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Animal Defenders of Westchester |
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Home Page We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts. Animal Defenders of Westchester |
Articles Westchester volunteers sought to contain stray-cat population Original publication: November 17, 2006 YONKERS - Frank McSweeney felt bad for the cats and kittens living in a
parking lot near his office in Yonkers. He knew they were thirsty, hungry
and barely surviving. So a few years ago, he performed a thankless task. He laid food in a trap
and waited for the cats to take the bait. When they did, he took them to get neutered, then took them to an upstate
sanctuary where they would be safe. "It's much, much needed," McSweeney said. "These poor ferals don't have
much of a life. They are in constant danger looking for food and being
abused by people." Many more people like McSweeney are needed to help contain the stray cat
population, animal advocacy groups say. Hoping to recruit and train volunteers, the Westchester County Trap,
Neuter and Return Group, or wcTNR, will hold a workshop tomorrow at the
Grinton I. Will branch of the Yonkers Public Library, at 1500 Central Park
Ave. WcTNR, a volunteer rescue group, promotes trap, neuter and return (TNR)
as a way to solve the overpopulation of cats in the wild, or feral cats. The
cats often are the offspring of domestic cats and usually have been
abandoned by the owners. The problem, TNR advocates say, is that people do not get their pets
neutered, leaving them to breed with other cats outside. The resulting cat
population often bands together in colonies. TNR lessens the number of kittens and cats flowing into local shelters,
resulting in lower euthanasia rates, advocates say. "We want to spread public awareness and teach people how to trap because
we can't be everywhere and do all these things," said Ronda Beamer, the head
of wcTNR and a member of the Feral Cat Task Force of Westchester County. Workshop participants will learn how to trap cats, where to take them for
free or low-cost neutering, and how to care for cats after the procedure.
Last year's workshop attracted about 20 people. "You have to love animals and see that there's a need, that they are
having litter after litter of kittens being born," Beamer said. Tomorrow's workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more
information, e-mail Beamer
[email protected]. The Feral Cat Task Force, a group formed in June to promote TNR, is also
putting together a database of the locations of stray cat colonies in the
county. To submit information, e-mail
[email protected]. Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
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