WINTER WEATHER TIPS to help Community Cats (from Alley Cat Allies): click here.
TIPS WHERE/HOW TO PLACE CAT SHELTERS: Click here for some simple (but important) tips for how to maintain your cat shelter (ie where to place it, how to entice cats into it, how to improve the environment around the shelter to keep the cats even warmer etc)
FEEDING COMMUNITY CATS
Click here for advice from Alley Cat Allies on providing food and water, information on appropriate feeding locations, and how to deter insects from the food.
Neighborhood Cats: Click here for tips on what, where & how to feed your ferals.
Please be aware that cat food tins do not make good feeding or baiting dishes. Cats can easily cut their faces or tongues on tins. If you find tins or tin lids discarded outside, please remove them from the cats’ environment as a safety measure.
TAKE THE TNR WORKSHOP FROM COMMUNITY CATS
These workshops are held by trained professionals who teach you about trapping, fixing and caring for feral cats. This workshop is a must for anyone interested in helping community cats in Toronto. **You must take this workshop in order to use the free spay/neuter services for feral cats offered by Toronto Street Cats, Toronto Animal Services, and Toronto Humane Society** Click here to take you to the Community Cats Toronto website.
***If you’ve already taken the workshop but lost your certificate please email them at info@communitycats.ca to ask for a copy
TORONTO STREET CATS TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN (TNR) MANUAL
This manual is a blueprint for establishing a Trap-Neuter-Return program in your community. The document features many links to reference documents, video clips, and other website. The manual is in a downloadable PDF format. Click here to download.
MORE TNR/COMMUNITY CAT RESOURCES:
- ALLEY CAT ALLIES Click here for their comprehensive information on care for community cats, Trap Neuter Return (from the planning stages to returning spay/neutered cats to their colony) and helpful tips on building community relations (campaigning on behalf of the cats, educating your neighbors, and more).
- FIX NATION Click here for their “Feral Cat FAQ’s”
- THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE U.S. (HSUS) Online course: Trap-Neuter-Return: How to Manage a Feral Cat Colony. The HSUS comprehensive guide to caring for feral cats.
- NEIGHBORHOOD CATS Click here for excellent information on how to perform a mass trapping; click here to download their TNR Handbook – this is the must-have manual for anyone looking after homeless outdoor cats.
- NYC FERAL CAT INITIATIVE: Click here to learn about their well organized TNR program that works with the community to humanely reduce the population of community cats in New York City (this initiative is a program of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals).
JOIN THE COMMUNITY CATS TORONTO FACEBOOK GROUP
Click here to join the group which is moderated by our fellow coalition member, Community Cats Toronto. In order to join the group you’ll need to have taken their TNR Workshop (click here for more information on it!). This Facebook Group is a forum for feral cat caretakers to exchange and discuss ideas, give advice, solutions, and general information on their colonies with other feral cat caretakers.
JOIN THE TORONTO FERAL CAT COLONY CARETAKERS GOOGLE GROUP
Click here to join the group which is moderated by our fellow coalition member, Community Cats Toronto. In order to join the group you’ll need to have taken their TNR Workshop (click here for more information on it!). This Google Group is a forum for feral cat caretakers, in the GTA, to exchange and discuss ideas, give advice, solutions, and general information on their colonies with other feral cat caretakers.
FREE & LOW COST TNR SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES
For a list of free & low cost TNR spay/neuter services in Toronto and surrounding areas click here.
NEED A PLACE TO RECOVER A FERAL CAT AFTER SURGERY?
The Toronto Feral Cat Recovery Center on Progress Road, in Scarborough, is available to use for free to all individuals who have completed the TNR workshop “How to Manage a Feral Cat Colony” run by the Community Cats Toronto, so long certain criteria is met.
The Recovery Center can also be used for a $10/day rental fee for those not meeting the criteria listed above.
For the full list of criteria, details how to book space, intake procedures etc, please click here which will take you to their website.
NEED A HUMANE TRAP?
1. Toronto Humane Society: will loan traps; email them at csa@torontohumanesociety.com
2. Recovery Center (on Progress Road in Scarborough): Click here to bring you to the page where you will find the trap rental request form.
3. Click here to join the Community Cats Toronto Facebook Group and ask if anyone is willing to lend you one
4. Click here to join a feral colony caretaker’s google group and ask if anyone is willing to lend you one (the google group is administered by Community Cats Toronto).
5. OSPCA Newmarket has a Feral Cat Trap Depot Program where the Society loans cat traps to Feral cat caretakers at no charge. Contact Monica Seto, Manager, Shelter Health & Wellness – Phone: 1-888-668-7722 or 905-898-7122, Ext 383; Email: mseto@ospca.on.ca
CANADIAN RESOURCES FOR PURCHASING A HUMANE TRAP & TRAP DIVIDERS (aka Isolators aka Forks) . Please make sure to note if the traps they sell have “back doors”. In alphabetical order:
Amazon.ca Search their site under “humane trap” or “animal trap” etc
D-Line – Direct Line Sales Corp
WCS (Wildlife Control Supplies) Canada
Walmart (their Canadian website)
Woodstream Brands NOTE: Havahart is a registered trademark of Woodstream Corp.
HOW TO LIVE WITH/HELP CATS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Click here to download our free brochure on how to answer questions from your neighbors about feral/community cats so they can understand them better, learn to co-exist peacefully with them, and appreciate and support Trap Neuter Return.
And/or click here to take you to the Alley Cat Allies website where you can find their brochure “How to Live with Cats in your Neighborhood” (either download a free copy to print yourself or order a package for a nominal fee), and find more information how to help feral/community cats.
STRAW:
Straw can be picked up from us during the fall/winter season. All we ask is you bring your own bag. Click here for details when/where etc to pick some up.
Other resources for straw: October is the perfect time of year to find straw in stores – it’s sold for Hallowe’en/Thanksgiving decorations, fall dances at schools, you name it. But after Hallowe’en/Thanksgiving, it gets MUCH harder to find. You can get a whole bale of STRAW (don’t buy HAY for shelters) for under $20 and keep it in your garage for the season.
- Check your local nurseries, garden centers, and grocery stores (that sell plants).
- Contact local schools to see if they have any available (for free) after their Hallowe’en dance.
- Google search animal feed & farm supply stores (I did a quick search and there were ones in Caledon, Newmarket, Lindsay…)
- Hardware stores (i.e. Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Lowes, Rona, etc)
- Kijiji (that’s how Toronto Street Cats originally found our “source” for straw)
Where ever/however you look for it, make sure it’s STRAW you’re getting. Not HAY
MORE:
Please also visit Community Cats Toronto for resources on: Cat Health, Scientific Studies on Feral Cats, Feeding Feral Cats, Relocation of Feral Cats/Colonies, Taming/Socialization and more.
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