We want donors to see where their gift is going so we will be sharing monthly updates here. Since July we have TNR'd 147 cats through this fundraiser for a total of $10,040. Thank you for making this possible with your donations!
Help us prevent future generations of kittens from being born on the streets in Minnesota or ending up in over-crowded shelters by supporting our TNR effort today!
Animal Humane Society is no longer funding free spay/neuter appointments for Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) cats, a program that has been in place since 2015. This will unfortunately cause hardship for small Twin Cities animal nonprofits. Organizations, along with independent trappers, are left with no alternatives for affordable veterinary care. These folks are focused on Trap-Neuter-Return, the only humane way to control the Twin Cities’ feral cat populations.
The overpopulation of community cats is caused by barriers to veterinary care in under-resourced areas, the increasing costs of veterinary care, lack of appointment availability, and cat owners not keeping their unfixed pets indoors. Currently the most cost-effective place to spay/neuter cats is in Baldwin, WI, an hour away from the Twin Cities. Funds raised here will cover surgery costs done at Purple Cat vet. $25,000 will allow us to cover the cost for approximately 330 community cat spay/neuters.
Currently, a small group of dedicated cat advocates assist in TNR in the Twin Cities answering hundreds of requests each year from community members, homeowner associations, and local government officials to help deal with cat overpopulation and kittens in harsh conditions.
Because of a combination of free & low cost spay/neuter in the past, the program was doable! Now we are at risk of no TNR funding, meaning more cats taking over neighborhoods and communities, and more kittens being born, struggling to survive on the streets. A momma cat can have an average of three litters a year. (An average litter is four to five babies.)
More experienced volunteers, cat lovers, and those especially with veterinary resources, are needed across the metro area to help with this issue. Emergency funding is needed to help with kitten season, which is in full swing. AHS stopped free TNR services July 1st, which put an immediate halt to projects across the State of Minnesota. We are now in an emergency situation!
All donations raised will be used to pay the vets we work with for TNR surgeries. Our goal is to support independent cat trappers in Minnesota and assure they can continue their life saving work in our community.
