Cats' Cradle

Members of local group work to rescue homeless cats in Harrisonburg area

The homeless population of Harrisonburg appears to be growing exponentially each year. If nothing is done to alleviate the problem, by 2010, it easily could reach one million in Harrisonburg alone. One may wonder why the city hasn't made a larger attempt to resolve this issue. The answer is because these homeless are not people — they are stray cats.

According to the Feral Cat Coalition of San Francisco, a pair of breeding cats — which can have two or more litters per year — has the potential to produce up to 420,000 offspring in seven years. While the local government may not have noticed this problem, Pat Rossi of Dayton did. She decided to create Cat's Cradle, an organization that aims to control the homeless cat population of the Valley humanely and without euthanasia — primarily by trying to find the animals homes.

Cat's Cradle's director, Suzanne Auckerman, said she joined the organization because of their determination to keep the population of homeless cats down through methods other than euthanasia. "I have refused to align myself with an organization that euthanizes adoptable animals," she said. "I do not fault the people that do it. I understand why it is done." But, Auckerman feels that there are alternatives.

Cat's Cradle was founded in 1998 "as a result of one woman's desire to end the neglect, abuse and euthanasia of helpless cats," according to the Cat's Cradle Web site, www.catscradlevirginia.com.

Their mission is "to provide no-kill alternatives to feral, stray and homeless cats across the Shenandoah Valley," according to the Web site. Contrary to the euthanasia practices of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Cat's Cradle uses what Rossi believes to be a better, more compassionate and proactive way to manage the growing population of stray cats.

According to the Cat's Cradle Web site, the ways the organization attempts to control the number of cats and kittens are a low-cost spay/neuter program, an adoption program and a feral trap-neuter-release program.

Cat's Cradle actively seeks options for reduced-cost spaying and neutering. Each week, 40 cats are taken to participating veterinarians and clinics in surrounding areas for tests, spaying/neutering, vaccinations and a flea and tick treatment. The cost for each cat ranges from $40 to $100, depending on appointment availability, all at a significant discount. To date, Cat's Cradle has spayed or neutered 2,984 cats in the Shenandoah Valley.

The cats that are found to be ready for homes are put up for adoption. Since there is no operating facility for Cat's Cradle, many members act as foster homes to the cats in limbo. In 2002, 404 cats were adopted.

Cat's Cradle member Beth Orebaugh fosters homeless cats from her home in Keezletown. Fostering consists of monitoring the cats' reactions to other cats, dogs, children and adults.

Orebaugh judges if the cat will be able to adjust to different situations. "All of [the reactions of the cats to their environments] determines the kind of home the cat can be comfortably adopted into to ensure a permanent and happy home for all involved," she said.

Orebaugh says she loves to foster "problem kitties" because she finds it rewarding when they rehabilitate.

Some cats found are feral, which means they never have had human contact because they were born in the wild.These cats are placed under the control of TNR, or trap-neuter-release volunteers.

Teresa Kappes volunteers for Cat's Cradle as a TNR. When concerned citizens notify Kappes of these cats roaming the area, she and other volunteers humanely trap as many cats and kittens as possible. They then are fixed, vaccinated and re-released into the community because they are unfit to live indoors. Sometimes they are placed in alternative locations because the place where they were found is not considered safe. "If the cats are feral, then we need to get a control on them through TNR to help stop the spread of disease and overpopulation," Kappes said.

Ron Jennings, a representative of JMU Facilities Management, has been working with Cat's Cradle to manage the feral cat population on campus.

"Through [its members] diligence and dedication, Cat's Cradle has been a tremendous benefit to the university," Jennings said. Most college campuses have this same problem because cat owners leave their pets behind or drop them off on campus when they move away, he said. The offspring produced by these orphaned cats contribute to the feral population.

Jennings said that most of these cats are nocturnal and spend much of the day hiding in bushes away from civilization, which means most students do not notice the cats and, thus, do not realize the severity of the problem.

Wendy Reidler, a Cat's Cradle volunteer for over four years, is the contact for the JMU campus and off-campus student housing areas. She works closely with Ron Jennings and JMU Police when cats on campus need to be humanely trapped. According to Reidler, to date, 61 cats and kittens have been trapped and relocated from the campus and off-campus housing areas since the organization began. These include 19 taken from the recently demolished warehouse on Warsaw Avenue next to Buffalo Wild Wings.

To get an idea of just how out of hand the problem has become, Auckerman computed that to make any sort of impact, "We (Cat's Cradle) need to [fix] 4,000 cats in Rockingham County each year for three to five years. Last year, we altered 1,147 cats working in four counties."

The numbers are discouraging, but Cat's Cradle members continue their efforts. Mary Carr, a volunteer for Cat's Cradle, has been foster-homing cats since fall 2000. "It's amazing being in a group of volunteers who can accomplish so much with limited time and funds," she said. "The heart and drive of core members keeps the mission alive."

Carr believes that just one person can make a difference for cats in the community. "It takes one person to speak up, to save a life, to educate before change can happen," she said.

There are many different ways to volunteer. For those unable to donate money, but who have spare time, the group has many opportunities. There always is a need to help with fund raising, transporting cats to appointments, writing newsletters, assisting with public events and handling adoptions at pet stores. Another critical need is foster homes, especially in the spring. According to the Web site, they need foster homes for "poorly nourished nursing mamas and bottle-fed orphan kittens. [They] also are looking for cat lovers with room in their home and heart to care for homeless cats and kittens until permanent homes can be found." This option is ideal for anyone who would like to own a pet, but for whom long-term pet ownership is not feasible.

One more way students can contribute to the cause is by talking to landlords and apartment renters about allowing pets, according to Reidler.

To learn more about Cat's Cradle , to volunteer or to make a donation, please visit its Web site. The organization also can be contacted by e-mail at catscradle@rica.net or by voicemail at 438-5222.