Keeping up with Cats Angels

 

[Cats Angels, Inc. SPCA was formed in June 2001 to help with the overpopulation of unwanted felines in the Fernandina Beach area of Nassau County, FL. An aggressive TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program was started that allows the spaying and neutering of feral cats and returning them to their caregivers. Cats Angels is an all volunteer, non-profit, 501(c)3 charitable organization and receives no government funding of any kind. All of their monies are acquired through donations, grants and fundraising efforts.  The diary below, provided by Cats Angels volunteer Rosemary Slattery, provides insight into the work of the organization and the importance of community involvement.]

The Importance of Community Involvement with Trap, Neuter Release (TNR) program at Cats Angels

Submitted by Rosemary Slattery
Cats Angels SPCA Volunteer
August 14, 2020

July 2020

Right:  Sherry Merritt (kneeling) with Connie and Paul Palmer and the traps holding the newly neutered cats.

During July, Cats Angels Volunteer Rose Slattery received a call from Connie and Paul Palmer, Fernandina Beach needing assistance regarding a colony of cats in their area. We transported five traps to their residence and provided a lesson in trapping. With their help, Cats Angels was able to trap and neuter 2 adult cats (mama and papa) and their 3 kittens. Thanks to the TNR Program at Cats Angels, and the Palmers’ generous donation, these cats have all been de-wormed; they also received rabies vaccinations and a regular vaccination to help them to continue to thrive while not re-populating. The Palmers have been gracious enough to provide food and water for them daily. Hopefully the cats will remain safe in their environment as they will no longer fight to mate with other cats.

It is extremely valuable to have community involvement as Cats Angels does not have enough volunteers patrol every area that there are feral/stray cats.

 

Operation Folkston: 18 cats trapped and neutered

August 2020

During August, Cats Angels President Sherry Merritt conducted Operation Folkston, GA. Sherry assisted Susan Walters of Folkston with rescuing 18 feral cats. Susan contacted Sherry as she had heard about Cats Angels and had no one in Folkston that she could call for help. With the help other Volunteers, Sherry was able to trap these feral cats and have them all spayed/neutered, vaccinated, rabies shots, and de-wormed in order to release them in healthy status and to prevent further re-population of this colony. This effort took 4 days, to plan, coordinate, and successfully complete. Ms. Walters gave a generous donation for Cats Angels efforts and TNR Program. Cats Angels also provided from its Food Bank, a large bag of food to help Ms. Walters help keeps these cats fed to live a better life as feral ca

On August 5 and 12, 2020, President Sherry Merritt transported a total of 60 cats to First Coast No More Homeless Pets, Jacksonville for Spay/Neuter of both feral cats and private pets. This is not an easy tasking as it requires a lot of time, money and preparation such as: Intake/paperwork; Collecting the cats the day before, caring for them in the morning and evening (food/water/litter pans), cleaning all of the cages the day after to get them ready for early morning transport to Jacksonville for spay/neuter; Returning to Jacksonville to collect the cats and transport them back to Cats Angels, return all of the privately owned pets/cats to their respective owners, prepare all new cages to house the feral cats for and overnight stay to ensure they recovered from the anesthesia and surgery prior to their release; Finally transporting the feral cats to their base areas/colonies.

Other news of note

Devon Rex

On August 5, 2020, Cats Angels rescued a Devon Rex cat from First Coast No More Homeless Pets. He is an older male cat who was used for breeding and then thrown to the streets. He is positive for FIV, is very sweet, beautiful and awaits to live out the remainder of his life with a caring family. Please be sure to visit him in the Adoption Center.

Donationa and volunteers are always welcome! Visit our recently remodeled Thrift Store at 709 S. 8th Street in Fernandina Beach for some amazing finds.  Cats Angels Thrift Store is the life blood for this non-profit organization. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the store was closed from mid-March through the end of May. Sherry Merritt, Executive Director of Cats Angels, decided the closure of the Thrift Store would be the perfect time to make some needed repairs to the windows to prevent leaking and for wind protection in the event of a hurricane. The community and our Volunteers pitched in to make this project a success!

With continued community involvement, Cats Angels continues to thrive, and we are grateful. Please continue to donate to our cause, consider volunteering with us in many ways, and call us at 904-321-2267 for free lessons in trapping! We will come to you to assess your trapping needs and concerns.

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Robert S. Warner, Jr.
Robert S. Warner, Jr. (@guest_58614)
3 years ago

This community appreciates Sherry and all that Cat’s Angels does to help our fellow creatures – and those of us who live here. Little things are big things that say much about our character as people and as a community. Well done.

Ben Martin
Ben Martin(@ben-martin)
3 years ago

Shouldn’t that cat be wearing a mask? Has it been tested for CovID?

Rose Slattery
Rose Slattery (@guest_58633)
3 years ago

Thank you Suanne for helping us spread the word about Cats Angels important mission!