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The National Weather Service continues to extend excessive heat warnings for Pima County including Tucson.  Please wait until TNR is safe and temps are 104 or less.

Upcoming Santa Cruz Vet Clinic BLACKOUT DATES

NO TNR (SO DO NOT TRAP) or Community Cat Medical Care will be available on the following dates:

NOV 19th

NOV 25th

DEC 24th

DEC 31st

If you have an URGENT medical need or EMERGENCY need for a community cat (feral, stray, etc.) during these times (or weekends) take them to Pima Pet Clinic at 4832 E Speedway Blvd, but call first at 520-327-5624 to let them know you’re coming and for what reason, they should at least stabilize the cat and turn them over to PACC for further veterinary care.  *If you are willing to foster the cat for recovery be firm but polite  in asking that they document this and include your contact info so that PACC will contact you for fostering. This will be least stressful for the cat if you are the cat’s caretaker and improve the cat’s chances of being treated ( assuming the cat is not euthanized at either place).  You will not be told what happens to the cat unfortunately (unless they call you to foster) but we may be able to help find out if the cat made it to PACC if you contact us:  tucsonferal@gmail.com

***PLEASE NOTE: Santa Cruz may have other blackout dates they post at the last minute so check their Facebook page if possible.

Upcoming Santa Cruz Vet Clinic BLACKOUT DATES

NO TNR (SO DO NOT TRAP) or Community Cat Medical Care will be available on the following dates:

NOV 19th

NOV 25th

DEC 24th

DEC 31st

If you have an URGENT medical need or EMERGENCY need for a community cat (feral, stray, etc.) during these times (or weekends) take them to Pima Pet Clinic at 4832 E Speedway Blvd, but call first at 520-327-5624 to let them know you’re coming and for what reason, they should at least stabilize the cat and turn them over to PACC for further veterinary care.  *If you are willing to foster the cat for recovery be firm but polite  in asking that they document this and include your contact info so that PACC will contact you for fostering. This will be least stressful for the cat if you are the cat’s caretaker and improve the cat’s chances of being treated ( assuming the cat is not euthanized at either place).  You will not be told what happens to the cat unfortunately (unless they call you to foster) but we may be able to help find out if the cat made it to PACC if you contact us:  tucsonferal@gmail.com

***PLEASE NOTE: Santa Cruz may have other blackout dates they post at the last minute so check their Facebook page if possible.

NOVEMBER TNR BLACKOUT dates: 9th-11th, 25th

PLEASE plan appropriately and try to get your TNR done prior to temps dropping near freezing.

Pima Animal Care Center has resumed some assisted Trap Neuter Return services. Eligible zip codes for drop off of humane traps AND transportation assistance are 86705, 85706, 85711, 85713, 85716, 85746. Call 520-724-5983 or email Community Cats@pima.gov. *Virgin trap sites (no trapping has been done in area before) and colonies over 5 cats may be given preference.

There should be no problems getting the majority of medical issues for community cats funded when they are taken to Santa Cruz Vet Clinic for care.  Funding is absolutely in place without the public paying for community cats to get care (for most issues).  If you encounter problems please call us.

Important reminder that Santa Cruz Vet Clinic will be closed :

 

Curiously, it seems many are only interested in trapping kittens and not the adults that mated and then gave birth to them. Please understand kittens don’t appear from “the stork”. We see this issue of ignorning tom cats and waiting far too long to be interested in trapping moms with regular folks, shelters, rescues, and vet clinics alike. Adult cats, yes including that tom that only visits once every three days, are the reason kittens appear. In addition to preventing new kittens let’s have some compassion for those adult cats. Their lives are SO much better after they have been spayed/neutered and vaccinated, their risk for developing certain diseases, cancers, and conditions are either eliminated or greatly reduced as a result.

Examples:🐈🐈🐈🐈
-Hormonal driven territorial fighting decreases and is eliminated in many cases of neutered males, meaning far fewer injuries from fighting, less to no transmission of FIV from bite wounds through fighting, less likelihood of being hit by a car from roaming for a mate.
-Pyometra, a potentially life threatening infection of the uterus is eliminated when female cats are spayed.
-Mammary masses are far less likely when female cats are spayed.
-Less stress from reproducing and fighting means fewer upper respiratory infections that cause blindness and eye rupture as well and the inability to eat and groom which can lead to a decine in overall health.

These are GOOD things to eliminate and lower the chances of cats experiencing.

PLEASE, don’t give up on trapping after one or two days. Talk to us and then LISTEN to our advice, we KNOW how to trap these cats. We want to help you. TNR works. 💛💛💛💛

Severe heat with warnings and advisories about heat dangers from NOAA are continuing, this is the hottest month of our summer….
EVEN though most people understand that TNR should only be done 7pm-7am in the summers here, we have had too many conversations with people that simply do not understand the effects of conducting TNR when a cat has been dealing with the physiological effects of living outside during very high temperatures. Even though it cools off some at night, the cat will still be recovering from having an organ removed for days afterwards. Would you want to have a full hysterectomy and spend the next week outside in 107+ degree heat trying to recover? So please, just be patient, the temps will drop soon enough and TNR will be safe again. Yes, there will be kittens born. This is a fact everyone has had to accept this year due to resource limitation with COVID. Please don’t endanger cats by subjecting them to surgeries and then making them heal the next several weeks in 110 degree temperatures. We PROMISE we will loan traps and help with TNR as soon as the temps drop to 105 or below.

Tell Pima County and PACC to Reinstate and Recommit to Trap Neuter Return!

Please read this short history of the municipal Trap Neuter Return program in Pima County and then either send a group email on your own, with the email addresses listed at the end, or use our form, to express frustrations you have that PACC (Pima Animal Care Center) has failed the community by failing to assist with TNR of community cats and neglecting the county’s community cat program. Let your voice be heard so that something is done. Until PACC and the county hears from each and every one of you, they will not step up for community cats. Please share this with anyone you know involved with cats, cat rescue, community cats, feeding cats outside, etc. If you use our form, feel free to personalize the email by clicking the “Read The Petition” button and then editing it:
[emailpetition id=”1″]

via Tucson CARES: [6 years ago,] the Pima County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of instituting the Best Friend’s Community Cat Project! In doing so, and as a part of fulfilling eligibility to receive a nearly million dollar grant, made a commitment to the community to uphold and transition the program to the Pima Animal Care Center after the 3 year project came to a close.

What’s happened since? The total number of cats covered by the program was decreased by 20%, there have been long gaps without designated staff, staffing has been reduced, medical funding has been reduced, annual funding has run out prematurely with no advance communication to partnering clinics and related organizations, there has been no investment in humane diversives, key lead staff members failed to advocate on behalf of the program, clients and cats themselves and leadership has openly questioned the value of Trap Neuter Return as it’s benefits are not measurable in PACC’s intake data.

Now, the program has gone from being indefinitely suspended due to Covid to seemingly eliminated while PACC continues adoptions, satellite food distribution and other actions that require direct client contact whereas providing trapping and transport services does not.

Since the onset of the project, there has often been a 4-6 week waiting list of people actively seeking and desperate for assistance showing high demand.

The clinics that PACC contracts with are and want to be spaying and neutering Community Cats.

The staff that was hired to do public Trap Neuter Return would like to be working in the field.

The community desperately needs trapping and transport support and a benefit of having it be done by the county shelter that has traps, designated vans, on site veterinarians, a robust foster and adoption program, partnering clinics, etc. makes sense.

Furthermore, Trap Neuter Return is an essential part of the No Kill Model which is largely responsible for the incredible advances we’ve made in our municipal live release rate and in the well being of our community’s animals.

If you think the county should reinstate services and recommit to Trap Neuter Return as the most humane and effective means of managing Community Cats and in support of those concerned about them who are unable to trap and transport themselves, please send an email to PACC leadership, the Health Department leadership and the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Addresses may be cut and pasted: kristen.hassen@pima.gov, bennett.simonsen@pima.gov, monica.dangler@pima.gov, francisco.garcia@pima.gov, theresa.cullen@pima.gov, jan.lesher@pima.gov,
ally.miller@pima.gov, ramon.valadez@pima.gov, sharon.bronson@pima.gov, steve.christy@pima.gov, betty.villegas@pima.gov, CHH@pima.gov