Sterilization Nation

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Sterilization Nation

Our goal is to help control the cat population in St Clair County thru TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) Ways to help!

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01/12/2025

Relocating Ferals: A Last Resort

We frequently have people reach out and ask us to come get the feral cats from their neighborhood and take them somewhere else. Sometimes it is because they feel bad for the cats and think that we can find somewhere better for them. More often it is because they don't want the cats around. Regardless of the reason, our answer is going to be the same 99.9% of the time. DO NOT RELOCATE FERAL CATS.

A feral cat colony is not the same as the friendly domestic cats in your house. Feral cats are skilled survivalists. Part of what is crucial to their survival is the relationships they have with the other cats in their colony and their familiarity with their environment. Each colony has adapted to the threats specific to their location. Urban cats are better at avoiding cars. Rural cats are better at avoiding predators. Each colony is unique and the cats in that colony are important to its survival.

Relocating cats is almost always a death sentence. Full stop. Dropping a cat into a location it isn't familiar with is not going to end well. The cats don't know what threats are in this new location. They don't know where the food sources are. Once released, most cats will run blindly as far as they can, trying to find their way back home. During that panicked run they will most likely be killed by a car, predator, the elements, or starvation.

If you have to relocate feral cats, they need a very careful acclimation process. They need to be contained in a large kennel, tack room, chicken coop, etc for AT LEAST 6 weeks, during which they must be provided with food, water, and litter. After the acclimation period, you will open the door to their enclosure so they can leave, but continue to provide food and water so they recognize that as their home base. Even with a proper acclimation process, there is a high risk of the cats not accepting a new location and still trying to find their way back home.

If you think you have a situation where cats needs to be relocated, reach out and we will be happy to discuss and talk through the best options for the cats. We know that community cat politics can be tricky and are experienced at finding solutions.

01/07/2025

Why Microchip Feral Cats?

Did you know that every cat that goes through our TNR process gets a microchip? But why microchip a cat that doesn't belong to anyone?

Sometimes outdoor community cats end up misplaced. If someone finds and brings a feral cat to animal control or a vet clinic, the best thing for that cat is to be returned to where it came from. Each community cat has a colony where it is familiar with it's environment, knows where the food sources are, it has relationships with the other cats in it's colony, and it has learned how to survive the threats that are specific to it's location. It is only possible to know where the cat should be returned to if the cat is microchipped.

If a feral cat isn't microchipped, then the only options are 1) euthanasia or 2) relocating to a barn. PSA - relocating cats to barns should always be a last resort, it has to be done very carefully, and even when done correctly, it most often ends up poorly for the cats. Stay tuned for more information on relocating ferals in a future post.

01/04/2025

One of our volunteer trappers took this photo this morning!

With the cold temps forecasted this week, outdoor cats are likely to look for warmth wherever they can, including a car engine. Banging on your hood before starting your car can help to scare the cats out, but if possible, we recommend actually taking a look under the hood as well.

This big tomcat had wedged himself so tightly and had no intention of leaving the engine after a couple of loud bangs, it wasn't until he felt the cool draft on his back that he decided to go find another cozy spot.

12/07/2024

Meowy Christmas! We're excited to share that we've added new merch for this holiday season to our collection!

Not into holiday designs? We have other great options to spread the TNR love!

Check out our designs here! >>> https://www.bonfire.com/store/sterilization-nation-store/

12/03/2024

Cold Weather Reminder - NO BLANKETS IN CAT SHELTERS. STRAW ONLY.

No towels. No hay. No "self warming" blankets. No cedar chips. No exceptions.

Straw is the ONLY acceptable bedding for an outdoor cat shelter during the winter. If you need straw for an outdoor shelter, we can help you find resources.

Shelter friends - comment below if you have straw available for colony caretakers!

12/02/2023

Check out our holiday-themed merch! Don't be a grinch, fix your cats!

Follow this link to see the rest of our designs! https://www.bonfire.com/dont-be-a-grinch-2023-1/?productType=0d740304-caed-4523-9662-ec5f86c44f6e

11/16/2023

Oh boy, talk about a close call.

TLDR - starving cats almost died. food donations needed, rescue placement needed.

It's taken us a while to share this story because it's been a lot to navigate and was added to our already full trapping schedules, so you could say we've been busy. But we know it's important to share and spread awareness, and we could also use some help.

We were contacted about a vacant house whose owner had died, leaving an unknown number of cats trapped inside. By the time we were made aware of it and got access to the house, 11 days had gone by since anyone had been inside. We weren't sure what we would find, and our stomachs were in knots as we opened the door. As we turned the key, we heard cats fighting and climbing over each other to try and get to the front so they could maybe escape/find food or water.

Once we got inside, it was shocking. We were relieved and amazed to find that there were many surviving cats, but to say they were skinny doesn't even begin to cover it. As we put food and water down, fights broke out because they were so hungry. Unfortunately, we did find a couple cats that had passed away, from what we can only assume was starvation.

It's a difficult situation because although the cats were friendly to the owner, they have now endured a traumatic event and are weary of new people. But over the past several weeks, they have been warming up to us and can be quite vocal during our visits. We have to get the cats out of the house as quickly as possible, because the real estate company that now owns the house is only going to give us a short amount of time to remove them. These are not outdoor cats, so simply letting them go is not an option. But we are not an animal shelter, so we desperately need assistance! Thankfully, St Clair County Animal Services has been able to take a few, and we are so grateful! But we need more help. Rescues, please let us know if you are able to take one or two cats.

While we work on getting the cats removed from the house, we have volunteers going to the house daily to feed and water them. We have completely depleted our food donation supply. Cat food donations, dry or wet, can be dropped off at Furchild, located at 105 E 1st Street, O'Fallon, IL 62269.

10/20/2023

When you find out what the vet is going to be taking away... 🙀

10/16/2023

Some cats love water while other don't! 🫧🐈

Does your cat have an odd water behavior? Let us know!

10/14/2023

The TNR priority is to spay/neuter as many cats as possible, but friendly cats do find their way into feral colonies. Once identified, trappers will try to get these friendlies into rescue so they can be adopted into a home.
But, the beautiful eartip tells a story of how the cat somehow ended up living outside at some point and wound up back in a home because of a trapper's care.

Have a tipped cat? Share your pics and tag !🐱🐈‍⬛🐾

10/09/2023

Myth of the day: "Stray cats will go away if you don't feed them"
This is not the case! We've seen many instances of kitties sticking around their home even when they struggled to find food.

Have a myth you'd like us to look into? Let us know! 🐾🐈😼

10/06/2023

Again, this is the TNR type of trapping... helping spay and neuter community cats 🐆😽😎

10/05/2023

Just to be clear... TNR trapping, with the goal of neutering/spaying stray cats.

10/02/2023

Today's Myth Monday! Options to adopt from are always out there--ages, colors, personalities, and more!

08/31/2023

Emerald Update! A couple weeks ago we posted a plea for rescue assistance for a sweet, injured cat in a colony we are TNR'ing. We are THRILLED to share this update from Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Emerald has lots of healing to do, but he is receiving the love and care he deserves! Animal welfare is tough, but we are so fortunate to have amazing rescue partners and a truly supportive community. ❤️

08/21/2023

Did you know? 🧐 Cats are crepuscular, not nocturnal!
🦉🐅🐆

08/17/2023

***Second Update - This cat, who has been named Emerald, will be going to Stray Rescue of St. Louis on Monday. We will be handling his care thru the weekend. He is receiving antibiotics, pain meds, and a feeding tube. His medical bill with us is about $400. Half of that has been covered thru an anonymous donor. If you would like to donate to cover the remaining $200, our 501c3 paypal is below. Put "Emerald" in the memo and any additional funds will be sent to Stray Rescue. We know $200 is a small amount but we are a small group with small pockets. But more importantly, please be on the lookout Monday for Stray Rescue to post a link where you can donate to his care. We will be sure to share it as well. Thank you everyone who shared, liked, and helped spread the word - Emerald has you to thank for his life.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&fbclid=IwAR1fTyteVAHmdH7HMkhI3WB84p9fXwrPoXl_GsVM89nHhOg1wdPi0gBkQvw&hosted_button_id=L7FK87955HFPW&ssrt=1692294591612

**Update -we had a donor come forward to pay for xrays so we can at least have a better idea of what is going on. It's not good. The vet has never seen anything like it. Both his palate and mandible are split. Infection has set in. He will require emergency care and specialist surgery. Right now he is at the vet on pain management but without a rescue tag we will be ending his suffering at the end of the day. We are reaching out to all the rescues we can, please continue to do the same. Plenty of people have come forward wanting to donate, all of those donors will be directed to support any rescue that tags.

Today we had someone reach out about a friendly cat that lives among a colony we just started to TNR. He had disappeared for 4 days, but showed up today in poor shape. He has experienced some sort of face trauma, causing him to be unable to open his mouth at all. His mouth smells of infection. And he is whimpering in pain. We took him to receive an injection to help manage the pain but he needs a vet, ASAP.

We are not a rescue group - we don't have fosters, we mainly work with spay/neuter clinics that only provide sterilization surgery, and we function on a small budget that doesn't really handle potentially extensive oral surgery. SO WE NEED HELP. Transport can be arranged anywhere in the STL area, maybe even further. This cat is sweet and deserves at least a chance.

Please share this post! Please tag your rescue contacts. We have very limited time to help this boy before his quality of life is going to make us consider euthanasia.

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Shiloh, IL

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http://www.sccawa.com/sterilization-nation

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Videos

The Feral Whose Leg Fell Off... Earlier this week we received a call about a cat that had started limping. We get a lot of calls like that, limping cats are common in TNR. We planned on going to check out the cat within the next week and see what we could do. What isnt common is receiving a follow up call less than 2 days later, saying the cats leg has fallen off. So we moved around some things to make this poor girl a priority and last night we got her! A traumatic amputation like this is surely painful and could have easily become infected and killed her if left alone for too long. Now we are calling every vet we know to see who can see her today. We are used to paying for spay/neuter and minor medical, but a surgery like this is going to take quite a chunk out of our funds. Please consider donating via our paypal link below. All donations are tax deductible. We will update once we know more. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=L7FK87955HFPW

"Hello? My ear is already tipped, so can I please have some snacks?" A kind donor gave us this cellular trail camera and we cannot be more excited about it! Not only does it allow us to share the trapping experience with more people, it also has several useful benefits in the TNR process! We will be sharing more videos and facts about trail camera uses in trapping in the near future!

*~RESCUE NEEDED~* The rescue community is facing record highs in kittens due to spay/neuter clinics being closed for so long during the pandemic. Shelters are even more flooded than usual, TNR groups are struggling to catch up, animal controls are at capacity. But, we would be remiss if we didn't still try to secure rescue for the kittens we come across. These are this week's find, approx 5.5 weeks, litter of 4 kittens. All adults in the colony are being fixed. If you are with a licensed rescue and can pull these kittens please message us, transport can be arranged. If you're not with a rescue but your heart goes out for these kittens and others like them, please go adopt from a local rescue! That clears space for more kittens in need. Please share!!!

We've heard your requests for the camera to continue rolling after the string is pulled...and obviously we're still processing that 🤷‍♀️. But enjoy this pre/during pull video! #TNR

When your camera woman holds the phone too close to your pulling arm...👊 #tnr #droptrap

Drop traps are super helpful when you've already fixed some of the cats in a colony and you want to control which cats you catch. But it's always a struggle when there's lots of look alikes and you can't tell if there's an ear tip! Luckily, this one has not been tipped yet! #TrapNeuterReturn #droptrap

Another weekend, another trapping excursion.

When you're returned to your colony just in time for the weekend 🕺🎉

Happy Giving Tuesday!! Kitten season is slowly winding down for the year, but we won't be taking any breaks from trapping and fixing cats this winter. We will be fixing as many cats as we can before kitten season starts up again in the Spring. We are so grateful for the support we have received from the community, thank you! If you are able to donate, every dollar helps us continue our mission!! https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=L7FK87955HFPW&fbclid=IwAR2FIceI-1u3GrurQHvP5ZYxpdPDL2kxCZQAeofzPYSwQmyMguPoGPcjr3g

It took me a little bit to recover from this, but I'm now ready to share it so others can laugh at my misfortune. We didn't know the caretaker had come outside to watch. And when she saw the cat in the trap and the door not shutting, she took it upon herself to try and close it! The cats disappeared for the day after this, but the caretaker was educated on how traps work, and a week later we did catch the little calico who was scared away. When in doubt, DON'T WHACK THE TRAP