredith Weiss continuing on as Field Director and Sandra Sebastian joining as the new TNR Coordinator. The program is designed to assist individuals and groups with their New York City-based trap-neuter-return (TNR) projects. One of the most unique and successful aspects of the program is the "TNR Coaches" feature, in which individuals who have both training and hands-on experience with TNR are given a $50-per-day stipend to provide hands-on assistance to the public and animal groups with their TNR projects. Typically, TNR Coaches are dispatched to assist on the first trapping day of a TNR project. However, some circumstances require their presence for more than one day, or sometimes demand several TNR Coaches at one time. The TNR Coaches are dispatched according to availability. Anyone who has completed the Neighborhood Cats TNR Training Workshop and has hands-on experience with all stages of a TNR project are invited to apply to become a TNR Coach. Some TNR Coaches are officers of NYC Feral Cat Council member organizations. Others are members of the public. And then there are those highly experienced trappers (who have waived their stipend), including Ashot Karamian, Carl Mister, and Arjun Ray. The program is proving to be extremely valuable to the city's feral cat community, as illustrated by comments received by the Initiative from individuals who have received assistance: T. N. from the Bronx, who took the TNR Workshop and completed her first TNR Project assisted by TNR Coach Jamie Lehman, expressed her gratitude to the program: "I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for all your help and for having Jamie come and help us. She made such a difference in helping us trap. She gave us great tips and advice." M.V. from Brooklyn states: "Carl (Mister) was great! We caught eight cats yesterday while he was here! Thank you so much for your help!" The Initiative wishes to express appreciation to all the dedicated TNR Coaches who made a difference for the feral cats of NYC and their Guardians during 2005: Nancy Fahnestock (CSM Stray Foundation), Debbie Romano (Save Kitty Foundation), Jesse Oldham (Slope Street Cats), Ashot Karamian, Carl Mister, Arjun Ray, Jamie Lehman, Lynn Ruffini, Phil Roseman, Carol Shiffriller, Fred Coulsen, Tim Smith, Teresa Noto, Sandra Sebastian, Cathy Browne, and Desi and Ilene Lurie. Anyone interested in becoming a TNR Coach, locating dates of upcoming TNR Training Workshops at the ASPCA, or learning more about how the NYC Feral Cat Initiative can assist you on your TNR project, please visit www.nycferalcat.org or call (212) 330-0033.
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Valerie
Sicignano oversees the |
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