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All feral cats pictured on this page reside on the East
Carolina University campus
There are approximately 60 million feral cats in the United States. Feral
cats are considered to be untamed or
 unsocialized,
are elusive and do not trust humans. They may have been abandoned, or born
to abandoned cats. Feral colonies can be found behind shopping areas or
businesses, in alleys, parks, abandoned buildings, and rural areas. These
cats, in their struggle to survive, are often seen as "problem" animals, to
be "gotten rid of". As a result, they rarely have the recognition and
protection in a community that pets have. That’s where TNR comes in. TNR
stands for Trap, Neuter and Return.
Saving Graces 4 Felines is an organization that offers TNR in the Pitt
County area. Thanks to area veterinarians and volunteers, we help people
that are feeding feral cats put a stop to endless numbers of kittens being
born every year in their colonies.
As some of you may well know, an act of kindness that begins with feeding
one or two strays can turn into 20 cats within a few short months. Our main
goal is to improve the lives of feral cats by implementing such a program.
We provide a spay/neuter appointment, as well as a rabies and feline
distemper vaccine, for unowned feral cats that are compassionately accepted
where they are and have a caretaker to look after them and provide food and
water. We provide humane traps for recovery of cats after surgery and
provide instructions on humanely trapping and caring for feral cats.
The response to this program has been overwhelming. Our waiting list is
approximately 2-3 months long. If you are unable to wait due to the
impending kitten season, or are overwhelmed yourself by the staggering
numbers of cats in a colony, and would like to try to do this on your own,
we would be happy to help by providing instructions for feral cat population
control.
Nationally, organizations involved in feral cat care report that feral
cat colonies maintained under such a program, stabilize in numbers, protect
their territories and don’t attract additional animals. The success cannot
be measured over night. It may take years. There are also significantly
fewer or no problems with fighting and spraying. What about simply removing
the cats? Feral cats tend to find areas where food is available such as
around dumpsters. So other unaltered cats will likely move in and reproduce,
starting the cycle again. This is known as the "vacuum effect".
To some, the mere mention of kitten season brings up images of adorable
fluffy kittens playing, jumping and wrestling. To animal shelter workers
everywhere it has an entirely different meaning. Kitten season is the
beginning of a nightmare; countless numbers of kittens coming through their
front doors with not enough homes. It means mass euthanasia with no end in
sight, until December, when there might be a two-month reprieve from the
onslaught.
Cats are very prolific creatures. In our part of the country a cat can
have at least 3 litters a year with an average of 4-5 kittens. Multiply that
by the number of strays, ferals and cats with irresponsible owners and you
have an astounding number. Unfortunately, media resources like this do not
help to educate irresponsible pet owners as most will never visit this
website. As a result, it is up to us to spread the word on the importance of
spaying and neutering. So speak out, let them know. Do not allow pet owners
to remain uninformed.
Kittens are cute, but killing kittens because there are too many is not.
It’s sad that springtime, a season for new beginnings, is the beginning of
the end for millions of unwanted animals that should have never been born.
What is Saving Graces 4 Felines?
Saving Graces 4 Felines is a non-profit, all volunteer organization whose
main goal is to reduce the overpopulation of feral cats in Pitt County and
the surrounding community by working with committed caretakers through a
trap/spay-neuter/vaccination and return program. Essentially we are helping
these cats to live happier and healthier lives. Saving Graces 4 Felines was
formed in January 2002, and in their first year altered over 700 cats,
preventing 3,100 unwanted cat births. Each year SG4F has altered between 500
and 1,000 cats.
What is a feral cat? What is a stray cat?
Feral cats are the "wild" offspring of domestic cats
and are primarily the result of pet owners’ abandonment or failure to
spay/neuter their cats, allowing them to breed uncontrolled. Many of these
kittens will never have contact with humans and will eventually become
fearful of them. These feral cats band together to become colonies. While
both cats are homeless, strays are friendly, able to be touched, and will
usually adapt to becoming part of the household. Feral cats, on the other
hand, are fearful of humans, cannot be touched, and in general do not make
good pets. These are the cats that run and hide when approached. There are
of course some exceptions to this; feral cats that are fed regularly by the
same person may eventually come to trust that person enough that they will
rub up against them, and will occasionally allow being touched. Some cats,
especially if they experience positive human interaction at a young age,
will become socialized early in life, they are usually not suitable as pets
(again, there are some exceptions), as they tend to be very shy and only
learn to trust one person. Many of these cats are content where they are,
provided they have food and water available to them. Don’t believe that
feral cats would rather be in your home. They would not. There are plenty of
friendly cats awaiting adoption at our shelter. Feral cats are survivors.
All they need is someone to help.
What is a TNR (also known as TVAR? or Trap/Vaccinate/Alter/Return)
Program?
TNR is Trap/Neuter/Return. This type of program began in the late 1970’s
in Great Britain as a humane way of dealing with feral cats. Cats that have
a caretaker looking after them are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated
and returned to their colonies. Saving Graces 4 Felines also examines these
cats, provides flea treatment, cleans their ears, and performs ear-tipping
for easy identification in the future.
What are the requirements for acceptance?
Our criteria for acceptance of colonies for this program requires that
they are feral, have food and water provided to them on a daily basis, and
are compassionately accepted where they are. Cats that are in an unsafe
environment will be relocated only if the danger is extreme and there is a
location to relocate them. Socialization in the new area may take several
weeks and a lot of time, so this is done only in extreme cases.
When and where are the clinics?
Operation Catnip
NCSU Veterinary School
Raleigh, NC
Operates a monthly clinic by invitation.
Saving Graces 4 Felines holds spay/neuter clinics for feral cats on an
irregular schedule. Please speak to a volunteer about participation.
Again, these clinics involve much more than spaying and neutering. Cats
receive vaccinations, ear cleaning, flea treatment, and ear-tipping to
identify altered cats in the future. It takes organization, teamwork, and a
dedicated group of trained volunteers.
What happens at a typical clinic?
All cats are brought in traps by their caretakers at the pre-arranged
time. The traps are numbered, and
 caretakers
check in and may be required to sign a surgical consent form. The cats are
then taken into the hospital where they are given an injectable anesthetic
while still inside the trap. Once asleep, each cat is tagged (same number as
the trap and carrier), vaccinated for rabies and other feline diseases,
spayed or neutered, their left ear is tipped ¼" straight across, their ears
are cleaned and treated for mites, and they are treated with Frontline and
combed for fleas. The cats are then put back into his/her respective trap to
recuperate at the caretaker’s home overnight. A towel covers each trap to
permit less stress from external sources. The next morning they are returned
to their colony.
What does Saving Graces 4 Felines not do?
We do not remove cats from unwanted locations.
We do not loan traps for cats to be euthanized or taken to animal shelters
(just because feral cats are not adoptable).
We do not relocate cats (unless releasing the cat to her original colony
puts her in danger).
We do not spay or neuter peoples pets.
I am feeding a feral cat colony in town-How do I get help?
All requests for assistance must go though the message center number
(252) 355-3404 or our email address
savinggraces4@aol.com.
We do not have an office. Messages are checked daily Monday-Friday by a
VOLUNTEER. As we are NOT an emergency response organization, your request
may not be answered the same day. Our waiting list is quite long
(approximately 2-3 months), so please be patient. Also, remember that Saving
Graces 4 Felines receives hundreds of calls each month. We are forced to
prioritize the scheduling based on the nature of each request, the danger to
the cats, and the availability of funds to pay for the expenses.
A volunteer will be in touch and get some basic information from you.
Once your colony is accepted into our program, you will be contacted as soon
as we have an appointment available by the trapping coordinator.
If Saving Graces 4 Felines will or can not do the trapping, you will need
to pick up your traps and carriers at a specified location at a time to be
determined for your scheduled clinic. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you
come to these appointments when you are scheduled. The clinics are few and
far between and several pieces must come together at once to make it work
without a hitch. At this time you may also be required to sign a trap and
release form.
Be prepared to leave a deposit for each trap (a check will be sufficient
for $50 per trap) which will be returned to you when the trap is returned to
us. You will need to trap your cats the night before the clinic (humane
trapping instructions) and transport them there no later than the
scheduled time. We will require a signature for surgical consent and a phone
number where you can be reached for the next 4 hours. Once your cats are
finished we will call you to come and pick them up. They will be in a
recovery trap (which SHOULD NOT be opened under any circumstances) and you
will be given instructions for
post-operative care. All cats are to remain in their traps overnight in
a warm dry area and returned to their colony the following morning.
What is the cost of the program?
Although we do not charge for these services, we ask for a $25.00
donation per cat to help replenish our supplies. Consistent donors get first
priority in subsequent clinics as they do more to help sustain our efforts.
Donations are tax-deductible.
How can you help Saving Graces 4 Felines?
You can show your support by becoming a sponsor, donating money or
volunteering your time. It is $20.00 for a one-cat sponsorship, which will
cover the spay/neuter/release cost for a feral cat. Sponsorship fees and
donations should be sent to P.O. Box 4307, Greenville, NC 27836. You can
also show your support by volunteering your time at one of our clinics,
adopting cats at PETsMART following training, cleaning cat cages at our
shelter, or fostering needy cats. It can be an amazing experience to care
for animals that human hands never touch. Please call our message center if
you are interested.
Please click on the following topics for more information:
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