LAST HOPE, INC.                                                               Fix –A-Feral Program 2024
Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation                                        631-425-1884

P.O. Box 7025                                                                        www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org
Wantagh, NY  11793

March 27th, 2024

Dear Feral Cat Caretakers:

First, thank you for caring for our local community cats and taking the next, and most important step, to reduce their numbers. Below is the information you will need to start spaying and neutering the cats in your community.

Attached is a list of our participating vets and the mandatory agreement that must be filled in and returned to us.  We will mail the vouchers to you AFTER we receive the completed agreement. We cannot fax or email the vouchers.  Do not trap any cats until you receive the vouchers from us. 

Feral cats have reached epidemic numbers on Long Island.  In 2003, LAST HOPE initiated its “FIX-A-FERAL” program (this is our 21^st year) as an incentive to get you, the public, to trap, spay/neuter, and return (TNR) the feral cats that you are feeding. These cats must be returned to the location where they are trapped. It is important to TNR every cat in the colony. You must commit to feeding these cats for their lifetime – feeding out of dumpsters is not an acceptable food source. If you are able, we also recommend providing some shelter for the feral cats. As a responsible feral cat caretaker, you must provide veterinary or euthanasia (as the situation warrants) for your community cats. If you need a veterinary reference that will help a feral cat, please contact us.  Please refer to the Alley Cat Allies website, www.alleycat.org, for more information about TNR and caring for feral cats

LAST HOPE does not remove the cats from a location, nor do we provide euthanasia services for these cats.  If you want to remove the cats, because you are moving, or if their safety is questionable, TNR is not the right program for you. You must trap these cats and arrange for euthanasia at a veterinarian’s office or bring them to the local municipal shelter in your community. Relocation of feral cats is not recommended unless under the most stringent guidelines.

This program is intended for use by the public to assist with the financial burden of spaying and neutering of feral cats. Domesticated cats will be turned away by the participating veterinarians. Please contact us for assistance with spaying and neutering stray, tame cats.  If you have a financial hardship regarding spaying or neutering a pet cat, please contact us directly to see if you meet our criteria for assistance. Our Veterinary Assistance Form is located on our website under the Information icon. Please follow the instructions for submittal to LAST HOPE. OTHER RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD NOT BE UTILIZING THIS PROGRAM, as it is taking much needed assistance away from the community caretaker who is in dire need of help. If your organization is assisting with a large feral cat colony, please contact us directly so we can discuss the situation. We are here to help as much as we can.  If you are a feral cat trapper, and are assisting a local resident or business, please have the business or resident fill out the mandatory agreement and list your name as a trapper.

In order to avoid misuse of the program, please take note of the following:

• The vouchers are issued to one individual, sometimes with a trapper’s name. The voucher is to be used ONLY by the individual/trapper it is issued to.  It is NOT to be given to another person. The person who has requested the voucher must present a copy of their driver’s license to the participating veterinarian. 
• The various trappers on Long Island can ONLY be listed as the trapper for THREE cat colonies during each period of time our vouchers are issued. 
• Inappropriate conduct at our participating veterinarians or bad mouthing of Last Hope or its participating veterinarians, in person or via social media, will be result in an individual’s inability to receive future vouchers. Any complaints about our Fix-A-Feral program should be directed to Last Hope ONLY.

All funding for the Fix-A-Feral Program comes from Last Hope, Inc. We spend significant time writing grants to get funds from the few organizations that will fund programs for animals. Much of the money earned from flea markets, thrift stores, raffle sales, other fundraising functions, and donation pleas go into this program. BECAUSE OUR FUNDS ARE LIMITED, THIS PROGRAM MAY BE DISCONTINUED AT ANY TIME.    Our website www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org has a list of the town shelters and other organizations offering low-cost spay-neuter for feral cats.  The internet is your best resource. Please contact the animal shelter in the town in which you reside for TNR programs in your municipality.  

Once we have received your completed agreement, we will mail the vouchers to you.   Please allow 7 -10 days for processing. No more than five (5) vouchers will be issued per household. They must be used by the expiration date printed on the voucher. Expired vouchers will not be replaced. The vets will check that the name on the voucher matches your photo ID.  Faxed or photo copies will not be accepted by any of the vets.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PAPERWORK OR TRAPPING, PLEASE CONTACT US AT FERALCATS@LastHopeanimalrescue.org.  A VOLUNTEER WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

 Thank you for caring and good luck!

LAST HOPE ANIMAL RESCUE – 2024 FIX –A- FERAL PROGRAM

PHOTO ID REQUIRED AT ALL ANIMAL HOSPITALS

 ALL CATS MUST BE IN TRAPS AND WILL BE EAR-TIPPED

Veterinary Hospital	Fee to Client	Fee Includes Spay/Neuter AND	Days of Surgery	Doctor/Address
Lindenhurst Animal Hospital 631-694-0330	$ 15 No extra if pregnant	Rabies Vaccine, FVRCP vaccine	Tuesday, Thursday By appointment only	Dr Kevin Cummings 642 Route 109 Lindenhurst, NY 11757
Farmingdale Dog and Cat Clinic 631-694-5454	$ 15.00 No extra if pregnant	Rabies, FVRCP vaccines	Monday By appointment only	Dr. Gay Senk, Dr.Keuhn, 908 Conklin Street Farmingdale, NY  11735
Helping Paw	$15.00 No extra if pregnant	Rabies, FVRCP Flea Treatment	By appointment only	Dr. Diane Levitan 220 East Meadow Avenue East Meadow, NY 11554
LI Spay and Neuter 631-496-9966     Island Rescue 631-968-8700   Save A Pet 631-473-6333	$ 15.00 No extra if pregnant     $15.00       $15.00	Rabies Vaccine, FVRCP vaccine     Rabies, FVRCP vaccine     Rabies, FVRCP vaccine	Monday, Tuesday, Thursday    Drop off 12 noon By appointment only     Tuesday, Thursday, Friday By appointment only     Monday, Thursday By appointment only	Dr, John Berger 3135 Route 112 Medford, NY  11773     1500 North Clinton Ave Bayshore, NY 11706       608 Route 112 Port Jeff Station, NY 11776

 

ALL VETERINARIANS CAN REFUSE SURGERY IF THE CAT IS IN POOR HEALTH

Trapping Information and Instructions

1. There is only ONE humane solution for the feral cat:

TNR – TRAP, NEUTER AND RETURN.  If you are committed to feeding these cats on a daily basis (cat food, not table scraps!!) and the environment in which they are living is relatively safe, they can be easily trapped, neutered and returned to the environment which they know.  They will be happier outdoors than cooped up in a house where they will most likely hide all day and prowl at night.  If time, finances, and space permit, you may want to set up some outdoor shelter for these animals in the winter.  Straw makes an excellent bed.  Cats like small, dry spaces into which they can nestle.  Check out Alley Cat Allies – www.alleycat.org for help with care of feral cats.

MATERIALS, there are 5 items required for trapping feral cats:

1. A trap (“TOMAHAWK” or “HAVE-A-HEART”).  Tomahawks may be purchased via Tomahawk Live Trap Company, P.O. Box 323, Tomahawk, Wisconsin 54487.  Phone: (800) 272-8727 or www.livetrap.com.   They cost about $65.00.  You should order trap #606NC  (cat transfer trap with sliding door).  Have-A–Heart traps without a sliding door  are available at Agway and Home Depot.
2. Bait (tuna in oil, sardines or mackerel, the smellier the better);
3. Towel or sheet – to cover the trap after a cat is captured
4. Flashlight – for night-time trapping
5. Patience and Fortitude – Never stop trapping until you are absolutely certain every cat has been trapped.  There are always more cats residing in an area than you see.

PROCEDURE

1. One week prior to trapping, notify your neighbors of your intentions to trap.  Ask them to tag their household cats or keep them indoors.
2. Establish a feeding pattern – feed at the same time, and the same place every day.  This will ensure that the cats will be where you want them, when you want them.
3. It is important to make arrangements first. Have your vouchers in hand and make an appointment if required.   DO NOT trap a cat and then start looking for someplace to bring it or someone to take it!
4. Do not feed the cats for a day, and then set the trap.  If they are extra hungry, you have a greater chance of getting them to go into the trap.  Set the trap with tuna, sardines or mackerel – something very smelly.  Having a trap with a sliding back door is especially helpful in releasing an animal that you did not want to trap.   DO NOT EVER ATTEMPT TO PICK UP OR TOUCH A FERAL CAT.
5. When you have trapped the animal, cover the trap with a towel or sheet to calm the animal.  Even tame cats panic when trapped.  However, they do quiet down when covered.  DO NOT LEAVE THE TRAP SET OVERNIGHT OR UNATTENDED.  Trapped cats can be left in the trap overnight as long as they are covered and in a safe secure place, i.e. garage, shed, basement, etc., protected from dogs and other wildlife.
6. Cats can be transported to the veterinarian or animal shelter in the trap.  Put a piece of plastic (a garbage bag works well) under the trap as some cats may urinate out of fear and stress.
7. Our participating vets will notch the cat’s left ear (ear tipping) when the cat is under anesthesia.  This alerts others that this cat has been spayed or neutered already.
8. Often males can be released within 12 hours after surgery, ask the veterinarian about this.  Females should be held at least 48 hours after surgery.  Have a cage available for this purpose; cats cannot be left in the trap for any length of time.  Please remember, these cats do not understand what you are trying to do, they just feel trapped and threatened and they may become hostile, so exercise caution at all times.    If using a cage, lining it with newspapers makes it easier to clean.  You will need a litter box and dishes for water and food. Put a small cat carrier in the cage…most cats will hide in it, making releasing the cat easier.
9. After the appropriate recovery time, transport the cat back to the site.  Open the door of the carrier, step back, and they will just run out.  They probably won’t even stop to thank you.