YOUR COMMUNITY CATS NEED YOU! Displaced cats will chase pests away for 'room and board'
KANAB, Utah ? Do you have a business, lumber yard, nursery, farm or ranch that could accommodate a couple of cats who will earn their keep through pest control?
The Four Directions Community Cat Program has learned of several displaced cats in southern Utah and is seeking new places for them to live. The preferred approach, when possible, is to spay/neuter the cats and return them to their original location; but in construction areas, or other circumstances where familiar haunts have been disrupted, relocation is the only alternative.
There is also an urgent need for community cat caregivers willing to help out in the Hurricane area. Donations of cat food are another high priority.
Program coordinators will work closely with people willing to provide shelter for the cats, who will be spayed or neutered and vaccinated. Coordinators will guide people on how to successfully relocate the cats.
"You can think of these cats as 'low-maintenance' employees," said Shannon Riddle, Community Cat Program coordinator for Best Friends Animal Society. "If you provide food, basic shelter and kindness, the cats will, just by their presence, encourage pests to go elsewhere. These cats tend to avoid human companionship, which means they will go quietly about their tasks without much need for supervision."
"There are other types of living accommodations that would work for these cats as well," Riddle said. "If you have always loved cats but are allergic to them, a couple of community cats in your backyard will give you an allergen-free opportunity to observe and enjoy them, because they won?t be coming up to you for attention."
If you cannot provide a space for the cats yourself but are willing to help, caregivers need donations of food on an ongoing basis.
For more information contact Riddle at shannonr@bestfriends.org or (435) 644-2001, ext. 4469.
The Four Directions Community Cat Program at Best Friends Animal Society helps more than 35 towns and cities throughout southern Utah and northern Arizona spay and neuter community cats (includes ferals and strays). The goal of the program is to prevent unwanted cats and kittens, and reduce the euthanasia rate in shelters. In 2008 the program fixed nearly 1,700 cats through local participating veterinarians and the Best Friends clinic, preventing thousands of unwanted kittens. The program works with more than 200 volunteers and helps feed and provide medical care to more than 3,000 cats each year.
