This past summer, the Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program (MSMP) team completed six Trap-Neuter-Tompkins (TNT) cat clinics that provided spay/neuter surgery and preventative veterinary care to feral cats located in a community in Newfield, New York. This project was conceived when a local community requested help from Tompkins Country SPCA (TSPCA) due to an overwhelming number of feral cats, and sick kittens, on their premises. The goal of the project was to help prevent further population growth through spay/neuter, to improve cat health through preventative medicine (e.g. vaccination, deworming & parasiticides), and to build trust with the community in order to allow for future trap-neuter-return (TNR) efforts. Due to a lot of hard work and collaboration between various groups (MSMP, TSPCA staff & volunteers, Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine faculty & students, and the local community), this project was a huge success!
Check out our stats below:
- 158 total cats/kittens – all provided preventative care
- 74 Spays; 73 Neuters
- 11 previously TNR’ed cats recaptured and provided preventive care
- 48 (4th) year veterinary students from 11 different clinical rotations in the Cornell University Hospital for Animals participated over the course of six clinics.
- Students completed 2-4 surgeries each during an individual clinic.
- Students also assisted with surgery induction, anesthesia & recovery.
- 7-10 volunteers per clinic
- Assisted with feral cat trapping, transportation and return
- Assisted with community engagement
- Assisted with surgery recovery
- Assisted with foster kitten care
This project was one of the most mentally/emotionally rewarding things I have done in my lifetime. Initially not realizing the extent of this overpopulation problem and then seeing it live at the park was a tad overwhelming. Knowing the lives of 150+ cats and the folks who care for them has been positively changed forever is priceless. I had the honor of fostering two trapped kittens who were sick and may well have died without attention. Watching them flourish in a safe home then finding their forever families through adoption brings a sense of joy and sheer happiness that is really hard to explain. I’d like to think this project was just the tip of the iceberg of what we all can do to help. Looking forward to doing this again ASAP.
~Bob Terry, TNT Volunteer
#ThanksToMaddie
*Stats provided by Dr. Erin Henry, Assistant Clinical Professor of Shelter Medicine
*Photography by Carol Jennings, Multimedia Producer
