| |
How do
I borrow humane feral-cat traps?
Slope Street Cats loans traps, free of charge,
to people who have taken the Neighborhood Cats
trap-neuter-return
workshop. Please email
us the name you submitted on your workshop
form, number of traps needed, and trapping dates.
Loans typically last ten days, and all traps must
be returned having been cleaned with a bleach
solution. Please read the loan forms carefully
before signing, ask questions about any trap styles
you might not be familiar with, and check to make
sure traps are working properly (e.g., trip-plates
and locking back doors). Make sure you receive
two trap dividers; they are essential to prevent
escape or injury of your feral cats before and
after surgery.
The Trap Bank is located at the U-Haul Storage
Facility at 394 4th Avenue (at 6th Street) in
Park Slope (click
here for map).
For more local trap banks, see the NYC
Feral Cat Council website.
back to top
Winter
care and shelters
Sturdy, warm protection from freezing cold weather,
snow, and rain is essential to the survival of
feral cats. Slope Street Cats offers a Winter
Shelter–Building Workshop every fall. For
more information on the workshop, contact
us.
Simple shelter-building
tips
To purchase ready-made
shelters
See the Urban
Cat League website.
back
to top
Got
raccoons?
When raccoons and cats co-exist in the same territory,
raccoons can pose a significant risk to the cats
if they become aggressive. This often depends
on the environment and the raccoon's temperament
(male/female/raccoon babies present/kittens present/enough
food for all/enough shelter for all). While urban
raccoons are mainly scavengers, they also eat
nesting birds and have reportedly also eaten kittens.
(A mother cat will try to protect them, but is
often no match for a raccoon.)
Your best bet is to feed your cats when raccoons
are less likely to be around, such as in the morning.
While raccoons are naturally crepuscular (foraging
at dawn/dusk), they seem to be mainly nocturnal
in urban areas and most likely won't come out
if the cats are out in the morning.
Another suggestion is based on the idea that raccoons
are climbers, not jumpers. Try putting the cat
food on a platform that raccoons cannot climb
but that cats can jump onto. View examples on
The
Wild Ones website.
A great source for more suggestions on raccoons
and other issues is the NYC
Feral Cats Yahoo Group. Do a search for "raccoon"
within the group messages to retrieve information.
back
to top
Dealing
with your neighbors and community
Got a neighbor who hates the local feral and stray
cats? Or one who loves them but doesn’t try to
get them fixed? Communicating with neighbors is
often essential to a successful trap-neuter-return
project. The first step is to educate yourself
about the basic arguments for TNR, which you’ll
learn as part of the Neighborhood
Cats TNR workshop.
The Alley Cat Allies website also provides a wealth
of resources to help you speak to others about
TNR. See the following factsheets:
Also recommended
"Love
Cats? / Hate Cats?" (pdf), a full-color
educational comic from Slope Street Cats.
If you have a neighbor who
is annoyed with cats in their yard or garden,
see “How
can I keep cats out of my yard?” on this website.
back
to top
NYC
Feral Cats Yahoo Group
For further information on these and other feral-cat
issues, as well as a great opportunity to network
with other local caretakers, the NYC Feral Cats
Yahoo Group is an invaluable resource. To sign
up and view messages, go to the Yahoo
Group.
back
to top
|
|
