The
Scratching Post
The Colony Caregivers
Our mission is to give
feral, stray & abandoned
cats a better quality of life
through the TNVR program
Trap, Neuter / Spay,
Vaccinate, and
Return with care.
PO Box 12, Shortsville, NY 14548 ! Phone: 585-289-6353
TRAP ! NEUTER / SPAY ! VACCINATE ! RETURN
Scratching Post
The
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 FALL /WINTER 2011
Our Wish List!
! Cash Donations
! Cat Food
! Carriers
! Humane Traps
! Blankets & Towels
! Volunteers
Volunteers are needed to
help with transporting,
trapping, fundraising, fostering,
assisting at clinics, and
making shelters and items
to sell for fundraising.
Board of Directors
President: Lynne Brill
Vice President/Outreach:
Carol Mensinger
Treasurer: JoAnne Ashley
Secretary: Joan Kutniewski
Field Coordinator: Maureen Robert
Data Coordinator:
Judy Gifford & Don Martino
Marketing: Terry Grosser
Fundraising: Pat DuPlessis
Our first full year as a non-profit organization has been a great one! We have
been able to fund the spay/neuter, vaccinate and return mission with the help of
many volunteers and caring individuals. In addition we have been able to educate
the community on the plight of these free roaming cats (ferals). Our vice-president
and public relations individual, Carol Mensinger has done a great job in this area.
Maureen Robert and Joan Kutniewski spend many hours preparing and
transporting cats to approximatley 77 clinics a year. Not to mention the treasurer,
Joanne Ashley who keeps our money, and Judy and Don Gifford who keep our
database records.
We have held 2 rummage sales, 2 chicken barbecues and 2 food drives. These
activities staffed by volunteers have allowed us to spay/neuter 315 cats to date.
All of this could not have been accomplished without those volunteers who make
a commitment to the year round care of the colonies and a local community
willing to support these fund raisers and help financially.
To each and every one of our volunteers and community supporters we wish to
thank you all and wish you a blessed and wonderful holiday season.
Sincerely, Lynne Brill (President)
The Colony Caregivers wishes to thank all of those
individuals and groups who have contributed in
some small & big ways to our success in 2011.
We have been able to purchase additional traps,
spay/neuter and provide medical care for over
300 cats this year alone. Thank you to all of the
wonderful caring donors!
On Friday, November 11th the Colony
Caregivers received a donation from Purina,
"Pets for People". The total amount of dry cat
food is 3150 lbs. We have received the Purina
One, Cat Chow and One Beyond products. The
only cost to the organization was $90. We wish
to thank our volunteers, Don and Joan
Kutniewski and Ed and Lynne Brill who trav-
eled to Syracuse to accept the delivery. This donation was due to the constant
letters Maureen Robert submitted month after month to Purina, explaining our
need and the number of cats we not only care for but have spayed or neutered
over the past year. Thank you, Maureen and Purina!
Purina Cat Food Donation
Email:
Visit our website:
www.thecolonycaregivers.org
& Cats For Adoption!
PAGE 2
The Walmart cat food drive
in October was a HUGE suc-
cess. The following was col-
lected: $438.72 in the dona-
tion jar!!!, 145 cans of cat
food, 351.75 lbs of dry cat
food, 97 lbs. of litter, 6 toys, 2
treats, Coupon for 25 lb bags
free! Thank you to Pat, Carol
Cat Food Drive Success
and Koral who worked to organize this, and for their great enthusi-
asm; they were freezing but jumping up and down with excitement.
Thank you to everyone who stood in the cold weather: Judy Gifford,
Joanne Elliott, Joanne Ashley, Donna Keil, Donna Morley, Carol
Britton, Joe & Maureen Robert, Tiffany and Ashton Yost. Also
thank you to many people who donated materials for craft items to
be made for our upcoming bazaars.
What a gorgeous day we had for our first BBQ put on by Gale-Wyn.
It was held in Penn Yan on April 2nd. and at least it didn’t snow!
There was a cold brisk wind, so our volunteers were really bundled
up. But it was to our advantage as it carried the delicious scents of
barbequed chicken to 300 customers who savored every bite. This
Penn Yan & Canandaigua BBQ’s
Canandaigua BBQ
The September Rummage Sale was held at the American Legion
Post 34 in Shortsville, NY. The fund-raiser accepted donations on
Wednesday, Sept 14th and sold items from Thursday, September
15 to Saturday September 17th. All the volunteers had a great time
with the customers and the organization raised $1566 dollars to
help support our spay/neuter, vaccinate and care of feral, stray an
abandoned cats. Thank you to all the volunteers and shoppers
who turned out for our Rummage Sales this year. The Sale in Sep-
tember (3 days) made $1,566.05; Sale in May (2 days) made $1,039.86
was a cold day, but after a
long winter, it was something
“summer-like”; folks were
out, and didn’t want to cook!
One gentleman, who stopped
by for three dinners, went
back to his car only to find
that Rover had locked him out.
Oh my. And Rover didn’t
know how to unlock the
doors! The BBQ in June made
Rummage Sales Make Over $2,500
$433.06; BBQ in April made $647.86
Our Angel Story:
A Tribute to Shirley Finley
Shirley Finley loved animals. It
always saddened her to see animals
mistreated; she always did
whatever she could to help them.
She had supported the different cat
groups and area humane societies
for years. Shirley and her husband,
Russ, have put in many volunteer
hours to help stray and abandoned
cats. She out did herself as the
raffle queen for The Colony
Caregivers first rummage sale
fundraiser. Last September, she
didn’t feel up to par, but was determined to help. Little did we know
at the time, but she was in the beginning stages of brain cancer. It
was a rough winter for Shirley and Russ, but she persevered the
chemo and radiation. They were back to transporting cats from the
clinic this past year. However, the cancer got the upper-hand and
Shirley was admitted to the Hospeace Home. Shortly after arriving,
a friendly stray found her way to Shirley’s patio door. Shirley, of
course, said something had to be done about this kitty! She and
her family were encouraging everyone to care for the kitty. But no
one was very responsive to that idea. A volunteer from TCC, came
to visit Shirley. The volunteer saw the kitty, and made the decision
to take the kitty to the next clinic which was in a few days. Another
volunteer was also at the home to visit Shirley and suggested that
we name the kitty “Angel”. No one had yet figured out just what
we were going to do with Angel after surgery but Russ volunteered
to take her in to his workshop which was heated. (This wasn’t an
undertaking he really needed at this time, but he was willing to do
Funding to support our organization comes from individuals and
fund raising events. We have received no tax-payer funding or
grants. Donations are tax-deductible (to the extent permitted by
Federal law) as we officially became a 501C3 in November, 2010.
We are dependent on donations from the public.
Look for our candy being sold at local businesses throughout
Ontario County! If you would like to sell some candy for The
Colony Caregivers call
Joan at 585-229-5531
To find out more about our organization visit our website:
http://www.thecolonycaregivers.org
If you need assistance with a feral cat colony you are caring for in
Ontario County, please visit our website and fill out the form under
CLINICS, Request for Inclusion in a Clinic and someone will get
back to you, or you can call Maureen @ 585-289-6353.
anything for the cat.) Before the TCC
volunteers left however, a night shift person
came on. She said she was interested in
adopting Angel. Two days after Angel went
to her new home, Shirley went to hers, to
take care of all the kitties that are in heaven.
Thank you, Shirley. We will miss you.
!!!
A special thanks to Donna Morley for making and
donating the beautiful cat quilt for our Raffle.
Drawing will be held on Nov. 26th.
All proceeds benefit The Colony Caregivers.
PAGE 3
What Kind Of Christmas Gifts Do You
Give?
If you could give the gift of wellness and warmth away this winter
would you give it? This winter with the help of many dedicated
volunteers and community supporters The Colony Caregivers (TCC)
will be providing wellness and warmth to cats living outdoors in
Ontario County. TCC has and will continue to "improve the lives of
feral and stray cats living outdoors" through a program called TNVR
(trap, neuter/spay, vaccinate and return with care).
A feral cat is a cat that is fearful of humans and avoids human
contact. Feral cats are usually part of a group of cats refered to as a
“colony” that live and reproduce outdoors. The spaying and neu-
tering of feral and stray cats is the core mission of TCC. "We" are
able to implement TNVR at low cost with the help of local and out of
town vets. In addition, we are able to participate in low cost clinics
organized by other groups similar to ours in which a higher number
of cats are spayed and neutered at one time. Although there are
many individuals that implement TNVR themselves, The Colony
Caregivers is the only nonprofit organization in Ontario County that
is doing so. Our goal is to improve the lives of cats living outdoors
by sterilizing entire colonies, vaccinating and preventing against
rabies and returning with care which includes providing them with
warm shelters and feeding stations. One of the many colonies in
Ontario County that has almost reached this goal is what I have
been calling the AL Project.
The AL project began early 2011 when TCC teamed with the primary
caregivers of a large colony of cats that have been living outdoors
near the Shortsville/Manchester American Legion for quite some
time. These cats although receiving plenty of food and water twice
daily have never been spayed/neutered or vaccinated. A plan was
set into motion to humanely trap and transport to a local vet for low
cost spay or neutering. Cats would also be vaccinated against ra-
bies, treated for fleas, ear mites and internal parasites. While under
anesthesia cats would also receive an ear tip for identification. Be-
cause volunteers are unable to handle feral cats without the use of
a humane trap this ID ear tip is very helpful in identifying cats that
have already been to the vet. This left ear tip is used in many orga-
nizations as a universal sign the cat has been sterilized. Several cats
in this colony would be tested for feline lukemia (FeLV).
FeLV is a virus that some cats carry that can greatly suppress a cat's
immune system. To ensure the health of this colony tests results
must come back negative (which they did!).
I began the TNVR on the American Legion project on March 21st
2011. Diane Oswald (TCC volunteer) coordinated with a local vet
who agreed to provide low cost services for the AL cats. Joan
Kutniewski (TCC secretary, trapper and transporter) aided in trans-
porting and providing a safe, warm overnight area. Trapping was
done by myself Carol Mensinger (outreach coordinator, trapper and
transporter). Maureen Roberts (founder and field coordinator) as-
sisted in feeding and other care. AL cat caregivers and supporters
were able to pay some of the low cost fees. The remaining costs
were paid by TCC. TCC relies on private donations and fundraising
such as our spring chicken BBQ at the old Cdga. Walmart parking
lot and rummage sales that take place during the year at Cdga and
Shortsville/Manchester American Legions.
Through the spring/summer "we" were able to spay/neuter and
provide care for 15 cats in the Shortsville/Manchester American
Legion colony. This breaks down to 9 females spayed and 6 males
neutered! There are still several cats there that need TNVR. (some
are harder to catch in traps than others).
Another important part of TNVR is removing young cats or kittens
that are born during the course of the project. A kitten learns from its
mother to become feral (fearful of humans) at about 6 weeks of age.
If a kitten or young cat is trapped and removed from a colony it can
be placed in a foster home and will learn to trust humans. Socializing
a feral kitten or cat can be difficult and the process to allow humans
to touch them must be done in a slow and patient manor. Because
feral kittens usually have had no preventative vaccinations and
typically their health history is unknown, it is important that social-
izing is only done by those people that have experience and knowl-
edge of feral cats. In addition a feral cat or kitten should not be
exposed to other indoor cats or animals until it has visited a veteri-
narian. To date (Nov. 11th) 10 young cats and kittens from the AL
colony were socialized and either adopted to new homes or are still
in foster care. The Colony Caregivers do not have a shelter and we
do not typically fund a fostering program. Socializing and fostering
is done and paid for primarily by foster volunteers (including myself
and my daughter Koral that have fostered all AL kittens with joy!).
Although there is little "hands on of adult feral cats" teaching chil-
dren (Koral for example) to spay and neuter all cats, domestic and
feral is crucial to Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return with care pro-
gram. The future success of this program depends on our ability to
teach children to value the life of the feral cat. This past year I have
been honored with the task of Outreach Coordinator. Along with
other volunteers I am able to start, coordinate and follow through
on projects such as food drives and other fundraising missions that
not only support TCC, but also educate the public on TNVR and cat
health in general.
One such project began in November. Boy Scouts in Manchester
(Shortsville) area will be constructing insulated shelters that will be
provided to the American Legion cats living outdoors. Any shelters
not used here will be supplied to other cat colonies in Ontario County.
We hope to continue this project every year. Although we have
other individual volunteers that build and donate shelters for TCC
our mission is to impact children. Projects organized with boy and
girl scouts will be two parts. The first being education on cats living
outdoors and our TNVR program. The second being some sort of
project that scouts can do to impact cats living in their own commu-
nity. Support of other organizations will be a large part of TCC's
continuance and success in the future.
Although shelters in this area are doing their best to place domestic
cats in new homes they are still overflowing. There is simply not
enough room or funding to house and care for homeless domestic
cats or feral cats. Trap, Neuter/Spay, Vaccinate and Return with care
is one of the most effective and humane ways to get a better balance
of cats living outdoors and the human population. While the dona-
tions of food, shelters and other items are wonderful and extremely
appreciated, this year for Christmas The Colony Caregivers asks
you to consider making a monetary donation to a program that
spays and neuters feral and stray cats! If you are unable to do so,
please consider donating your time for such organizations like ours.
Better yet, bring your children along and give them a gift that can-
not be purchased. Empathy and compassion for animals teaches
them empathy and compassion for people. Remember, groups like
ours are helping animals, but they are also teaching and helping
people along they way!
Sincerely, Carol Mensinger (Vice President)
The Colony Caregivers
PO Box 12, Shortsville, NY 14548
Phone: 585-289-6353
TRAP ! NEUTER / SPAY ! VACCINATE ! RETURN
Donation Request Form
2011 was a busy one for The Colony Caregivers. We have made enormous strides in our effor ts to help c ontrol the cat population.
In spite of the many fund raisers held last year, we are still in need of donations. Even though we have been able to participate in
a few big clinics, which enabled us to increase the number of cats sterilized, our list of caretakers who are requesting our help
continues to grow. Many of the colony caretakers, even though they are able to provide food and shelter for the cats they have
been “blessed” with, are not able to afford the cost of spaying or neutering. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
$45 pays for a spay/neuter, vaccinations, and worming for a stray or abandoned cat.
Enclosed please find my check for $_______________.
Name: ___________________________________________________ Phone: __________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________ Email:_________________________
Your support is
purr-riceless !!!
If you would like to be put on our mailing list or volunteer, please send an email to: [email protected]g
OR look for upcoming fund raisers, the date of our next regular monthly meeting and all of our fundraising activities in
The Genesee Valley Penny Saver under Ontario County.
NO amount is too small! Your generosity will take us one step closer to accomplishing our mission and
help the plight of homeless cats from getting worse. THANK YOU.
Please mail your donation to: The Colony Caregivers, P O Box 12, Shortsville, NY 14548
Cash Donations ! Cat Food ! Carriers ! Humane Traps ! Blankets & Towels ! Volunteers
Copies printed by Quick Print in Canandaigua 585-394-2600, [email protected]
FYI: From Feb. 2009, TCC has spayed/neutered 729 cats; fostered & found homes for approximately 80 kittens;
and cared for many who were sick and injured. The clinic costs for 2011 were $12,046 for spay/neuter 309 cats as of
Nov 17th. Foster parents pay for medical out of their own pockets. Caretakers, unless the public donates food,
pays for the food they feed their colonies. The main caretakers feed approximately 1,872 lbs of dry cat food per
year. One lady feeds 5,632 lbs per year! The core volunteers put in 30+ hours per week, and average over 7,000
miles per year, with no reimbursement for gas. The hours put in are an overwhelming self-gratification high. As
these figures reveal, we could not survive without your generous donations. Thank you, Maureen & Joan
