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Understand how you can help outdoor cats

From the Humane Society of the United States

If you’ve encountered a cat outdoors, you’ve probably wondered whom the cat belonged to or if they even had an owner. Outdoor cats are sometimes owned cats whose owner lets them out. Often, however, they are community cats—ferals or strays. You can help these cats in different ways. 

Heated Cat Shelters on Amazon.com

Stray cats

Stray cats may be friendly and approach you for food or attention or they may be too scared to let you get close. But they will usually eat immediately if you put food down for them. Use caution, since you don’t know how these cats will react.

There are many ways you can help these cats:

  • If the cat has identification, try to contact the owner.
  • If you can get the cat into a carrier, take them to a veterinarian or animal shelter to be scanned for a microchip.
  • Contact animal shelters, veterinary offices and rescue groups to let them know about the cat you’ve found. Someone may have filed a lost cat report that is a match.
  • Ask neighbors and mail carriers if they’re familiar with the cat.
  • Post signs and place free ads in local newspapers.
  • Create a “found pet” profile at The Center for Lost Pets.

It’s helpful if you can provide shelter for the cat while you search for their owner. If no owner is found, you can try to find a good home for them or adopt the cat yourself. If you take the cat home with you, have them examined by a veterinarian before introducing them to your other cats.

Feral cats

The cat you’re helping may be feral if they approach you when extremely hungry, but will only eat the food you’ve provided once you’ve walked away. A cat is probably feral if they’re still unapproachable and cannot be touched after several days of feeding. Don’t try to handle a feral cat. Most feral cats can’t be adopted because they’re too afraid of people.

One sign that a cat is a spayed or neutered feral is a tipped or notched ear (if the tip or section of an ear has been surgically removed). A stray cat who is spayed or neutered may also have a tipped or notched ear.

Stop overpopulation with TNR

Food and water are important parts of caring for community cats. But some people who are new to looking after these cats often don’t realize that if they don’t find a way to have the cats spayed or neutered, the number of hungry cats may soon become unmanageable as more and more kittens are born. Doing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) will keep this from happening to you and the cats. 

How to do TNR

If you’re already feeding community cats, you may soon find yourself overwhelmed by kittens, kittens and more kittens—unless you take quick action to get them spayed and neutered. Use our community cat resources to get these cats spayed and neutered while their numbers are still manageable.

Find community cat resources

Resolve conflicts with neighbors

Outdoor cats can often be the cause of complaints; from a cat who stalks birds at a neighbor’s bird feeder to a group of community cats (known as a colony) on a neighbor’s property. If you are helping people keep cats off their property or resolve nuisance complaints, we suggest the following resources:

Work with local groups

Get help

If you’re really lucky, there is an organization or agency in your area that can help you TNR the feral cats you’re feeding. They may also be able to help find homes for friendly strays and kittens. If this help isn’t available in your community, you may still be able to find veterinarians who are willing to provide low-cost services for community cats.

Provide help

Organizations and agencies that care for community cats need all the assistance they can get. Even if you’ve never seen a feral or stray cat, it’s likely that they are in your community. You can make a big difference by doing the following:

  • Spay or neuter your own cats before they can reproduce at four to five months of age.
  • Get involved with or help to support organizations or agencies that help community cats.
  • Become a community cat caretaker.
  • Volunteer to socialize feral kittens.
  • Volunteer to help at a spay/neuter event for community cats.
  • Fundraise or write grant applications for an organization or agency helping cats.
  • Educate your neighbors and community about outdoor cats.
  • Donate to our Community Cat Program Fund.

Start your own group

If there’s no local group helping community cats, you may decide to start one. Talk with others in your community and find some like-minded individuals to help share the workload. 

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The “Garbage Dogs” of Greece

https://www.facebook.com/ethelontesxwmaterisLoutrakiou (Volunteers for the animals of Loutraki Landfill)

Rescued and en route to receiving help

Afrodith, a Greek rescue volunteer, moved to the coastal town of Loutraki in 2018. Passing by the large Loutraki landfill almost daily was a life-changing experience for her. She witnessed firsthand the horrendous conditions of the 130 or so dogs and puppies who live in the landfill. They had been abandoned by pet owners, generally unspayed/unneutered, and their numbers have increased. She found packs of dogs and puppies in terrible condition, with sores on their bodies, diseased, starving, thirsty, with broken bones, and, sadly, some dead. She felt compelled to try to take care of the dogs. Afrodith’s appeals to local authorities and the government yielded nothing, so she proceeded alone and has dedicated herself to helping these animals and finding a long-term solution to what is essentially an endless cemetery of animals at the landfill.

Afrodith has captured, vaccinated, spayed/neutered and treated as many dogs as could be moved to the small plot of land she rents as a sanctuary for the animal’s care. At this point, she has no more space on her rented land for the dogs that remain at the landfill site. If a sick dog needs treatment today, she captures, crates, and arranges vet care for the dog, but because there is not alternative, the dog is released back to the landfill.

Her dream is to take all the dogs out of the landfill and give them the life they deserve. To do so will require a larger plot of land with shelter so she can give as many dogs as possible a chance of a happy and healthy life with treatment, love, and care, and opportunities for fostering/adoption. Afrodith now has the help of a few volunteers, but what she and they are providing is insufficient to meet the needs of all the dogs. The dogs must be captured and spayed/neutered, treated for diseases and skin conditions, and provided food, shelter and, it is hoped, homes. They are having difficulty making the larger-scale impact they dream of.

Afrodith created her Facebook page so that people can see her and the other volunteers’ efforts to help alleviate the suffering of the dogs. 100% of the donations go to animal care.  Here is that page: https://www.facebook.com/ethelontesxwmaterisLoutrakiou (Volunteers for the Animals of Loutraki Landfill). Please click on the Facebook page and check out her work. Let’s help her if we can: with donations for food, medicine, and shelter. Please share her page on social media, which will help promote her work and support new foster/adoption opportunities.  

If you would care to make a donation (any size of donation would be greatly appreciated) there are two options:

PayPal account: loutrakilandfilldogs@gmail.com

Pet shop bank account details: PIRAEUS BANK: IBAN: GR39 0172 523000 5523 035 564552 • SWIFT/BIC:PIRBGRAAXXX Beneficiary: Deferanos Nikos • Reference: Loutraki landfill dogs

Her admirable and selfless work with the dogs has been recognized by a German charity https://www.facebook.com/NeverWalkAloneTierschutzverein They send pallets of dry food to help. They are a lifeline for the garbage dogs, but significantly more help is needed.

Greece attracts many tourists each year due to its natural beauty and archaeological sites. What many people do not know is that behind this beautiful facade, there is an estimated population of 3.5 million strays wandering in the streets, sick, starving, and thirsty. Many Greeks do not spay and neuter their animals. Local Greek volunteers try to their best to alleviate this suffering. Many people look the other way. If you can, please lend a hand. Thank you.

One area of the Loutraki landfill
Rescued dogs on Afrodith’s rented land

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If Each of Us Did Something about Animal Overpopulation, Our Impact Could Be Vast – World Spay Day – February 23

by Carolyn Cott

The spaying/neutering of dogs and cats is widely regarded as the single most effective means of controlling their population growth. The estimates of dogs and cats worldwide range from 950 million to 1.5 billion, the majority of which are un-owned, un-fixed, and struggle to survive. Spaying and neutering can contribute to reducing animal suffering.

For those who belief it’s not fair to deprive animals of their sexuality, consider this: animals have different consciousness from humans, and it is fairly safe to assume that they do not miss the ability to procreate. The suffering caused by overpopulation is a surety, however, and you can help to make a difference. Please consider spaying and neutering your animals and supporting organizations that do so. There are many organizations that offer low-cost or no-cost spaying and neutering. Check online with local, national, and international humane societies, animal welfare organizations, and local government.

If each of us did something about animal overpopulation, our impact could be vast.

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Looking the Other Way

Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way” – Author Unknown 

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How this rapper quit his music career to start a cat rescue

“I think something as selfless as rescue could be an example to the world of unity and working together,” said Sterling Davis, a.k.a. the TrapKing.

Sterling Davis, aka The Trap King.

Sterling Davis, aka The Trap King.Weir MediaNov. 29, 2020, by Jen Reeder

This story was originally published on Today.com.

Atlanta resident Sterling Davis was on a break from a rap tour when he applied for a job at the county shelter scooping kitty litter. He just wanted to stay busy and make a little money. Plus, he’s always loved animals, like his cat at the time, Rick James.

“I did horrible in the interview because they had cats in the room and I was playing with all the cats, kissing all the cats,” he told Today.

Even though he didn’t really answer any of the questions because he was distracted by the friendly felines, he got the job because, as the person who hired him said, “We’re not seeing people like you with cats.”

Davis, 40, started helping shelter employees with trap-neuter-return cases. The team would trap community cats (formerly called “feral”), bring them to the shelter to be vaccinated and spayed or neutered, and then return them to their outdoor realm.

While Davis learned about TNR, he came to another realization.

Sterling TrapKing Davis
Most community cats wouldn’t do well inside a home, so trap-neuter-return is the humane alternative to euthanasia. TNR also reduces feline overpopulation, curbs the spread of disease and helps with rodent control.Courtesy of Sterling TrapKing Davis

“At the county shelter, there were no men and no Black people that worked in the cat department,” he said. “When I would go out and do TNR with all my friends, it would be all women — that’s who trained me. I finally asked the difficult question: ‘Where are all the guys and where are all the Black people?’’

The answer: There’s just you.

Davis realized he had a new calling. He let his band know he would not be coming back on tour. Instead, he was going to devote all his time to cat rescue as the TrapKing.

After five years of working at the shelter run by LifeLine Animal Project and training with Best Friends Animal Society, Davis founded the nonprofit TrapKing Humane Cat Solutions in 2017.

His bold goal: to change stereotypes of men in cat rescue and bridge the communication gap between Black communities and predominately white animal welfare organizations.

“I’ve seen rescue be something that’s looked at as hard, tedious, sad,” he said. “If people can see me and I make this look like this is a rock-star type life, this is fun — you can do it.”

When his music money dried up, Davis sold everything he owned and bought a conversion van to live in to help pay for cat surgeries and support his nonprofit. He plastered the van with TrapKing logos and people started noticing. He hosted contests for kids, who would watch his humane traps. Whoever texted him first about a cat in a trap won $20, second place got $15 and so on.

Sterling TrapKing Davis
Sterling Davis has always loved cats. “They’re pretty amazing creatures,” he told TODAY. Courtesy of Sterling TrapKing Davis

“I started going into neighborhoods and kids would see me like the ice cream truck,” he said with a chuckle. “I would pull into apartment complexes and see young boys running up to the van trying to give me cats. ‘Hey Trap, look — I got a cat. Do I get some money?’”

As the TrapKing became better known, opportunities arose. The Atlanta Humane Society offered to spay and neuter cats he brought for free, which was a huge help since he wasn’t charging anyone for his services.

Davis, who enlisted in the Navy right out of high school and served for two years as an operations specialist manning the ship’s radar, said he believes his experiences have helped him connect with people from all walks of life as the TrapKing.

“I think being in the military, being around different people, different cultures and being in entertainment is what actually helped me better communicate with all types of people and better communicate this mission,” he said. “I’ve literally been pushing to make TNR community cat care as common as recycling and get more people engaged in so many fun ways.”

It hasn’t always been easy. Early on when Davis was returning cats to a predominately Black neighborhood, a group of men walked up and told him: “White people put tracking devices and diseases in these cats to hurt the Black community and you’re helping that. You’re bringing them into the neighborhood.”

“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s so wrong.’ It was really difficult to explain it because all the Black community could see was this is a white person’s thing,” he said.

Over time, perceptions have changed. When protests erupted across America in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Davis launched a T-shirt campaign called “Allies in Rescue, Allies in Life.” He announced he would donate all of the funds to the nonprofit Campaign Zero, which promotes policy changes to end police violence. Support from rescue advocates and organizations was overwhelming.

“I got a lot of feedback from the Black community on that, like, ‘So you got all of these animal people to donate to issues other than just cats or dogs?’” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah — we’re allies in rescue and allies in life.’ So that really turned a lot of things around.”

A few months ago, Davis was setting a trap for a cat that surprised him by jumping into his arms. He adopted her and named her Alanis Mewissette.
A few months ago, Davis was setting a trap for a cat that surprised him by jumping into his arms. He adopted her and named her Alanis Mewissette. Courtesy of Sterling TrapKing Davis

Davis now runs TrapKing Humane Cat Solutions from an RV, which he shares with his cats Bowie, Damita Jo and Alanis Mewissette. He hopes to travel across the country soon promoting TNR and fundraising for animal shelters. He’s also pushing for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to start offering a TNR badge.

Through it all, he’s continuing his outreach to communities and modeling his motto, “You don’t lose cool points for compassion.”

“I’ve had a lot of parents reach out to me and say that their son gets made fun of because he likes cats,” he said. “I just want it to be known that you cannot lose cool points for compassion. If you are doing something compassionate, you gain cool points.”

The TrapKing would love to see the rescue community find ways to put aside any differences and work together toward the common goal of saving the lives of pets.

“I think something as selfless as rescue could be an example to the world of unity and working together,” he said. “So I want to put that out there.”

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Rescue in Crete

Sam Wilson is a volunteer at https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeShelterCrete/ She is a former police inspector with Nottinghamshire, England police. She served on the force for 30 years and retired in September 2020. A week later, she flew to Crete, Greece to volunteer with George Orfanidis and his George Stray Dogs organization. Sam’s plan was volunteer for four weeks, improve her Greek language skills, and then return home. The return-home part of her plan became complicated. Her time there inspired her to book three additional flights to Crete over the following two months, with more planned in the future. Sam now has a very long commute to work and works side by side with George.

George Stray Dogs was founded by George Orfanidis, who has devoted more than 20 years to rescuing and caring for dogs and bringing about positive change for animals by changing people’s minds and hearts through education. George houses 100 dogs at his shelters, which lack electricity and water supply. Every day, without fail, he drives the 70 km round trip bringing water and food to the dogs.

Animal welfare is not a priority in Greece. There are estimated to be 8 million stray dogs and cats in the country. They are routinely abandoned in the rubbish, in the mountains, and on the street. Some dogs are chained to barrels for the length of their lives, with little food and fresh water, and riddled with ticks, fleas, and worms.

George has been reliant on his fellow Greeks for donations for food for veterinary medicine, but Greece has been in recession for a long time. Many of the people who care about animal welfare have little money to give. The struggle for funding was somewhat alleviated when Australian animal activist Stella Savvas set up the organization’s Facebook page. George has also received various volunteer assistance from his brother Nikos Orfandis, and volunteers Katerina and Debra. The organization also received a boost when George’s friend, well-known Greek rescuer Takis Proestakis, mentioned him on his FB page.

The access to a wider audience has allowed George to build infrastructure at one of the shelters, which will allow all of the dogs to be housed at one site. Fencing, kennels, and easy access to water will make the rescue work easier. George, Sam, and other volunteers are currently working to complete the site work before winter sets in.

Some of George Stray Dogs rescue success stories – Before and After:

Tommy – George found Tommy in the filth of an abandoned house. The sight of Tommy reduced George to tears. Tommy had little fur and wounds all over his face and body from the effects of leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease which afflicts many dogs in the southern Mediterranean. After months of care, love, and treatment, Tommy was transformed into a beautiful dog. Tommy and George are now inseparable.

Hara – Hara was abandoned in the rubbish five years ago. George was caring for her as a stray on the streets. One day, he was alerted that some men had her on a chain and were ready to hang her. George went to the location and fought with the men to save her life. (He has been attacked more than one occasion for his work.) The men damaged George’s car and bruised him, but Hara was saved and she now lives at the shelter. Hara is a contented dog with a sweet and gentle nature.  The deformed leg with which she was born causes her no issues.

Dias – Dias is known as the Gentle Giant. He is a 60kg Greek Shepherd found on the highway with shattered legs, unable to move. With two surgeries and care from George he is thriving. The puppies particularly adore him. He’s the alpha dog in his pen but  calm and even natured with others.

The transformation of dogs from when they arrive at the shelter in heart-breaking condition to health, balance, and friendly dispositions. They form close bonds with each other and adore George. George has a huge heart, dedication, and deep compassion for the neglected, abused, abandoned, tortured animals on Crete, Greece.

If you would like to make a donation to George Stray Dogs, their Paypal account is

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YDFUP26WDRCBN&source=url

George Stray Dogs also have a Go Fund Me to raise money for a 4×4 car to provide consistently reliable transport to the shelter in winter.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/njrrqe-a-car-for-christmas?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR2vvl5KnvdSCzzwc7f9owIRdB6hksCeBijO0SsaqkHNZKmG2T0EqByKnko
Hara
Dias

For further information: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeShelterCrete/

GSD
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A Movie that Could Change People’s Ideas About Animals’ Ability to Think, Reason, Feel

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Steps to Take To Help a Stray or Lost Dog

Most people assume that a wandering dog is owned and/or temporarily lost and will find his or her way home, but many do not. Rather than assuming things will work out for the dog, consider taking action. Yes, it’s a tad inconvenient for you, but what you’ve done is save a lost or abandoned animal from dehydration, starvation, exposure to the elements, fighting over scarce resources, and injury from animals or automobiles.

Here are some safe ways to help lost dogs.

If the dog is friendly:

  1. If the dog seems friendly and is willing to come to you, call him, and slowly move your hand forward palm down (palm up can signal that you might strike). Exude a calm confidence rather than fear. Talk to him, let him sniff you, and then stroke him gently.
  2. If he has a collar read the info and make the appropriate call.
  3. If he does not have identification, see if he will enter your (often calling him and simply opening the car door will inspire him to jump in) or corral him into an enclosed area, like a fenced yard or a room in your house. Provide water and food.
  4. Call your local SPCA, humane society, or police to notify them that you have found a lost dog. To find the number of your local animal rescue organization, search by “animal shelter,” “humane society,” or “animal control.” Public animal care and control agencies are often listed under the city or county health department or police department. You can use this link to find animal rescues in your area: https://www.petfinder.com/animal-shelters-and-rescues/search/
  5. Either deliver him to the shelter (where they can check him for a microchip with identifying information) or ask that someone pick him up.
  6. If you choose to retain him while searching for the owner, staple easily readable flyer (if possible, with photo) on telephone polls, put a free listing in the local paper and in the “pets” section of Craig’s list, rubber band a flyer to neighbors’ mailbox flags, and provide the local animal shelter veterinary offices with his identifying features so that they can check their database for a match.

If the dog seems unfriendly:

  1. If the dog seems unfriendly, do not put yourself at risk. Immediately call the police and your local animal rescue organization with information on his last-seen location.
  2. Put down a plastic, disposable bowl of water and food, which not only will slake his thirst and hunger, but help to keep him in that location so that authorities can find him.

Thank you for doing what you can to help animals.

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Click Daily & Corporations Will Provide Food for Animal Shelters – Free To You

Animal rescue – corporate food donation

If interested, you can make this you home page, so that when you log onto the internet, you can click daily. It costs you nothing.

Here are instructions to do so, for various browsers:

Firefox

  • Open Firefox, then select the three, horizontal lines next to the profile icon.
  • Select Options, then select the Home icon.
  • Under New Windows and Tabs, select the dropdown next to Homepage and new windows.
  • Choose the option you prefer: Firefox Home (Default), Custom URLs, or Blank Page.

Safari

  • Open Safari, then choose Safari > Preferences, then select General.
  • In the Homepage field, enter a wepage address. To simply use the webpage you’re currently viewing, select Set to Current Page.
  • Choose when your homepage is shown.
    • Open new windows with your homepage: Select the New windows open with pop-up menu, then choose Homepage.
    • Open new tabs with your homepage: Select the New tabs open with pop-up menu, then choose Homepage.

Microsoft Edge

  • Here’s how to change your home page in the new Microsoft Edge :
    • Open Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more  > Settings .

    • Select Appearance.

    • Turn on Show home button.

    • You can either choose New tab page or select Enter URL for a page that you want to use as your home page.

  • Note: This topic is for the new Microsoft Edge . Get help for the legacy version of Microsoft Edge .

Internet Explorer 11

  • In the top corner of Internet Explorer, select Tools , and then select Internet options.
  • On the General tab, under Home page, enter the URL of the site you want to set as a homepage. You can add more than one URL. Or, to add the site you’re currently viewing, select Use current. If you add more than one URL, put each URL on its own line.
  • Select Apply, and then select OK

 

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Corporate Sponsors Will Donate Food to Animal Shelters for Each Click

You can click this link (up to 4x daily–free to you) and corporate sponsors will donate food to animals shelters: https://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/ars/home