By Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly
Wagener’s Trap, Neuter & Return (TNR) volunteer program, a part of Aiken County’s and the nationwide TNR program, is seeking long-term volunteers to assist a couple of days per month with trapping and transporting feral cats in and around Wagener. The cats, with the feeder’s or owner’s permission, are generally unapproachable and have to be humanely trapped before being transported to and from a facility that will spay or neuter the cats. After recovery, the cats are released at the same location where they were trapped.
TNR aims to humanely control feral cat overpopulation and shelter overpopulation. Trap and Remove programs have been unsuccessful because the vacant space with some type of food and shelter for feral cats remains and more unsterilized cats quickly repopulate the area. Trap, Neuter and Return has been proven successful by preventing cat reproduction.
If you are feeding outdoor cats, you need to have them spayed or neutered or you will soon have many more outdoor cats. Outdoor cats tend to become feral and unapproachable. This overpopulation has become a problem for the town of Wagener and Aiken County. Kathy Rawls has been working with TNR and community volunteers to address this problem in a humane way.
Dottie Gantt and Vicki Wright began this program in the Wagener area a few years ago. Health problems prevent them for working as much as they have in the past. Connie Jeffcoat has also helped a lot. Dr. Kathy Bissell and Dr. Charlie Timmerman have also donated time or transportation.
Wagener was the first town in Aiken County to begin TNR. Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) helps fund the organization. Aiken County wants to begin funding TNR as soon as we have someone willing to do the work on a volunteer basis. TNR is endorsed by both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.
The general procedure for TNR is to work with the current person who feeds the cats and begin scheduling the feedings so Dottie knows when and where to set the traps and can begin familiarizing the cats to the traps. Once trapped, the cats get vaccinated for rabies, receive an anti-biotic if they need it, get spayed or neutered and then get an ear trimmed which will identify them as “fixed” in future TNR efforts. The cats are then watched for a healthy recovery, then returned and released.
“We have to get people to understand that this is a good thing,” Dottie Gantt recently reported. “People get upset that we are bringing the cats back, but they need to understand that if we don’t, another colony of cats will appear and fill that void. At least these returned cats won’t be having more kittens and won’t be spraying everywhere or fighting (over females).” In addition to her volunteer work, Dottie Gantt also owns the “Paw Parlor” which provides pet grooming and pet sitting in your home.
How You Can Help: Physical Help, Transportation, and Donations. Gantt needs a few volunteers and an assistant, someone who can commit to the time and to taking it seriously. She also needs transportation. The trapped cats need to be transported to the clinic via a horse trailer or something similar. If you can provide transportation, physical assistance or financial donations for this program, please see Dottie Gantt or call FOTAS at 803-507-6315.