Rotorua Community Cats

02/07/2024

COMING SOON 👀

Cat owners, cat staff, cat employees and employers, caregivers, guardians, carers, kaitiaki, looks like SPCA SNIP N CHIP IS COMING SOON JULY 2024 🥳

Our time is coming, Bay of Plenty SPCA snip n chip is coming soon July 2024 which means its time to get planning and prepared! Keep an eye out on SPCA New Zealand website 👀

https://desexing.spca.nz/

If you have adopted a cat, or a cat has adopted you, here is what you can do

Be sure its desexed so you can all live happily ever after, because its hip to be Snip'd n Chip'd!

Those free kittens, that arent so free-
Desex, desex, desex!

If you have a cat, kitten or are caring for one, its time to start preparing, get a plan in place, get those kittys into a feeding routine, if you need to borrow a carrier, crate, maybe even a trap-get planning and be ready to put planning into action.

We have an overpopulation crisis, too many cats and kittens with not enough homes for them all to go, not enough resources or capacity, prevention is key, and desexing saves lives.

Dont feed them to breed them

If it is a stray, you are thinking of, confirm if it has a family of its own, or if it is in need of one. Is it friendly? Pop a paper collar on it! Speak to your neighbours, make the most of lostpet.co.nz, facebook groups, neighbourly, If no family of its own comes forward, and you are the chosen one, willing to accept it has adopted you, willing to continue caring for it as your own, be sure to get it scanned for a microchip and arrange desexing, before it becomes a family adopting your family.

If it is sick, injured, or vunerable-reach out to the SPCA.

Feeling overwhelmed? Unsure, not sure where to start, somethings not working, reach out! It takes a village

A cat becoming cats, escalating to a colony can feel overwhelming, frustrating and endless, but when we know better, we do better, let us help you, help them.

And the reality is, for healthy stray cats, a proactiveness is needed, and we are the chosen ones, whether you are a property owner, occupier, or care for the cat/s,

If you are unsure, need some support, assistance, advice, guidance, a helping hand, reach out, because we are all in this together, everyday people doing what we can to make a difference.

If transport is an issue, if you need to borrow a carrier, or trap and your neighbours dont have one handy, or if you are a neighbour that does have a carrier or trap you are happy to loan, share, let us know here.

Lets come together as a community and lead the way! Whether you care about cats, conservation, or our community, its time for everyone to shine, lets do it!

If you are now a cat slave to your "stray", your feline friend or backyard buddie is a one lap cat and does not take kindly to strangers, we recommend chatting to your vet about ear tips aswell as chips 😼

Furever Family Paws Purrfection 🥳

14/06/2024

Reach out, Rise up

Things may appear quiet on here, we all know this is never the case as we pull together in these challenging times to get eachother through and continue making a difference. No matter how big or small it may feel, we keep pushing, driving positive change.

The Animal Directory, NZ another positive reminder what can be achieved, so much appreciation and thanks, such a valuable resource, because it takes a village, and when we know better we do better

https://www.givingpounddogshope.co.nz/the-animal-directory

Heartfelt thanks to our community, our village, all those everyday superhumans doing what they can in a collective effort to make a difference. We are all in this together 🤍

21/04/2024

A sad update I have written out many times, "Tortimama" the nickname that always stuck, beautiful, clever calico mama, a OG mama who has had countless litters, was lovingly helped over rainbow bridge and laid to rest.

*Trigger Warning* ❤️‍🩹

Mixed emotions, feelings of sadness, frustration, but also relief for her, after all the pain and suffering she had endured.

Ive come to realise how different helping, and making a meaningful difference can be, and sometimes you have to be able to make some really rough calls, to put their best interests first, ahead of your own. As hopeful as we can be, sometimes the reality is we are unable to give them a good life, but the very least we can give them is a good death, humanely, lovingly and respectfully.

With a mouth full of infection, sadly it appeared she was also suffering with squamous cell carcinoma, her best interests the priority, considering what we knew, and her quality of life, we would be unable to provide her with a good life. She was cared for, lovingly and respectfully, she is now free.

What a ride babygirl! Im sorry, you deserved so much better, your life will be learnt from and your voice will be heard, we will take it from here ❤️‍🩹

A better life for her is just around the corner 😻

Some Monday Motivation- the only fail is when you dont try!

She is still at large, some stand offs and slinking with this clever kitty, but patience is just one of the learnings this crew brings to many.

We know her home base, her territory where she is most comfortable. We know we will get there and it will all be worth it.

We dont believe in "the one that got away" ;)

02/04/2024

Never give up 😼

As the door opened on April 2024, closing March 2024, March marked a huge milestone on our journey, we achieved the goal of trapping OG mother cat, nicknamed "Tortimama" bringing us to number 37.

An enormous amount of patience and perserverence, trap training and observing.

Sadly she had yet another litter of kittens, a horrific, heartbreaking reminder of the harsh reality, with all 4 kittens sadly now passed.

We seen her routine become alot more predictable than ever before because of this, knowing the location of the kittens, knowing her many previous litters have not been in the best health, timing being so crucial, we put all the planning into action one last time.

The journey of Tortimama has been a rollercoaster, she brings a very relatable example of what is going on in all of our backyards. The single cherub she had been sighted with in November I never got to set eyes on being MIA, her having a better quality life, no longer enduring litter after litter in this overpopulation crisis our priority.

No drop trap, drone dropper DIY or water bottle trick needed, actually no specialised trapping equipment just the trusty humane live capture trap commonly known as a possum trap 😅 but technology played a cruicial role in making this happen, being able to monitor and observe with a motion detecting camera was key here for me. With this situation, as this is not in my own backyard, its certainly something I wish I could have invested in from the beginning. Still hoping to see thermal drones in action one day-another learning to come of this, anything is possible!

If you do have any redundant humane live capture traps, working condition or not, we would love to be able to utilize them in our community with the many other situations we are being made aware of, to be able to help support our community and more everyday people just like me and you to put planning into action.

Backyard buddies need us all to step up and play our part, breaking the cycle of backyard burdens and backyard breeding.

Next month will mark 1 year since number 36 was first every sighted , our first desexed, but not microchipped well socialised kitty, an overly affectionate newby whose family and home was never found, we will never truly know his story, but the stars aligned and a bit of team work and he was able to find his Furever Family 😻 May will be 1 year on since I caught first glimpse of Zuro, and he will be cuddled up in a home of his own.

Thank you to each and every person who has played a part in making this all possible and achieveable, so thankful for our incredible community.

Lets keep walking the talk, walking the walk, together as a community.

We know it can be done, lets make it happen!

I highly recommend this great little resource as the purfect place to start, get a better understanding to know where to start-something else I wish I had found sooner.
https://youtu.be/gTsFE6DVtYo?si=80KaBkR76MJnJPcZ

14/03/2024

What an inspiring and informative few days it has been, to be amongst so many passionate, and dedicated professionals and advocates attending the Companion Animals New Zealand Companion Animals In A Changing World Conference 2024

Thanks to the CANZ team for bringing us all together, and holding space, all the incredible superhumans who were able attend, I am so thankful to CANZ and PD Pet Insurance for the opportunity to attend, and Animates Vetcare NZ for the very kind words of support to each and every person working tirelessly on the ground.

Lots of forward thinking and meaningful discussions, a key theme I personally continue to take away is the power of collaboration, and accreditation, based on evidence 🥳 International Cat Care Fear Free Pets IAABC Foundation

I look forward to the building and strengthening of new and existing, lasting relationships as we continue moving forward together to create sustainable, positive lasting changes, in this changing world.

What a pleasure to meet so many incredible people, local and international. Putting names to faces, I find myself in awe! Using their voices, sharing their knowledge, committed to staying informed with current research and science, paving the way for change and better outcomes for all animals, time flew by! (Even doing my best to harness my cat chat)

Stay tuned, because we all have an important role to play to create a good life for all.



Thanks again G2Z Cats Protection Wellington Kiwi Vet Behaviour SPCA New Zealand HUHANZ NZVNA RRR- Rescue, Revive, Rehome - Bay of Plenty Forgotten Felines Foundation Royal Canin Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research Auckland Council Adoptable Animals SPCA Auckland Centres Invercargill City Council Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa World Organisation for Animal Health The University of Adelaide University of British Columbia University College Dublin Aeres University of Applied Sciences University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the many more inspiring names, faces, and organsations

01/01/2024

2024 we are all in like Escapee, all or nothing, hitting the ground running

But whether you are dipping your toes in and taking the risk like Tortimama, observing from the sidelines and remaining cautious like 33, or all in like Escapee, we are right here with you and looking forward to what positive progress 2024 will bring, because we are better together 😻🌏❤️

A heartfelt thanks to all apart of our community who have supported this journey throughout 2023, 2024 lets bring it home!

It takes a village, a community, 2024 all in 📣😻🐾

30/12/2023

Happy New Year, and Happy Graduation to this lad 🥰 It is only fitting to annouce that officially, we have our first community cat graduate, no longer a community cat, he is a companion cat.

Returned home as a community cat, he has chosen his family, and they have chosen him, while he may be abit of a fixture of our community, he is now soley cared for by his family and he is officially now a owned cat, a family of his very own, he will go wherever they may go, always having a home and family of his very own.

His family have been caring for him as apart of our community, nicknamed Slinky amongst the community crew, he picked up a new name, Chonk. Overtime he begun choosing to "stay home" more often, where it has become clear, hes chosen companion life, leaving his life behind as a community cat, and having no reason to need to be cared for by a collective, he chose his mum and his mum has chosen him, adopted as a companion cat by his very own guardians, with all his favourite treats, his home is officially his home and he has his forever family.

Time, care, love and respect his trust grew, so much so, he has even found his meow 😻

He sure chose the right home and territory to claim, adding to his resume he is now a pretty great co-pilot too, and I couldnt be happier for him and his family, who I will always be so thankful for.

From colony, to community, to companion 😻 What a glow up 🥰

Happy New Year, as the year draws to a close, what a journey it has been! Thank you to our village, our community, our supporters, making dreams possible, making the "impossible" a new reality 🥳

24/12/2023

Happy Christmas Eve from our crew, to yours 😽

Our main man, and my personal security on patrol as usual, making sure the crew are accounted for, and get their fair share, no intruders or imposters, hes running a tight ship!

We cant wait to share some exciting news and updates with you all! 🥳 Thank you for your continued support, and patience while the days and nights continued blurring into one most days, but, hard work pays off, always 😻

We look forward to positive changes and progress in 2024 😺

🤍

14/12/2023

Awareness 🙌🏾 This is only the owned pet population, where owners consider themselves the owner- and this is why it is just as important, if we dont "own" a cat or consider it a pet, but care for it, care about it, feed it, its just at your house, turned up at yours or a friends place, we all do our part, take a proactive approach, and take steps to confirm, is it a owned pet? Reach out for help or guidance, because we are at a crisis point and we are all in this together. Its going to take our communities coming together in a collective effort to get through this 🐾

Covid, A Cyclone and Clowders of Kittens!

‘Kitten season’ is well underway with the longer days and warmer temperatures triggering the change in hormones enabling female cats to start breeding. Queens (female cats) can become pregnant from as early as 4 months of age if left unneutered and with the breeding season in play from September through to late summer, and the gestation period for cats (from conception to giving birth) being around two months (63-65 days), there’s the possibility of a Queen having up to three litters in one breeding season!

Read the full article here: https://www.companionanimals.nz/articles/covid-a-cyclone-and-clowders-of-kittens