I wrote an article and sent it to our local newspaper and they printed it! The whole thing!!! They even gave me credit for writing it. NICE!!! We are happy that the "news" of your new program is out. We had many comments about how informative the article is. Education is power and support!!!
We are so in need of your support. If you enjoy our website and have compassion for these feral and stray kitties, please "chip-in" or mail your donation to Walnut Iowa's Feral Cat Program the address listed on the left sidebar! Thank you in advance for your support.
Here is the text from the article!
The Walnut Iowa Feral Cat Program is a new group of concerned citizens that have joined together help and care for the many feral cats that are living in our little town of Walnut Iowa.
A "feral" cat is a cat who has reverted in some degree to a wild state. They originate from former domestic cats who were lost or abandoned and then learned to live outdoors or in environments involving little human contact, such as warehouses, factories or abandoned buildings. In most cases, feral cats are not completely wild because they still depend on people for their food source, whether it's a caretaker who comes by once or twice a day, a dumpster outside a restaurant, garbage cans, or the like. Relatively few feral cats subsist only by hunting.
It's important to recognize that if a cat is truly feral, then the most compassionate choice might be to allow them to live outdoors. Trying to domesticate them would be no different than trying to make a squirrel or a raccoon a household companion - you might succeed somewhat, but never fully and only with a great deal of time and patience. Moreover, you would not be permitting the animal to live in a manner that suits him best. Many well-meaning people, convinced they are "saving" a feral cat by bringing him indoors, end up condemning the poor creature to a life of hiding under the bed and being in constant fear.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) respects a feral cat's wild state. The neutering of the ferals prevents tremendous suffering and shields the cats from the hostility their behavior might otherwise draw from human neighbors. But the return of them to their own territory and the providing of adequate food and shelter gives them the opportunity to live among their own, to be free and to answer to their own unique natures.
Trap-Neuter-Return, commonly referred to as "TNR," is the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling feral cat population growth. Using this technique, all the feral cats in a colony are trapped, neutered and then returned to their territory where caretakers provide them with regular food and shelter. Young kittens who can still be socialized, as well as friendly adults, could placed in foster care and eventually adopted out to good homes.

TNR has many advantages. It immediately stabilizes the size of the colony by eliminating new litters. The nuisance behavior often associated with feral cats is dramatically reduced, including the yowling and fighting that come with mating activity and the odor of unaltered males spraying to mark their territory. The returned colony also guards its territory, preventing unaltered cats from moving in and beginning the cycle of overpopulation and problem behavior anew. Particularly in urban areas, the cats continue to provide natural rodent control.
Another significant advantage to TNR is that, when practiced on a large scale, it lessens the number of kittens and cats flowing into local shelters. This results in lower euthanasia rates and the increased adoption of cats already in the shelters.
TNR is not just the best alternative to managing feral cat populations - it is the only one that works. Doing nothing has resulted in the current overpopulation crisis. Trying to "rescue" the cats and find them all homes is utopian and unattainable given their numbers and the futility of trying to socialize most of them. Trap and remove, the traditional technique exercised by animal control, is simply ineffective. If all the cats are not caught, then the ones left behind breed until the former population level is reached. Even if all the cats are removed, new unneutered cats tend to move in to take advantage of whatever food source there was, and the cycle starts again. This explains why more and more animal control agencies are willing to try TNR.
Finally, TNR is an idea whose time has come. It recognizes there is a new balance in our urban and rural landscape, one that includes feral cats. It seeks to manage this new population with enlightened techniques that allow the cats to live out their lives and fulfill their natures, while minimizing any possible negative impact. TNR is a movement that will continue to grow as more and more caring people see its potential and, in time, it will become the predominant method of feral cat management.
Walnut Iowa’s Feral Cat Program will be also be vaccinating the cats against rabies to protect our residents.
What can you do?
We would love to have more volunteers to assist in the trapping and feeding of these animals.
We would appreciate any and all donations, as this effort will go forward only with your monetary help or donations of food. You will see cans in several downtown businesses. You can make a donation on our website at www.takepittyonthekitties.blogspot.com
If you have a pet of your own, PLEASE be sure they are spayed or neutered. Also realize that your cat should wear a collar if they go outside, so we don’t trap your cat and take it in for unnecessary surgery, and come home with a clipped ear.
The group is putting together a resource list of area vets that will spay or neuter your pet. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Kathy Humann at 784-2660 or Cheryl True at 784-3320
