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FeralFocus
Fall
2005
A Quarterly
Newsletter Produced by IndyFeral Inc.
IndyFeral Inc.
is a resource for caretakers and friends of strays & ferals
in central
City-County Council
Passes TNR Ordinance
Legalizing
TNR for Controlling Free-roaming Cat Colonies in
The City-County Council of Indianapolis voted to pass an
ordinance at their Oct. 10
meeting
establishing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to care, protect and break the
breeding cycle of
un-owned cats in
IndyFeral president
Lisa Tudor said, “This ordinance makes it “legal” for the city’s
designated agency (IndyFeral) to trap feral and stray cats in
them and
return them to their managed colony, where a caretaker provides care,
food, and
shelter.”
There are estimated to be 174,000 feral cats within the
city limits. IndyFeral charges
colony care
givers $20 per cat for this service, compared to approximately $120 per
cat to trap
and kill as was implemented by Indianapolis Animal Care and Control
(IACC).
Several key officials worked to support and pass this
ordinance. According to a report
in NUVO
(
overpopulation, by Mary
Lee Pappas, published
included Jeff
Bennett, assistant administrator with the Community Economic
Development, Department of Metropolitan Development, and
former
Animal Care and Control (IACC) administrator,
and Councilors Mary Moriarity Adams
(17th District - D)
and Scott Keller (16th District - R), who sponsored the ordinance.
Councilor for the Third District, Jim Bradford (R), whose
district contains more feral
colonies than any
other, additionally endorsed the move. “TNR through IndyFeral
is a
good program
because it works to humanely and effectively reduce the feral cat
population. It
doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything. Considering cutbacks in public
services, IndyFeral has worked out a great program that doesn’t cost
the city
money,”
Ordinance
builds on IF’s standards
The new ordinance provides the following guidelines for
feeding:
+ It is legal to feed stray/feral cats as part of a “managed
TNR colony” or if you are
feeding cats in
preparation of implementing TNR as outlined by IndyFeral.
The key is
getting the cats
spayed and neutered to break the breeding cycle.
+ If you are feeding stray/feral cats and you refuse TNR,
this is considered an
“unmanaged colony” and you could
be fined. It is irresponsible to feed the cats and
not have them
sterilized as this contributes to the overpopulation problem.
The new ordinance will build on IndyFeral’s
established standards for the
registration, caretaking,
vaccination and feeding of free-roaming cats. The
endorsement from the
city will allow IndyFeral to work in partnership the
IACC on a
broad scale to
reduce the un-owned, free-roaming stray and feral cat population and
create a safer
and more humane community for them.
City of
Some areas still do not allow for the method of TNR. It is
illegal in the City of
department.
Tudor is pursuing an ordinance revision in
and cats in
the area who want and need TNR.
She is working with the
TNR in their city. Leslie Fatum, IACC administrator and Indianapolis Third District
Councilor
TNR as the standard and humane way to
help control cat overpopulation.
CAPTION: As part of
a “managed TNR colony” it is legal to feed stray/feral cats if you
are feeding cats
in preparation for TNR as outlined by IndyFeral. The
key is getting
the cats
spayed and neutered to break the breeding cycle. Photo
by Ana
Radovanovic. Copyright
IndyFeral, Inc
IndyFeral works to enforce cruelty and neglect laws
Mother cats guard their kittens from
predators. But who protects the cats against
danger?
Mama is a member of a large feral colony in
downtown
other
cats in her colony underwent Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in October. During a
preoperative
exam, IF volunteers found a BB bullet in her hind leg.
Her wound had healed months ago, but she
walked with a limp, fiercely caring for
her
kittens
Mama is a survivor. Not all feral cats are as
lucky or as strong. IndyFeral is working
to
enforce cruelty and neglect laws for stray and feral animals. For information
on
these
efforts or how you can help, please call or visit www.indyferal.org.
CAPTION: Mama cautiously approaches her feeding
site. Photo by Ana Radovanovic.
Copyright IndyFeral, Inc.
DeVoe Raises Awareness, Funds for IndyFeral
Singer Jennie DeVoe performed to a crowd of about
200 at the IndyFeral benefit
concert
at the Rathskeller October 9. The event raised $4500.
All proceeds will go
toward
supporting IndyFeral operations. IF thanks all of its
generous sponsors for
making the event
a huge success.
Photos clockwise from top right:
IndyFeral volunteer
Missy VanderWaal sold
T-shirts while working the silent
auction and
raffle table. She shows off one of the raffle items.*
DeVoe shines at
the concert. She began performing benefit concerts for IndyFeral
last
year. IndyFeral hopes she will return next year for
another performance.
IndyFeral
volunteers VanderWaal and Lisa
Zoeller work the auction table.
DeVoe belts out
her lyrics with assistance from backup singer Nicole
Proctor
(right), who DeVoe
jokes, will be the “sexpot” of her shows from now on.*
*Captions and photos Copyright Meg Roth/INtake, www.intakeweekly.com
IndyFeral’s Animal
Advocates
IndyFeral would
like to thank its generous supporters for providing supplies and
equipment to assist
with spay/neuter surgeries and medical care for stray and feral
cats.
Thank you to Jim Bradford, owner of the Whistle
Stop Deli in
Broad Ripple (located
at
volunteers.
A special thanks to
their storage unit. We
were able to retrieve office supplies and some medical
equipment. The
medical equipment included two defective dental machines
(similar
to
what is used in a dentist’s office), which we were able to
dismantle to create one
that works as
well.
“About 10 to 20% of feral cats are found to need dental
extractions during their
spay/neuter surgery,
but without the proper equipment, this can be much more
difficult. This
kind of machine is something that we had hoped for, but with a price
tag new of
around $5000, believed was simply impractical. This is a dream come
true – and
great news for ferals!” IndyFeral
vice president Greg Brush said.
IndyFeral thanks
all of its generous community supporters and volunteers. It keeps
getting better
for ferals in
Cat
5000 marks a
new milestone for IndyFeral’s TNR program
Little did she know she would be honored with a title and
paper crown just for
stepping inside a
fishy-smelling trap.
Cat 5000 arrived, along with 109 of her feral friends,
early Sunday morning, July 24.
This special feral
is the 5000th cat to undergo IndyFeral’s TNR program
since 2002,
when IF began
working to reduce the feral population in
To date, the total number of ferals
fixed is 5,887.
Cat 5000 is one of 1,787 fixed in 2005. After her
successful surgery, she was
returned to one of
992 managed colonies in central
with 300
surgeries in September.
Congratulations to Cat 5000 and to the volunteers and
supporters of IndyFeral, who
are making
the lives of feral cats a little better
CAPTION: IF volunteer Colleen Troke grooms
Cat 5000 still under anesthetic. Photo
by Ana Radovanovic. Copyright IndyFeral,
Inc.
FeralPhoto Contest
July Grand Prize Winners
IndyFeral congratulates
the July grand prize Feral Photo Contest winners: Cindy
Budd and Gail Pierce. Both
winners receive an IndyFeral t-shirt of their choice.
To help spread the word about TNR and to help people
understand the life of a cat in
a managed
feral colony, IndyFeral is promoting an ongoing Feral
Photo Contest,
calling for
photographs showing ear-tipped cats in any setting.
Each month, we will select two grand prize photos. The
judging will take place at
IndyFeral
monthly board meetings. The grand prize winners will receive
an IndyFeral
t-shirt (choice
of available colors and sizes). Each IF quarterly newsletter will feature
two new grand
prize winners.
Submitted photos will be used in internet, electronic and
print publications to
promote TNR, IndyFeral and the welfare of free-roaming cats. All photos
will be
credited.
How to
Enter
You must be at least 18 years old to enter. You may submit
entries as often as you
wish, and
there is no limit to the number of times you can win. However, due to
limited stock,
winners may receive only one tshirt every six months.
All submissions must include your name, address, phone
number, email address and
the exact
text of the photo credit.
Please visit our website at: www.indyferal.org for
complete
rules
and instructions for
submission, or write
to IndyFeral.
You may send photos through the website or mail to:IndyFeral Inc.
Feral Photo Contest
CAPTION: Buddy. Photo ©2005 Cindy Budd.
CAPTION:
Your
donations of time and funds have helped make
better lives for more than 5000 feral cats since 2002.
Please
consider giving this season to help support
the operations of our Spay Day and Kitten Clinics.
Every
dollar helps us help the feral cats in your community.
You
can make your tax-deductible gift to IndyFeral by
check.
Please
make check payable to IndyFeral,
If
you would like to make a donation with a credit card, please
go to our website www.indyferal.org. We accept credit card
donations through PayPal.
Thank
you for your support!
IndyFeral Inc.
CALENDAR 2005 / 2006
NOV
20 Spay
Day
21 Board
Meeting
DEC
18 Spay
Day
19 Board
Meeting
JAN Every Wednesday IFW Spay Day
12 Volunteer
Orientation,
15 Spay
Day
16 Board
Meeting
FEB Pet Overpopulation Month
Every Wednesday IFW Spay Day
8 Cat
Captain Meeting, IFW
19 Spay
Day
20 Board
Meeting
MAR Every Wednesday IFW Spay Day
9 Volunteer
Orientation,
19 Spay
Day
20 Board
Meeting
IndyFeral Inc.
A resource for caretakers
and friends of stray & feral cats in central
As
part of our belief in respect and compassion for all living creatures, IndyFeral Inc. seeks to reduce stray and feral (wild) cat
overpopulation through the non-lethal method of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), not
trap and kill.
What is TNR?
TNR
is a process by which un-owned, free-roaming stray and feral (wild) cats are
humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated and sterilized by a veterinarian.
Tame
kittens and adult cats are adopted into good homes. Adult cats too wild to be
adopted are returned to their familiar habitat.
Who is IndyFeral?
IndyFeral is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
staffed entirely by volunteers. We are dedicated to helping stray and feral
cats in the
IndyFeral was established as a means of changing the way stray and feral cats
have been traditionally viewed and dealt with in our community. Acting as their
advocate or voice, IndyFeral will strive to improve
their lives and promote ideas that are more reflective of a caring and humane
community.
Board of Directors
Corporate Officers
President Lisa
Tudor
Vice
President Greg
Brush
Secretary Verna
Boggs
Treasurer Debbie
Marlett
Board
Amelda
Butler
Maureen
Owen
Rebecca
Seifert
Get Involved
If
you would like more information on how you can help feral cats in your
community or know of a feral cat colony, please contact IndyFeral.
We also encourage you to visit our web site to learn more about TNR and feral
colony management.
IndyFeral Inc.
(317)
596-2300
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Newsletter
designed by Ana Radovanovic. ©2005 IndyFeral Inc.