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NYC Eartips will provide news and information about feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) projects in the New York City area. Photo by Meredith Weiss NYC Eartips: Summer 2008 The E-Newsletter of the New York City Feral Cat Initiative Welcome to the premier issue of NYC Eartips, the newsletter of the New York City Feral Cat Initiative. We look forward to providing you each quarter with information and updates on our progress in improving the plight of New York City's feral and stray cats through the humane, no-kill method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs and other efforts. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative 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 TNR. Through our newsletter we hope not only to keep you informed of our progress but also to inspire you to get involved in helping the feral and stray cats in your neighborhood. If you are already involved, then we hope our newsletter — and our website www.NYCFeralCat.org — will provide you with useful information that will help you work more effectively with the cats in your care. NYC Eartips was named after eartipping, the minor procedure where 1/4 inch of the tip of the left ear is surgically removed by a veterinarian at the time of spay/neuter surgery, permanently indentifying a cat as having been spayed or neutered and vaccinated as part of a TNR program. Each issue of NYC Eartips will include "Kitty Beat: Report from the Boroughs" — where you can learn about the efforts of our staff, including our TNR coaches, and volunteers throughout New York City who are working on behalf of the cats. You'll read about some of the organizations whose TNR and related efforts are humanely reducing the number of feral cats in some neighborhoods and improving the quality of life for those outdoor cats in their care. And we'll also feature seasonal articles that will provide advice and resources to help colony caretakers manage their feral cat colonies more effectively and help them perform more successful TNR projects. In this premier issue we're delighted to feature an article by Urban Cat League's Mike Phillips, in which he describes some of the organization's efforts and its partnership with Pets NYC. Because summertime is the height of kitten season, we are including an article and a film that describe how to socialize feral kittens. You'll also read about an excellent resource for feeding stations, and advice on how to maximize their potential. Thank you for being a part of our efforts to make New York City a safer place for feral cats. We hope you enjoy NYC Eartips. If you have comments or suggestions for this newsletter, we welcome them at eartips@NYCFeralCat.org. And if you haven't already, please visit our website at www.NYCFeralCat.org. Together, we can solve the feral cat overpopulation crisis in New York City.
Best wishes and happy reading,
In This Issue… Kitty Beat: Report from the Boroughs Tips for Socializing (Taming) Feral Kittens by Valerie Sicignano, NYC Feral Cat Initiative Urban Cat League and Pets NYC Team Up in Hell's Kitchen by Mike Phillips, Urban Cat League Proper Feeding Stations Help Avoid Problems with Neighbors & Nature by Greg Brush, FeralVilla In Every Issue… Donate to the NYC Feral Cat Initiative Newsletter Team Editor-in-Chief: Steve Gruber Art Director: Krista Menzel Contributing Writers: Greg Brush, Mike Phillips, Valerie Sicignano Photographers/Videographers: Daniel Breton, Greg Brush, Nancy Fahnestock, Cathe Neukum, Mike Phillips, Meredith Weiss, Susan Wright The New York City Feral Cat Initiative welcomes reprints of the articles in NYC Eartips. To request permission to reprint any of these articles, please contact us at eartips@NYCFeralCat.org. |
