Three local groups focus on taking care of animals

Communities everywhere are faced with the problem of people not taking responsibility for the strays in their neighborhoods and not spaying or neutering their cats for various reasons, but often simply because they can’t afford to. The Mendocino Coast is no exception. Fortunately, our coastal area has the Eileen Hawthorne

Fund for Animals, the Coast Cat Project and Mendocino Coast Humane Society.

Sometimes it takes all three to get the job done.

Quickly expanding feral populations occur quite often here on the coast. A couple of years ago in two locations — an apartment complex in Fort Bragg and a trailer park outside of town — cat populations were out of control. Eileen Hawthorne Fund agreed to provide vouchers to cover the cost for all the spays and neuters needed, plus rabies shots for all the cats.

Both situations needed people to trap, transport, foster, socialize and house the cats. Coast Cat Project, with cooperation from owners, managers and tenants set up traps, loaned carriers and found volunteers to transport and foster adult cats plus litters of kittens too young to be “fixed” right away.

The Humane Society provides a no-kill animal shelter with adoption and veterinary services. They agreed to take in several friendly adult cats and litters of kittens at least 8 weeks old. The not-so-friendly or truly feral cats were fostered by volunteers, then placed in barn homes. Several of the cats displayed minor injuries or health issues. Eileen Hawthorne Fund provided financial assistance with vet bills through our emergency fund.

Altogether those two projects required seven months and hundreds of hours of volunteer time. Thirty-seven adult cats and 29 kittens were spayed or neutered and housed. Eight adult cats were claimed by folks at the trailer park and apartments.

It is important to strongly support our local animalcare nonprofits. They work together to help solve community-wide problems. Imagine what life would be like for underserved or seriously ill cats without these dedicated volunteers and their regular financial donors.