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ö Although the following points may make you change your mind about getting involved please note that: 1 FEMALE CAT = 80 MILLION KITTENS IN 10 YEARS! ö AVA does not have a shelter so relies on foster homes…..YOUR HOUSE! ö Do not in any circumstance consider relocating the cats. It is a known documented fact that a great percentage of animals that are relocated do not survive. It is for this reason that wildlife organizations ask for the address of the nearest intersection where the animal was found when you deliver a sick/injured animal to them so that the animal can be released at that same spot. ö Do not take the animal to the pound. It will be euthanized within 2 weeks or will be used for research purposes. ö Tame cats should be entered into an adoption program. Stray tame cats are at great risk of starvation or abuse. Feral cats can be tamed but it does take time. They are at less risk because they will not approach strangers. Assess the situation: How many cats? The AVA representative working the Help line will need to know approximately how many cats will need funding. Which cats should be trapped and in what order? If there is a mother cat and kittens, the decision should be simple. Kittens are readily adoptable, adults are not and the spaying of known female cats at known points in their cycle is a priority. Is the cat is injured? If so it too should be trapped and immediately taken to the vet who will inform you as to whether it is a nursing female. At that point a decision will be made as to whether she should be released so that the kittens survive. Perhaps an injection of a long lasting antibiotic could help. It is equally important to neuter male cats although timing is not quite an issue. They will roam for miles and will invariably be hit by a car. They also fight and thereby contract diseases and commonly have abscessed bite wounds. Ask your neighbours if they have cats and if they allow them outdoors. If their cats are outdoor cats get to know them in order to avoid trapping them. If it is not a neighbours cat and it is tame it could be lost. Take it to the vet and have it scanned for a microchip. How many are females? (Helpful Hints: Orange or orange/white cats are primarily males….calicoes (orange/white/black patches) are always female…..tortoiseshells(orange/white/black or orange/white/grey completely blended in no pattern) are always female…..brown tabbies with slight patches of orange (called torbies) are female. Tom cats are usually war torn with shredded ears and scars and have very round jowly faces. Females are usually quite petite. As for black cats/ tuxedo cats/grey etc. it is anyone's guess.) If it is a female, how long have you been observing it for? If there are periods of time when she is not seen she could be tending to kittens. If you have never seen her before, you had best wait and continue observing. It could be a neighbour's cat. Or it could have kittens. Is there any chance that she could have kittens? i. If so do you know where the nest is? Don't go looking for it…..she will relocate the kittens if it is disturbed. ii. How many kittens does she have? iii. Are the kittens eating on their own? You do not want to trap kittens if they are not eating on their own and still nursing. Bottle feeding is not fun, so wait before you start trapping. You must trap all the kittens first and then the mother. Kittens should be caught as soon as they start eating on their own. If you wait until they are older than 6 weeks of age they will invariably be feral kittens…..and it will be a time consuming and "painful" process taming them. There are large box traps available that have on occasion trapped entire families, mother included. These should only be used if you know exactly the number of kittens in the nest and if the mother is in the habit of eating alongside her kittens. Remember that there is always a runt in every litter…..and this kitten will be the last one to start eating on its own so it may be some time before the mother can be caught. Are your neighbours willing to help you with fostering while the animals are recovering from the spay/neuter procedures and with the care and feeding of the ferals once they are ready to be released? (Male cats need to recuperate for about 2-3 days and females should stay in for 2 weeks. Winter is not a good time to trap ferals as they will loose their ability to handle the cold if they are indoors for a period of time.) It is important to get neighbours involved. Apart from sharing expenses, if you have to move then there will be caretakers to continue feeding. Phone the AVA Help Line at 416-439-8770 to discuss: a. funding of vet expenses b. trapping assistance c. traps d. assistance with the adoption of the tame cats. 6. Go to Alley Cat Allies Web Site for anything you need to know! 7. Plastic Winterized Cat House by www.aokferals.com Although there are plans for cat houses on the Alley Cat Allies web site, these are produced locally in Toronto for a reasonable price.