Cat Trap Fever – Meet the Mother/Daughter Team Tackling Cat Overpopulation

The post Cat Trap Fever – Meet the Mother/Daughter Team Tackling Cat Overpopulation by Dr. Karyn Kanowski BVSc MRCVS (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Have you ever looked at a problem and thought to yourself,

“But what could I do?” or “How much difference can one person really make?”

You’re certainly not alone, but two amazing women are showing the world exactly what people can do, and how much of a difference just two people can make.

Marcia and Lisa, a mother/daughter team from Belding, MI, have successfully captured, neutered, released, or rehomed almost 800 cats in their community. You read that right: 800!

What might surprise you even more is that this inspiring duo did not set out on this path intentionally. Just as cats will often take it upon themselves to find their own homes, this feline cause came to them.

Lisa with one batch of 'TNR' kitties — Lisa with one batch of ‘TNR’ kitties

How It Started

When health problems took Lisa away from her beloved teaching role and back to living with her mother, Marcia, one of the first things she noticed was the local stray cats. As is often the way of these things, it started with one cat, then two, until half a dozen cats were making use of the food and shelter being provided to help with those frosty Michigan nights. When those cats started bringing along kittens, they knew they had to do something.

Although the local feral cats had come to regard Lisa and Marcia’s home as a safe place, most were far from handlable, so cat traps needed to be deployed in order to get these wayward cats the help they needed. Those that were amenable to human contact were found loving homes, while those who would never be happy without their freedom were released to the area they came from. This method of “trap-neuter-release” has long been recognized as a way to bring feline populations under control without encouraging new cats to come in and take their place.

Word always tends to spread whenever there are people selflessly helping animals, and Lisa & Marcia have had no shortage of cats and kittens in need of their capture and release services. It’s no wonder they decided to name themselves “Cat Trap Fever” when they officially became recognized as a non-profit organization.

Mama Cat, Baby-Grey, and their last fluffy litter

Two of the original cats who had been calling Marcia’s property home, even before Lisa arrived on the scene, were aptly named ‘Mama Cat’ and ‘Grey-Baby.’ They also proved to be the most difficult to catch! When Mama Cat arrived one morning with yet another litter of four adorable kittens, she sat and waited as her fluffy brood was gathered up and made her way into one of the cat traps within a few weeks, as though she was finally ready to call time on her breeding career. And so, the dynasty of Mama Cat and Grey Baby came to a happy end, with the once-suspicious Grey Baby now openly seeking affection!

Going Above and Beyond

Despite this massive undertaking, Lisa and Marcia have been doing the vast majority of the work on their own. They do have some friends and volunteers to help out from time to time, but the success of Cat Trap Fever is down to these incredible and dedicated women. They are aware that there are those in their community who struggle to get transport, who are working multiple jobs just to get by, and simply don’t have the time or ability to get these cats what they need, so they are there to take up the slack. This is how they give back to the community, although it seems as though they might be giving back far more than their share!

Since becoming an official non-profit, fundraising has become a little easier, but the costs of veterinary treatment, ongoing care, and transport are always on the rise. The ladies are in desperate need of a larger vehicle, as the small size of their current car limits how many cats they can transport at once.

Lisa says that the work will never be over, but she is in it for the long haul. As long as there are cats out there that need help, she and her mother will be there to provide it. Lisa’s teaching experience is never far away, and she feels strongly that education is one of the most important factors in trying to control the feral cat population. “People just don’t seem to realize how quickly one or two cats can become forty.”