Cat fostering and TNR volunteer work
Save All the Cats!
Helping cats is a passion of mine. I am an independent networker, foster parent, and TNR (trap/neuter/return) volunteer. Los Angeles is home to more than 3 million homeless cats and many of them are suffering from injuries, hunger, sickness, abuse, bait for dog fighting, or end up as coyote food. It's a horrible fate and the ones that get placed in animal shelters are often euthanized. There are not enough resources for homeless cats in the city of Los Angeles and that's why I want to help. By volunteering my own time and raising awareness about the importance of spay/neuter I hope to inspire others to help in any way they can. If you would like to know more about how you can help you can contact me here through my website and continue reading the information below :)
I'm Super Busy, How Can I Help?
Working a full time job doesn't leave a lot of time for volunteer work, I completely understand, but there are many ways to help. Consider donating money or things like food, litter, blankets, newspapers, or pet safe toys to local rescues or animal shelters. Networking is also an easy and small time commitment way of helping. Join a local animal shelter or rescue Facebook page and share posts for cats in need. Another low time commitment way of helping is to foster an adult cat. Adult cats don't need as much care as kittens do so you can leave them at home while you are at work. Rescues and shelters will always pay for medical, some of them will even provide food and litter. If you are ready for more advanced ways of helping you can consider becoming a bottle feeder (fostering very young kittens), become a volunteer at your local shelter, become a volunteer with a local rescue, or you can take the ultimate plunge and join a volunteer TNR (trap/neuter/return) group. If you are a Los Angeles local check out Fix Nation for more information on what they do or Luxe Paws to find out how to join the team. Every little effort helps so please consider carving out a small bit of time in your day to make a difference for cats in need.
How I Got Involved
I have donated to organizations like Stray Cat Alliance, Alley Cat Allies, NKLA, ASPCA, and other local shelters and rescues for years but I always wanted to be more involved. The slippery slope happened sometime in 2017 when I stumbled upon a Facebook post seeking help for a cat that needed saving from a local shelter. Desperate to help, I made a small donation, joined the group, and shared the post. In the time the cat was rescued I had started trying to network other cats to safety through Facebook posts and before I knew it I was on my way to becoming a regular networker posting 2-3 cats a day and donating what money I could. I knew I could do more though so in 2018 I decided to take the plunge into fostering. My wife and I took in a stray named Ron Perlman who needed medical attention. It was long recovery but we had a guest room to keep him away from our other cats where he could rest and relax. It was so rewarding to see him be adopted we decided to continue to fostering, but I wanted to help the root of the problem: cats reproducing on the streets. So I became involved with a local volunteer TNR (trap/neuter/return) group called Luxe Paws. I learned the ropes of how to trap cats, where to bring them to be fixed, making sure they had enough recovery time, and were released back to their neighborhood where dedicated feeders would watch over the cats. It is not easy work but it's the most effective way to keep cats out of shelters and curb the population. Finally, with some extra time on my hands, I signed up to become a foster parent through the Burbank animal shelter kitten foster program. I learned how to bottle feed and brought up two kittens from one week old to 12 weeks when they were finally adopted. Today I continue to network, foster, and TNR when I can. We have fostered 7 cats in our home and the group I TNR with managed to spay and neuter over 900 homeless cats last year.
Foster Gallery
Look to this page for future updates on foster cats, educational materials about fostering, TNR, and other ways to help cats.
Cheers!