Home About Us Mission and History Why Spay and Neuter Meet Our Staff Fix Your Pet Eligibility Requirements Standard Services Pre-Operative Instructions Post-Operative Instructions Feral Cats Follow A Patient A Typical Day at Operation PETS What to Bring to Appointment Emergency Contacts FAQ'S Great Links Donate News   Operation PETS 3443 South Park Ave Lackawanna, NY 14219 Phone: 716.783.8998 Fax: 716.783.8099 Map Link CAT ELIGIBILITY DOG ELIGIBILITY MADDIE'S FUND SPAY NEUTER PROJECT FOR CATS (FERALS AND MEDICAID RECIPIENTS) RESCUE/ADOPTION GROUPS & SHELTERS STANDARD SERVICES PRE-OP INSTRUCTIONS POST-OP CARE FERAL CATS - TNVR TYPICAL DAY AT OPERATION PETS FOLLOW A PATIENT OUR WISH LIST WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING CONTACT US For appointments please call between 10am-4pm Monday-Thursday Our clinic phones are very busy so it can sometimes be hard to reach us. Your call is important so please be patient and keep trying.   Feral Cats OPERATION PETS WELCOMES FERAL CATS FOR STERILIZATION TNVR - Feral Protocol - Feral Post-Op Care - Feral Cat FOCUS Due to an enormous increase in feral cat activity at Operation PETS, and in the interest of giving the cats the very best medical attention possible, please review our Feral Cat Protocol before calling for an appointment. There is a difference between a feral cat and a stray cat. A stray cat is someone’s pet that has become lost or has been abandoned. While a feral cat might look exactly the same as a stray cat, they're actually very different. Feral cats are wild animals that typically avoid human interaction. They often live in groups, called colonies, and take refuge wherever they can find food. Their lives are short and usually harsh. They struggle to find food and water in an environment filled with the constant threats of disease, starvation, cruelty and predation. Ferals might respond positively to someone who feeds them regularly, but in a captive environment they would regress. Our fee is $58.00 per cat (includes spay or neuter, rabies vaccine (4 months or older), FVRCP (distemper) vaccine, Advantage flea control and Pyrantel dewormer for roundworms. (Note: If you are working with multiple ferals you may want to contact Feral Cat FOCUS for fees for their feral TNVR clinics). TRAP-NEUTER-VACCINATE-RETURN Every day, compassionate people across Western New York provide care to feral cats. Operation PETS works with many local residents to spay and neuter feral cats through a Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) program. TNVR is widely regarded as the most successful and humane method to reduce the feral cat overpopulation. Feral cats can live healthy, natural lives on their own, content in their outdoor home with a one-time intervention from humans through Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return. TNVR is widely recognized as the humane and non-lethal approach to feral cat population control. TNVR is a comprehensive management plan where healthy feral (wild) cats are sterilized, vaccinated and returned to their habitat and provided with long-term care by their caregivers. Through TNVR, feral cats can live out their lives without adding to the homeless cat population. By stabilizing the population, ferals will have more space, shelter and food, and fewer risks of disease. FERAL CAT PROTOCOL 1. Operation PETS will do our best to fit a feral cat into our surgery schedule (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). Trapping should coincide with our clinic’s ability to spay/neuter so the cats don’t remain in their traps for long. It is possible for a cat to die from hypothermia or heat stroke when confined in a trap outside. 2. The feral cat must have a long-term educated caregiver that provides food, fresh water, and shelter. 3. All feral, barn or free-roaming cats must come to Operation PETS in a secure, humane trap. NO EXCEPTIONS. This is for the well-being of the cats and the safety of our staff. 4. Cover the entire trap with a large towel or sheet. Covering the trap will help to keep the cat calm. The trap must be covered when you arrive at Operation PETS. 5. Feral cats must be trapped and confined with no food before midnight the night before surgery. Any cat that remained outside all night without being confined will not be admitted for surgery. 6. All feral cats will have their left ear painlessly tipped while anesthetized for surgery. Ear tipping is a well-known identification used by animal control agencies and veterinarians to identify that a feral cat has been sterilized and vaccinated and is being cared for by a caregiver. 7. You must follow Operation PETS FERAL CAT POST-OP CARE and release instructions. 8. If you ARE NOT experienced in working with feral cats and do not have a trap, please contact Feral Cat FOCUS at 1-888-902-9717 (toll free) or visit their website for information regarding the proper long term management of feral colonies, borrowing traps, trapping tips, etc. If you are inexperienced with ferals you are encouraged to make your appointment with Feral Cat FOCUS for one of their low cost spay/neuter clinics. 9. If you ARE educated in feral cat trapping and colony management and have your trap, you can make an appointment with Operation PETS (Monday-Thursday) or with Feral Cat FOCUS. 10. You must follow Operation PETS FERAL CAT POST-OP CARE and release instructions. FERAL CAT POST-OP CARE ALLOW THE CAT TO RECOVER OVERNIGHT IN THE SAME TRAP While the cats are recovering from anesthesia they are unable to regulate their body temperature. It’s important that the recovery location is temperature-controlled to keep the cats from getting too hot or too cold. A basement or bathroom will usually do the trick. Let the cat recover overnight in the same trap. Keep the traps covered to reduce the cat’s stress. Place newspapers or towel under the trap to absorb urine and feces. Keep the cat indoors in his covered trap and make sure he is dry and away from loud noises or dangers such as toxic fumes, other animals, or people. Never open the trap doors or allow the cat out of the trap. Do not stick your fingers through the bars or attempt to handle the cat. MONITOR THE CAT Monitor well to ensure that cat is breathing normally and is not bleeding from the surgical site or ear tip site. All skin sutures are absorbable and do not need to be removed. Check the cat often for progress; keep an eye out for bleeding, infection, illness, and lack of appetite. If a cat is vomiting, bleeding, having difficulty breathing, or not waking up, get veterinary assistance immediately. If a cat is vomiting while still unconscious, his head should be turned to avoid choking. Sometimes this can be achieved by gently tipping the trap to no more than a 30 degree angle to change the cat’s position. Be careful when tipping the trap so that you don't harm the cat by jostling him too much. FEED AND PROVIDE CATS WITH WATER AFTER THEY REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS Wait 8 hours after surgery before feeding adult cats. Kittens can be fed shortly after waking from anesthesia. When the cat is awake, mix canned food with water, roll into ball, and drop into trap. HOLD CATS UNTIL THEY RECOVER Cats usually need to be held for 24 hours after surgery, depending on recovery speed. Cats can be returned to the trapping site 12-24 hours following surgery as long as they are fully awake and do not require further medical attention. In some cases, females may need 48 hours of recovery, depending on their specific circumstances. You may return nursing mothers as soon as possible, once they completely regain consciousness so they can get back to their kittens. Make sure all cats are fully conscious, clear-eyed, and alert before release. If the cat is not recovering well from surgery for any reason (longer than 48 hours) and needs further care please seek medical care. RETURN THE CAT Cat needs to be fully awake and alert before it is released. Be sure that the cat does not require any further medical care before releasing it from trap. Only release cat from trap at dawn or dusk. Release the cat in the same place you trapped him or her. Fresh food, water, and shelter need to be made available to the released cat. After release, frequent visits should be made to the site to ensure that cat has fully recovered and there are no complications. It is not uncommon for a cat to “disappear” for a few days after she is returned. She will appear eventually. Resume the feeding schedule and continue to provide food and water—she may eat when you are not around. CATCH AND KILL DOESN’T WORK It is an endless, cruel cycle and is extremely costly to taxpayers. TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN DOES WORK No more kittens. Their numbers gradually go down and their lives are improved. Feral Cat FOCUS is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to helping improve the lives of feral cats. Feral Cat FOCUS sponsors low-cost Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return clinics for feral cats. The clinics are held March-November at the Operation PETS clinic in Lackawanna, NY. (NOTE: You must call Feral Cat FOCUS directly to make an appointment at one of their clinics). If you are not experienced in working with feral cats and do not have a trap, please contact Feral Cat FOCUS at 1-888-902-9717 (toll free) or visit their website at www.feralcatfocus.org for information regarding the proper long term management of feral colonies, low-cost TNVR clinics, borrowing traps, trapping tips, etc. For more information on Feral Cat FOCUS services and fees or to schedule an appointment for a Feral Cat FOCUS clinic call 1-888-902-9717 (toll free) or visit www.feralcatfocus.org. You can also complete an online Application for Spay/Neuter Clinic Appointment on the Feral Cat FOCUS website.   ©2009 Operation PETS Website Development and Hosting provided by WNY Web Sites ANIMAL ALLIANCE OF WESTERN NEW YORK FOUNDING MEMBERS