Help for NYC's Stray and Outdoor Cats - Holiday 2008 - Out of the Cage!, the E-Newsletter of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

Sponsored by Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation

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Help for NYC's Stray and Outdoor Cats

Nancy Fahnestock of CSM Stray Foundation demonstrates the proper use of a drop trap at the Feral Cat Caretaker Boot Camp! (Photo by Rick Edwards)

Nancy Fahnestock of CSM Stray Foundation demonstrated the proper use of a drop trap at the Feral Cat Caretaker Boot Camp!

(Photo by Rick Edwards)

The New York City Feral Cat Initiative, a joint program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals and Neighborhood Cats, is continuing to build momentum in its efforts to humanely reduce New York City's stray and outdoor cat population through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

In November, Meow Mix, a brand of Del Monte Foods, joined the effort when it donated nearly 35,000 pounds of cat food to volunteer caretakers who feed managed feral cat colonies throughout New York City. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative facilitated the distribution on a Saturday morning in November in the visitors' parking lot at Rikers Island in Queens. Meow Mix's generous contribution will help soften the cost of providing food this coming winter to the many thousands of homeless cats living on the city's streets.

On December 7, the NYC Feral Cat Initiative presented its first Feral Cat Caretaker Boot Camp!, a day-long workshop for feral cat caretakers, at Animal Haven SoHo. A range of topics presented by experienced practitioners in the area of feral cat care provided attendees a wealth of information, guidance and resources.

Debi Romano, President of SaveKitty Foundation, loads her trunk with cat food donated by Meow Mix. (Photo by Bryan Kortis)

Debi Romano, President of SaveKitty Foundation, loads her trunk with cat food donated by Meow Mix.

(Photo by Bryan Kortis)

Featured topics (and their presenters) included feeding and care of bottle babies (Tammy Cross of Kitten Little Rescue), socializing feral kittens (Mike Phillips of Urban Cat League), how to use a drop trap (Nancy Fahnestock and Carole Milker of CSM Stray Foundation), secondary caretakers and colony registration (Valerie Sicignano of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and In Defense of Animals), a tour of a feral cat colony, followed by Q&A (Meredith Weiss of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and Neighborhood Cats and Valerie Sicignano), Neighbor Relations (Jesse Oldham of the ASPCA and Slope Street Cats) and illness and injury in feral felines (Michael Rubenstein, DVM, Humane Society of New York). The workshop was sponsored by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, PetSmart Charities, In Defense of Animals, and Animal Haven.

To learn more about the work of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and to find out how you can help create a gentler life for New York City's stray and outdoor cats, visit the Feral Cat Initiative website and sign up to receive the quarterly e-newsletter, NYC Eartips.

About the New York City Feral Cat Initiative

The New York City Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI) is a joint program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals and Neighborhood Cats, two private non-profit organizations committed to solving New York City's feral cat overpopulation crisis through the humane, non-lethal method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). The NYCFCI provides TNR Caretaker Training Workshops, hands-on assistance at TNR projects, TNR equipment loans, public advice by phone and e-mail, and feline educational events and information.