Support Trap, Neuter, Return Program in Middle GA

My partner and I moved to Georgia almost two years ago. We left a city with an active Trap, Neuter, and Return program. We had access to low-cost TNR through the local Humane Society and were able to fix almost 100 cats over several years. Mostly, these were community and feral cats that lived in or near our neighborhoods. We also helped friends and family.

Moving to Middle Georgia was a real eye-opener. The house we rented had a small group of feral cats. It became evident that they weren't cared for or fixed. Naturally, we helped. Within six months, we fixed the six local cats we identified. There were a couple of unexpected challenges.

During that time, we met quite a few people who were involved with helping cat colonies. Some feed regularly, many are working with rescues to rehome kittens, and a couple of them work to fix the animals to reduce the breeding population. Most of the focus seemed to be on rescue and transport.

Fast forward to March of this year, the beginning of Kitten season. Kitten season is the warm months when fertile cats breed like crazy. In our area, it starts in late February and doesn't let up until late Fall. Suddenly, the number of kittens being born was overwhelming. Local no-kill shelters filled up. Numerous people started calling volunteers desperately looking for help. We quickly identified over 200 cats in colonies around the area that could use our help.

With the shelters full and no real opportunity to rehome this number of cats, we believed we could do better with TNR. By reducing the number of fertile cats, we hope to make a difference. It isn't a quick fix but a sustained effort has been proven to make a difference.

Working through two non-profits locally who had received grants specifically for TNR, we started a TNR program. They provided the funding while we provided the boots on the ground to collect cats, transport them to and from the clinic, and handle the logistics to build a sustainable program. One of the non-profits has a relationship with a shelter able to provide low-cost TNR services at $35 per cat! This included a rabies vaccine for cats over 16 weeks.

We trialed the program with a few visits taking 10 cats per trip and it went well. As expected, the list of cats and locations got longer, not shorter. After talking to our non-profit partners, they agreed to help us ramp up activity. Since we were limited in how many cats we could safely transport in traps using our vehicles, the clinic offered to help us with transportation allowing us to TNR 30 cats per visit.

Since May of 2023 when we started scaling up, we have fixed almost 200 cats. With the cost of transportation and caring for the cats while holding them before and after their surgeries, it has cost about $45 per cat. My partner and I have self-funded the extra costs and also supplemented the non-profit funds with local vets for time-sensitive situations when warranted. We will continue to donate our own time and money to this effort because we believe matters.

Unfortunately, the non-profits we partnered with to fund the volume TNR services have depleted the TNR grants and our last scheduled run with 25 cats will be in September. They have applied for additional grants but have as yet been unsuccessful. As we meet more people and discover new colonies, our list has grown to over 250. So here we are. :)

Our goal is to TNR 40-50 cats per month, year round. We self-fund 6 to 10 of these. To keep up the pace with our program, we would like to either take 12 cats at a time or arrange for our clinic to transport 30 cats for us per visit. This campaign covers the costs to TNR 12 cats. The budget includes the surgery, rabies shot (if the cat is old enough), transportation, care for the cats while they are in "custody" :), and fundraising fees. All of the work is done by volunteers.

If you are able to underwrite a full TNR trip for 30 cats or would like to arrange a larger donation, we would prefer the money be handled through one of our non-profit partners. Please reach out directly and we'll help coordinate it.