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Altered Feral State receives a $25,000 TNR Grant from PetSmart Charities!!

PetSmart Charities awarded a grant for TNR of feral cats in District 3 of Walton County.  This is a high impact grant and only covers the spay/neuter and vaccination of feral cat colonies in this

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Altered Feral State receives PetSmart Charities Grant!

 

Altered Feral State Receives $25,200 Grant from PetSmart Charities ® to TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) 720 Feral Cats in Walton County’s Commission District 3
 
OXFORD, GA – 8/30/10. Altered Feral State received a $25,200 grant from PetSmart Charities® this week to increase the number of feral cats they help spay/neuter and vaccinate by 50 percent. The organization’s 2-year-old TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program has altered more than 500 adult feral cats per year, on average, and removed, fully vetted and adopted over 300 kittens from those feral colonies.
 
This grant will provide free spay/neuter and vaccination services to anyone feeding feral cats who lives in Walton County’s Commission District 3. Altered Feral State’s goal is to reduce the number of breeding feral cats in this District by 50 percent. The actual effect of the TNR program will reduce the number of future feral cats in this area by many thousands. Kittens less than 8 weeks old will be removed from the colonies in the program and, after testing, vaccination and spay/neuter will be placed for adoption.
 
“We are very excited to be able to offer this free service to residents of District 3 in Walton County. We chose this area when we applied for this grant from PetSmart Charities ® because this is where it all began for us and where Altered Feral State was founded in 2008,” said Carolee McKay, executive director of Altered Feral State. We hope that our TNR program will become a model for Walton and surrounding counties in Georgia. 
 
For those residents who do not live in District 3, we can still assist you through our on-going TNR program which costs only $35/cat to have them spayed or neutered, eartipped and vaccinated. District 3 is a very large area and effects residents living in parts of Oxford, Covington, Loganville and Monroe. Eligibility for the grant will be determined by address. Once the feral cats are spay/neutered, vaccinated and returned to their home property, the improvement is immediate. First and foremost, there are no more new kittens. The nuisance behaviors of yowling, fighting, spraying and roaming are greatly reduced – usually eliminated. When the cats are returned to their home properties, all they require is the same food and care they have already been receiving. 
                                                                                                                                         
For more information on TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), please call Altered Feral State at (770) 207-8920
or (770) 207-9750.   
 
Feral is not another word for “stray”.  A stray is a cat who has been abandoned or who has strayed from home and become lost.  Stray cats can usually be re-socialized and adopted.  Adult feral cats usually can't be socialized and won’t adjust to living indoors or with a human family.  Stray cats will often take up with feral cats in an effort to survive.  Maybe you’ve seen them behind restaurants or in an alley or park.  Quite possibly you’ve seen them in your own backyard.  Feral (wild) cats live everywhere, forming colonies wherever they find scraps of food and a bit of shelter, be it in dumpsters, in the woods near business and residents, or in a park..  Tens of millions of feral cats now live in the U.S. 

Feral and Stray Cats—An Important Difference

Feral, stray, and pet cats are all members of the same species; they are all domestic cats. But stray cats and feral cats are also different from each other in a very important way—in their relationship to and interactions with people. Whether you are a shelter worker, veterinarian, or feral cat advocate—or you just share your neighborhood with feral cats—knowing how to tell the difference can help inform you how best to interact with a cat or what, if any, intervention would be in each cat’s best interest. ·         What is socialization?         What is the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat?·         Why does it matter?

 What is socialization? We use the term “socialized” to mean cats that are friendly towards people—or cats who enjoy companionship with us in our homes. Kittens becomes socialized by interacting with people—being held, spoken to, and played with—from a very early age. If a kitten does not become accustomed to people holding her and petting her within this crucial window, (usually less than 8 weeks) she will grow up apprehensive of humans and will not be suited to or happy living in homes.  What is the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat? Pet and stray cats are socialized to people. Feral cats are not socialized to people. While they are socialized to their colony members and bonded to each other, they do not have that same relationship with people.

Stray:

 A stray cat is a cat who has been socialized to people at some point in her life, but has left or lost her domestic home, as well as most human contact and dependence.Over time, a stray cat can become feral as her contact with humans dwindles. Under the right circumstances, however, a stray cat can also become a pet cat once again. Stray cats that are re-introduced to a home after living outdoors may require a period of time to re-acclimate; they may be frightened and wary after spending time outside away from people. · Another definition that may help:
- “A stray cat is a domestic cat that has been abandoned or has ‘strayed’ from home and become lost. Stray [cats] were once pets and they can usually be successfully rescued and placed in homes.” – Stray Cat Handbook 

Feral:  

A feral cat is a cat who has never had any contact with humans. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors. A feral cat is not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors.Kittens born to feral cats can be socialized at an early age and adopted into homes. Why does it matter?Stray cats can readjust to living with people and can be adopted as companions. Adult feral cats cannot be socialized, which means they cannot be adopted. As a result, they are likely to be killed if picked up by animal control or brought to shelters, so it is in their best interest to continue living outdoors.Stray and feral cats can be difficult to tell apart, especially when they are trapped or frightened. Scared stray cats often need time to relax and show their level of socialization. Trap-Neuter-Return takes into account each cat’s level (or degree) of socialization to determine the best environment for them. Feral cats are returned to their outdoor home after being trapped and neutered. Socialized cats and kittens can be adopted into homes.