Lake Norman Lucky Cat

03/29/2025

There are MANY PREGNANT FEMALE CATS right now! We know because of the large percentage of female cats being brought to our low-cost clinics that are pregnant. Recently, from just one colony alone, 10 of 13 cats trapped were pregnant females! PLEASE SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PET CATS or work with us to execute TNR! Many of these kittens will undergo significant suffering. The ones that survive will not have homes. NOW IS THE TIME! Lucky Cats and Community Pets Mobile Vet Clinic will be back again in Statesville on Friday, April 11th for low-cost kitty spay-neuters for both pets and unowned community cats. For more information scan the QR Code or click this link: https://forms.gle/t2W3RnkiQbGZ4qXGA

03/25/2025

🏀 MARCH MADNESS TNR SPECIAL!! 🏀

Check out this great opportunity!

One of our local rescue partners, Piedmont Animal Rescue, is offering a LOW COST KITTY SPAY-NEUTER SPECIAL this Wednesday, March 26th!

They have 6 cat TNR spaces currently available this Wednesday! Rendezvous locations available in Mooresville & Statesville!

$55 special includes: spay/neuter surgery, 1 year rabies vaccination & ear-tip

Click here to fill out the request form: https://forms.gle/PukicLdM8cwXgoEo9

Registration closes at 2 PM Tuesday 3/25.

*Appointments are not reserved until payment is received. Payments are nonrefundable and not transferable.*

03/21/2025

Great explanation of ‘the truth about cat s*x’, besides the fact it produces an untold number of unwanted kittens! And a special link included in regards to why males may continue to mount a female even after he’s been neutered.

Thank you to Community Cat Coalition of Pugent Sound/Washington state for this well written post!

The truth about cat s*x

I'm going to have to admit, when I am encouraging people to have their cats neutered, internally I don't react well when they tell me they don't want to take away the cats pleasure in having s*x. And here are the things I try to tell them in a reasonable tone…

- while cats exhibit affection for each other in many ways, their reproductive urges are governed by their hormones. Take away those hormones, and you are not going to see them participating in s*xual activity. That could be one clue that they don't think about s*x like humans do…

- Something many people don't know is that the p***s of a male cat can have up to 180 barbs on it. Yes barbs – maybe not quite as sharp as the thorns on a rosebush, but definitely barbs. And the purpose of these barbs is reproductive – during the mating process, the barbs on that male cat's p***s rake the inside of the female cats va**na, and this stimulates the ovaries to release eggs. Everything I have read implies this is painful to the female cat, which is why she screams. I had someone suggest to me that we don't really know if she's feeling pain, after all don't humans oftentimes scream during s*x? Well all I can say is the thought of 180 barbs raking the inside of that cats va**na does not sound like a pleasurable thing to me, and having actually observed the female cats being pinned down and bred, there is nothing that would imply pleasure in anyone viewing it. At least not for the female.

- people who believe s*x is an active pleasure for the cats are equating it with human s*x. But female cats only engage in s*x when they are in heat – it is a reproductive function. Male cats might be prone to try to mate more often, but once they are neutered those urges usually go away (this is being edited per all the comments on this post to note that male Cats often will continue a mounting behavior with other cats – this is not s*xual behavior, see the link in the post farther down on this page discussing hu***ng behavior). Humans do not need to be experiencing hormonal reactions to have s*x – the two are not the same.

So maybe let's get away from thinking the cats are doing this to have fun. Throw in the fact that the female cats are breeding constantly- having 2 to 3 litters a year, no break at all from the constant cycle of in heat, being bred, pregnant, labor and delivery, nursing kittens for 6 to 8 weeks, weaning them, and beginning the cycle all over – no I would say cat s*x is not fun at all. It might not be quite as hard on the boys except for the fact that they are constantly fighting with each other, beating each other up, getting infections, passing diseases and being hated by humans because of the spraying issues. The endless kittens being born with nobody wanting to take them in is the sad end result of cat s*x.
(***editing this to include this link about why male cats might continue to mount other cats after they have been neutered – lots of comments about this in the comment section! https://www.thesprucepets.com/stop-hu***ng-behavior-554062?)

Come on everyone - whether you do cat rescue or not, get the cat fixed! They're really not having a good time, and their lives will be so much better when they're fixed!
(** please do your best to be courteous in your comments and responses, the goal is to educate and people will hear that better if you don't call them stupid☺️**)

03/20/2025

‼️ NEVER TRAP ANY ANIMAL WITHOUT A PLAN ‼️
If you have not touched base with someone about trapping procedures and you don't already have an appointment lined up for your cat - you do not have a plan. For instance, your "plan" cannot be to trap it and call around for help. Please don't put your cat, yourself or a rescuer in that position. Thank you Stray Cat TNR for the info and post!

03/14/2025

What a way to end the week, thanks to a lot of moving parts and the people who move them. 😻

03/11/2025

Because Lucky Cat is not a rescue, we are not in the business of placing kitties in homes. Our focus is affordable spay/neuter and Trap-Neuter-Return as a means of humanely reducing cat over-population. However, one of our local shelter partners, Iredell County Animal Services, had a very special kitty arrive on their doorstep. Their caring shelter veterinarian is in need of our help in getting the word out about this very sweet boy so that’s what we are doing!

“Cam Cam” is an older kitty that was surrendered to the shelter, along with several other cats, when their owner tragically died. He was so incredibly friendly and sweet! When it was discovered that Cam Cam was suffering from diabetes, he could not be adopted out through the shelter. With no other recourse than one that no one wanted to consider, the shelter veterinarian decided that she would bring him home and provide hospice care, as she was already caring for her own diabetic pet dog. With Cam Cam's age and diabetes, it was thought that his time left wouldn’t be very long. However, Cam Cam rallied! With such great care, Cam Cam’s health improved dramatically – to the extent that his diabetes is now in remission! He is kept on a low dose (0.5 units) of insulin daily. He continues to be a super friendly “cuddle bug” who craves loving attention from people. He does not, however, enjoy sharing his home or people with other pets. Cam Cam needs a very special home - one in which he can be the sole pet and can continue to receive the care he needs through diet and insulin to continue to thrive. Do you or someone you know have experience with caring for a diabetic kitty that could provide a loving home without other pets? If so, please call/text 843-252-4579 or [email protected].

02/27/2025

Lucky Cats and the Community Pets Mobile Vet Clinic team will be celebrating St. Paddy's Day early on March 14th in Statesville. We're hoping to make many cats Lucky Cats by spaying and neutering as many as possible. Spaying and neutering improves cats' lives and our community. For more information and to register, scan the QR code or click this link: https://forms.gle/jf2TrfSGmELKoVjZ8

02/21/2025

Lucky Cats and the Community Pets Mobile Vet Clinic team are back in Statesville for another Kitty Spay-Neuter Clinic on March 14th. Free roaming female cats over the age of 4 months that have not been spayed are already pregnant or will be pregnant in the coming months. Our local shelter and rescue volunteers cannot absorb the multitude of kittens! PLEASE partner with us to stop the needless suffering of cats and kittens through spaying and neutering. Scan the QR Code or click this link for more information and to register. https://forms.gle/aHrGUkq6YmmaAu3J6

02/20/2025

A few months back we learned of a news story about a woman in Lenoir County, NC, saying she could no longer afford to feed the cats she was feeding and no one would ‘help’ her. She also mentioned in the news story Lucky Cats of Kinston helped her previously. In fact, this was a mobile home community where LCK had over time TNR’d other free-roaming cats as well. The reporter failed to ask ‘why’ if she had been helped previously by LCK she had not reached out again. As we looked up her name, turns out, LCK had in fact TNR’d 13 cats at no cost to her! After connecting with another animal welfare organization in the area, we learned the woman had not reached out because she didn’t want the cat’s ears tipped! As you read below, you will learn ‘why’ it is so important to tip the ears of community cats. Those who fail to spay/neuter because they don’t want an eartip are actually contributing to the problem of cat over-population.

Skipping the Ear Tip. Is This a Dealbreaker?

** This is a follow up post to yesterdays ear tip post giving a real life example of the problems encountered when you don't ear tip a colony. **

Marianne contacted trapper “Joan” when the 2 stray cats she fed became 35 in just 18 months. She could afford to feed a few cats, but not 35 and certainly NOT the 100+ cats she would soon have if they weren’t fixed before kitten season. But she was adamant that these cats NOT be ear tipped. She felt it was wrong to “mutilate their ears.” Trapper Joan explained the purpose of ear tips, reassured her that it wasn’t painful and let her know that the spay surgery and rabies vaccines would be free if the cats were ear tipped. Nope, she was not going to allow them to be ear tipped!

Although frustrated, the Joan knew that there would be multiple litters in the next few months if they weren’t fixed. This site was close to her home and she had vouchers that would reimburse her costs if she DIDN’T eat tip. She decided to honor their wishes and not have the ears tipped. And this is what happened.

Everything started well. Joan trap-trained ahead of time with traps zip-tied in the open position. She made appointments to get all the cats fixed over several days of appointments. Since they wouldn’t allow ear tipping, she planned to hold them longer so the fixed cats wouldn’t be released until ALL had been trapped. It seemed like a solid plan.

On day one, 18 cats were quickly trapped and another 11 went in the next day. However, it was now apparent that this was NOT a colony of 35 cats. Most of the cats were solid gray or solid black and there should have been only 6 cats left. She could see at LEAST 15 cats on day 3 and a few of the known tomcats had not shown up at all. Joan trapped another 6 cats, but didn’t have appointments for the rest. Since she didn’t have the space to hold over 35 cats for weeks, she had to make the tough decision to release the altered cats a few days later.

Joan managed to get more appointments a couple weeks later and started trapping again. In the first group of cats she brought in, three had already been altered. She did her best to check ahead of time, but this is difficult when you have feral cats in traps. Three appointments were wasted. Trapping again, she ended up with more already-altered cats. Over the course of several months, she tried to trap more of them, but at least 8 of them remained unaltered. Two of those cats had babies over the next few months. Joan looked for the kittens hoping to grab them and use them as bait to get their feral moms. But there were 10 million hiding spots. By the time the kittens showed up, her foster space was over capacity and they were too feral to get into a rescue.

Fast forward a year and this is the state of the colony. 34 cats were fixed at a cost of over $1,200. (A few had been fixed free by another vet or the cost would have been closer to $2,000.) At least 8 of the remaining cats had never been trapped and several had a litter or two over the next year. The colony size had nearly doubled and they were not doing well because Marianne couldn’t afford to feed them all. And now she was planning to move out of the area. Of course she called Joan to see if she would “take the cats and find them a good home.”

Joan was so frustrated and depressed with this endless site that she decided to work on other sites. She didn’t feel that this site was a good use of her time because she could get so many more cats fixed starting fresh on a new colony.

Not finishing a site is taboo in rescue because the population will quickly rebound. And without ear tips, it is nearly impossible to know which feral cats are altered. Appointments are wasted, resources are squandered and the already altered cats are stressed from unnecessary re-trapping and transport to the clinic.

We’ve all encountered people who want us to fix the cats but NOT ear tip. And this can be a reasonable request if there are just a few cats and they are easily recognized due to their unique color patterns or other physical features. But if you are doing a large colony, skipping the tip is a dealbreaker. It is likely to result in an incomplete trapping, continued colony growth and a ridiculous amount of work trying to trap a few unidentifiable cats in an sea of cats who are already fixed.

02/17/2025

Unfortunately, our Kitty Spay-Neuter Clinic at LKN Humane in Mooresville is being cancelled due to imminent inclement weather in our area. We apologize for any inconvenience! We will do our best to accommodate as many people as possible at our upcoming clinic in Statesville on March 14th.

02/17/2025

If you have a kitty over the age of 4 months that is not spayed or neutered...FOR THE LOVE get your kitty spayed or neutered! Shelter and rescue workers will be drowning in kittens within the next two months. There are not enough homes for them all! Meanwhile, your kitty will be much happier and healthier! Spaying your female kitty can reduce the risk of cancer. Neutering your male kitty can reduce or eliminate behaviors such as spraying, fighting, and roaming, as well as prevent testicular cancer. Take advantage of this convenient, low-cost opportunity! Please...FOR THE LOVE...do it NOW!!!! Scan the QR Code or click this link: https://forms.gle/NJW4q4apaUc35x119

02/13/2025

The data from our recent clinics demonstrate that many outdoor, free-roaming cats are currently in heat or already pregnant NOW! Show some love to your neighbors, your local shelter workers & animal rescue volunteers, and, most importantly, the CATS. PLEASE help us spay/neuter as many as possible during the month of February. March will be too late!!!! North Carolina ranks #3 behind California and Texas for the most animals euthanized in shelters, primarily due to the great number of community cats and kittens that end up there. Scan the QR Code or click this link to learn more and register for appointments. https://forms.gle/dMNbbLjJm5tnXB7P6

02/07/2025

Anyone need colony caretaker help in Huntersville/Cornelius?

[email protected]
704-877-7779

02/03/2025

While everyone is focused on chocolates and flowers, cats are getting FRISKY (and we don't mean the brand of cat food)! Community cats are in heat or are already pregnant NOW! Show some love to your neighbors, your local shelter workers, animal rescue volunteers, and, most importantly, the CATS. PLEASE help us spay/neuter as many as possible during the month of February. March will be too late!!!! North Carolina ranks #3 behind California and Texas for the most animals euthanized in shelters, primarily due to the great number of community cats and kittens that end up there. Scan the QR Code or click the link to learn more and register for appointments. https://forms.gle/a5m1WM239j8qorEa6

02/01/2025

Trooper Update:

For all who donated for Trooper’s surgery, we send a huge thank you!

Trooper’s left hind leg was amputated on Monday 1/27/25 at SFA Charlotte. Thank you to Dr. Beitel for successfully performing this challenging amputation. This amputation was not as straightforward as some because of the way his leg bones healed when the leg was initially broken. In fact, his foster had noticed recent swelling and turns out, this was likely scar tissue putting pressure on internal organs. Surgery was not a day too early!

Trooper has been a constant snuggler with his foster mom who has been very sick so the two have been constant companions and great comfort to one another.

We hope to have follow up video when everyone is feeling up to it.

Thank you Amelia Schaeffer, for getting Trooper to Charlotte so early in the day after returning from our Kinston Spay-A-Thon and Tracy Ponder for collecting Trooper and BJ later that day. You ladies are the heart of rescue!

01/29/2025

100!…the number of cats spayed/neutered this past weekend at the Kinston Spay-A-Thon.

The number of kittens prevented? Astronomical! We cannot imagine how many kittens have been prevented as a result of this clinic, but considering that 67 out of 100 cats were females and 38 were in heat, and that kittens born now are going into heat at four to five months of age, well, you get the idea. Without humane intervention, the cycle continues on and on.

By the numbers:

62 Ferals in traps
38 Cats in carriers
67 Females
33 Males
38 Females in heat
23 Most cats from one location!

How did we accomplish this? With a 'community' of folks, including Community Pets Mobile Vet Clinic. What a well-oiled machine they are! Volunteers from Lucky Cats of Kinston, Lake Norman Lucky Cat, Lenoir County SPCA, Enterprise Rent a Car (Wilmington), Pitt County Animal Control, and a whole lot of people trapping and even bringing pet cats in an effort to be part of the solution to cat over-population through spay/neuter. Thank you one and all, especially Lenoir County Livestock Arena for the heated space. We are grateful!

01/28/2025

Lucky Cats and Community Pets Mobile Vet Clinic are at it again! While everyone is focused on chocolates and flowers, cats are getting FRISKY (and we don't mean the brand of cat food)! Many of the female cats at our recent clinic in Kinston were in heat. Show the love to your neighbors, your local shelter workers, animal rescue volunteers, and, most importantly, the cats. PLEASE help us spay/neuter as many as possible during the month of February. March will be too late!!!! Scan the QR Code or click the link to learn more and register for appointments. https://forms.gle/a5m1WM239j8qorEa6

01/22/2025

Our supporters are nothing short of amazing and Lucky Cat is nothing short of 'beyond grateful' for your outpouring of support for Trooper! His surgery, thanks to you, is scheduled for January 27th. We will keep you updated on this love bug as he undergoes/recovers from his leg amputation. Any funds raised over and above what is needed for Trooper will go to the next cat in need. YES, that kitty has already arrived!

BJ (short for ‘broken jaw kitty’) was surrendered as an injured stray to Iredell County Animal Services (ICAS) just last week. The graphic photo was taken on intake, just as it is for each cat as they come through the door. We know it’s hard to look at but it's important for our followers to see what we are dealing with on an almost daily basis and what we actually do. Although this is what BJ looked like on arrival, ICAS quickly set about cleaning him up, assessing the injury, providing heavy pain relief and helping this sweet cat know he was safe.

Piedmont Animal Rescue (PAR) and Lucky Cat put our heads together to sort out the logistics of how to go about caring for a cat with a jaw broken in multiple places and teeth broken off at the gum line. Neither of us had ever dealt with a situation such as this but this cat was so sweet, had been suffering terribly in the cold with pain and no way to eat, we had to be part of his healing story. After all, if not us, who?! While there was a LOT of criticism for their posting of his intake photo, none of the critics stepped up to help. We hope these these folks and others will be part of what it takes to ‘help’ this cat by making a donation for his surgery.

The really good news is BJ was pulled from the shelter last Monday and was in surgery on Tuesday! Thanks to Dr. Kayla Jeffes at Hospital for Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery in Matthews, phase one of BJ’s surgery has been successfully accomplished to the tune of $2,769.32. Thank goodness for credit cards! A plate was placed along with wire and ‘buttons’. He will heal for nine weeks and then will return for phase two estimated to be between $1,880.03 - $2286.15 and will involve removing the plate/wire, addressing the dental issues and then healing once again.

BJ has the will to live and we are happy to be part of the process. Won’t you please help us continue to care for cats like Trooper and BJ, likely abandoned considering their sweet temperaments. House cats don’t recognize outdoor dangers, nor are they quipped to deal with those dangers. Trooper and BJ were lucky. Trooper had someone who reached out on his behalf and BJ had someone who got him to the shelter. How many others won’t receive the care they need? At least with your help, we can try to help the ones we know about.