Archive for the ‘Spay and Neuter’ Category

Back in March 2011, I found Lili as a very frightened stray who had just had puppies. The thing is, she had hidden her puppies so well, that we couldn’t find them. Close to a week after finding Lili, we finally managed to find her puppies….hidden INSIDE a tree! Read the full story here:

Lili and Her Puppies

Below is an update on how each dog is doing in their new homes!

Lili

Lili is doing great in her new home! She was adopted by Jimmy and Rachel right here in Lawrenceville. Jimmy saw Lili while she was at adoption day at Red Bandanna in Suwanee. He took a picture of her and a Georgia Humane adoption application and went to show his wife, Rachel, the dog he wanted to bring home. She agreed and they haven’t looked back! Rachel says that Lili is now a “spoiled suburban dog.” She has a Jack Russell brother and a Chow sister and is loving life! She still has some of her street dog traits, but she is getting more and more used to the spoiled life and is very playful and loving. Below are a couple of pictures that Rachel and Jimmy provided me with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bernie

Out of all four of the puppies, Bernie stayed with us as a foster dog the longest. He is so sweet and loving, I wanted to keep him. The problem was, our dog Josie attacked him pretty badly once and I’m just not willing to take that chance. So, for months, we lived in a “divided home.” We had it down to a T and it wasn’t a big deal, we just took the dogs out in cycles instead of letting everyone out at once. We were taking Memphis, our Catahoula Leopard Dog (until we decided to adopt him), and Bernie (and Lili until she got adopted) up to adoption day at Red Bandanna in Suwanee and we had a lot of people oohing and ahhing over the dogs, but no one had filled out an application.

One day, I made a joke to my sister, Laura, after her foster dog Skipper got adopted, that she could take Bernie. Our nieces, Maddie and Grace already knew and loved Bernie from spending time with him here at our house with Denny and me. Laura, who never fails to surprise me with her easy going attitude, said “Okay, cool!” A week or so later, I took Bernie to Laura’s house. He started as a foster dog, but Laura, her husband Chad and the girls were pretty sure that he was a perfect fit as a permanent furry family member. They adopted Bernie officially and have not regretted it for a minute. He is just as sweet and wonderful as I knew he would was! Pictures of Bernie below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maizie Mae

I was doing my best from the get-go to make sure these puppies and mama were getting as much attention as possible. I posted them on Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else I could think of, and of course, we had the awesome Georgia Humane Society backing us as a foster home, providing the dogs with vet care, blankets, etc. and Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen helping us with food when needed. A fellow pet sitter Facebook friend of mine knew that a good friend of hers had recently lost their beloved dog and that they were considering adopting a new dog. She shared Lili’s and her puppies’ story and Diane, her husband Roc, and sweet daughter, Laura gave me a call and set up a time to meet the puppies when the pups were only 5 weeks old or so. They came over and immediately took to Maizie, filled out an application and waited patiently until she was old enough to get all of her shots, get spayed, heal and come home with them! She is doing really great in her home, and is extremely spoiled and happy and loved on. She is scared of her own shadow, which seems to be a trend with these puppies, but loves to play with her human “sister.”  Below are a couple of pictures that Diane provided me with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonka and Willow

Carolyn‘s name has been mentioned several times in my blog articles because she is as crazy as I am when it comes to animal rescue. No, crazier. She was there for me when I was driving over to where Lili was a stray and feeding her until we found her puppies; we couldn’t take Lili out of there knowing that puppies were there somewhere. Carolyn went to feed Lili and look for the puppies when I was out doing my Spring Break pet sitting visits. She also came and helped with them when we found the puppies and brought them to our house. Her daughter, Elora, knew that one of these puppies was going to be hers, but I’m not sure Carolyn knew that from the beginning. Well, after knowing and loving them all, they decided to adopt Willow (the black female pup) and foster Tonka (the brown with black muzzle pup). I don’t think it took that long before I got a text from Carolyn saying that they decided to adopt Tonka as well. Both dogs have been through obedience training and are as spoiled as can be. Tonka, like Maizie Mae, is afraid of his own shadow, but Carolyn is a pro when it comes to socializing dogs and is doing a fantastic job!  Below are pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.” – George Graham Vest

Meet Lili and her four puppies! We found her as a stray and it took almost a week to locate her puppies. Now she is safe and warm at our house in foster care with Georgia Humane Society. If you want to read the full story about Lili and her pups, click here: Lili and Her Pups.

Here is a video of Lili so you can see how playful and sweet she is, and also of her adorable puppies!

 

 

 

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  ~Dalai Lama

Those of you who know me, know that I am a professional pet sitter here in Gwinnett County, specifically Lawrenceville and that I am a stray dog magnet. When you find a stray dog, proceed with caution. You never know if a dog may have rabies, aggression, or could be hurt. Legally, you should call Animal Control when you find a stray dog. Being a volunteer with an animal rescue organization, when I find a stray, I do have to take the dog to animal control to report them as found, but I let them know that I will foster the found stray and they will snap a picture and get the dog in the system.

That being said, last Saturday, 3/19/11, I was walking my client’s dog Maggie and noticed a very sad looking dog who had obviously had puppies sitting on the front porch of a house. She was looking as if she was waiting for someone. There was a little girl outside and I asked her if she knew who’s dog she was, but she wasn’t sure.

I walked Maggie back to her house and gave her some love, playtime, treats, dinner and fresh water and then went back to the house where I saw mama dog. I keep dog food in my trunk, so I pulled some out and started walking toward her. Poor girl was pretty freaked out, so I approached very slowly, walking with my side to her, being silent so she could use her nose instead of her ears, and just being very conscious of my body language. I put the food down for her and I got her some water as well and decided to peek around the side of the house to see if I could hear or see puppies. Bad idea on my part, I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly…she came in an arc at me and never came close enough to bite me, but let me know that she didn’t want me over there. I bowed my eyes and moved away respectfully. I knew I had to find the puppies, but I also knew that I would be gaining her trust first.

I called my friends Penny Cogdill from Huffs Flowers and Carolyn Stewart from CS Baskets the next day, both huge animal lovers and rescuers that I knew would help this mom and babies. I also called Tom Wargo from Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen and Michelle Humphries from Georgia Humane Society and they immediately sprang into action in helping to spread the word about the situation. Tom filled my trunk with puppy food for mom to eat, and boy did she. We were feeding her 4 cans in the morning and a few cups of dry food, and 2-3 cans in the evening. She wouldn’t let me pet her the first night, but she would take a treat.

 

In the meantime, we are worrying about the puppies. None of the neighbors have seen the puppies, or even heard the puppies. They said she had shown up around a month and half before. I was pretty shocked that no one had reached out to this dog. She’s only 25 pounds and adorable. That’s for another blog post, I guess.

After a few days of going over and feeding mama dog, she had really warmed up to me. Really. She was in my lap before I knew it, kissing me, and her entire body would wiggle when she saw my car pull up. I HAD to get her out of there. It’s not the best of neighborhoods; one man told us that the reason the Lawrenceville Police kept driving by was because there had been so much crime there lately.

On Friday morning, 03/25/11, I pulled up and Lili was very happy to see me. I grabbed her canned food and started to feed her, but she wouldn’t eat. That’s a first, because she had been chowing down for the past almost week. I started my usual hunt for puppies, as she followed me around with a “What are we looking for” look on her happy little face and and I noticed a hole in the fence to the house’s backyard, so I went across the creek and under the hole and started looking around. No puppies, yet again. I saw that she was pooping, and gross enough I knew I should look to see if she had worms or what not. There was blood in her poop, and I was worried, so I decided to take her to my vet, Woods Animal Hospital.

Well, this would be a new venture, seeing if I could get her in the car. Or, better yet, get her to want to be in the car. I had to go to my midday pet sitting and dog walking visits before I went to the vet. I also stopped off at home for some extra delicious treats to try to lure Lili into the car.

I got back to her around 3pm and started to give her the chicken outside the car. Then I sat inside the car and gave her chicken. Then, I put the chicken on the floor of the car. Then the seat and she was in. I sat in the backseat with her for a few minutes to make sure she was ok with this, all the while giving her little pieces of chicken. I climbed into the front seat, and off we went to Norcross to the vet.

 

At the vet’s office, they looked her over, gave her the vaccines that she could get as a nursing mother and checked her out to see if they could tell if she had been nursing. The doctor told me that yes, she had definitely been nursing. I called Denny and let him know that there are definitely puppies to be found, and we were determined to find them. We decided that we would do a stake out all night if we had to.

I swung by our house on my way back from the vet, picked Denny up and we went back to the empty house that Lili was hanging around. Mind you, Penny Cogdill, Carolyn Stewart, Denny and I had looked for many hours and days for these pups, to no avail.

When we got back to the empty house, I went ahead and fed Lili since she apparently wasn’t going to leave our sides. I went to my car to put the garbage in a bag in my trunk and got a tennis ball out. I tossed the tennis ball to Lili to see what she would do and she ran happily over to it, grabbed it in her mouth, and ran over to a big tree that was between her house and a neighbor’s….and disappeared. Denny followed her and found a hole in the base of the tree and called out to me, “We have puppies!”

I couldn’t believe it. I walked over and there was Lili in a tree. You could barely even see her; the tree was hollow on the inside and they were way down inside it, nursing. I called Penny, who promptly brought a crate over. I put Lili on a leash and led her to the other side of the house, so not to upset her with Penny and Denny around her babies. Denny is a tall guy (6’5) and had to lie on his back and put his arm all the way in the hole to get the four puppies out.

 

We put the puppies in Penny’s crate and brought them back with Lili to our house.

 

The puppies and Lili are now Georgia Humane Society foster dogs. They and their sweet mama will be available for adoption in about 4 weeks. If you are interested in applying to adopt or foster, please go to www.georgiahumane.com and fill out either an adoption application or foster application.

 

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.  ~Ben Williams

 

 

 

 

 

Alley Cat Allies – Feral cat colony help and info

Athens Regional Spay and Neuter Center- 1781 Mars Hill Rd. Watkinsville, GA- 706-353-2287

Atlanta Humane Society- 981 Howell Mill Rd. Atlanta, GA 30318- 770-830-2763

Casper’s Fund- 678-318-1886 or info@caspersfund.org

Cat Care Hospital- 1106 Powder Springs Rd. Marietta, GA 30064- 770-424-6369

Cherokee County Humane Society- 770-972-5067, Ext. 2 or jorgancchs@hotmail.com

Conyers/Rockdale Humane Society- 770-922-4618

Crosshair Veterinary Services- 210 W. Main St., Lexington, GA- 706-743-7614

Dekalb County Humane Society/PAWS Atlanta- 5287 Covington Hwy. Decatur, GA 30035- 770-593-1155

Friends of Animals (Certificate Program)- 770-662-6033 or 1-800-321-7387

Fulton Animal Services- 860 Marietta Blvd. NW Atlanta, 30318- 404-613-0358

Georgia Animal Project-770-704-7297

Georgia Department of Agriculture Spay and Neuter License Plate Program- 404-656-3667

Georgia SPCA- 1175 Buford Highway, Suwanee, GA 30024- 678-765-2726

Gwinnett Humane Society- 770-798-7711

H.E.L.P. Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic- 12 The Crescent Dr. Newnan, GA 30263- 770-304-7911

Heart of Suwanee Animal Hospital- 750 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Suwanee, GA 30024- 770-271-8222

Helping Prevent Homeless Pets, Inc.- Douglas County

Henry County Animal Care and Control Department- 527 Hampton St. McDonough, GA 30253- 770-288-7387

Humane Society of Northeast Georgia  Low Income Spay/Neuter Clinic- 845 West Ridge Rd. Gainesville, GA 30501- 770-532-6617

Humane Society of Northeast Georgia- 845 West Ridge Rd. Gainesville, GA 30501- 770-532-6617

Leftover Pets, Inc.- Elbert, Jackson, Stephens, and Whitfield Counties, GA- 1-800-978-5226 or 706-654-3271

Lifeline Animal Project- 129 Lake St. Avondale Estates, GA 30002- 404-292-8800

Low Cost Spay and Neuter for West Georgia- Serves Douglas County, Carroll County, and the cities of Newnan and Peachtree, GA- 770-942-4984

Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter- 1888 Colbert Danielsville Rd. Danielsville, GA 30633- 706-795-2868

North Fulton Humane Society Low Cost Clinic- Alpharetta, GA- 770-772-7472

Paradox Farm Spay and Neuter- 5791 Old Highway 138 SW, Oxford, GA 30054- 770-972-5067

Paulding County Animal Control (Financial Assistance)- 779 Industrial Blvd. Dallas, GA 30132- 770-445-1511

Paulding County Humane Society- 770-443-3565

Peach Pets Animal Hospital- 6955 McGinnis Ferry Rd. Suite 104, Johns Creek, GA 30097- 770-814-9000

Pet Assistance and Welfare Society (PAWS) of Athens- 706-310-0663 or operations@pawsofathens.com

Pet Wellness Clinic Value Care @ Apalachee Ridge Animal Hospital- 1250 Auburn Rd. Dacula, GA 30019- 770-962—9660

Planned PEThood of Georgia- 2860 Buford Highway, Bldg. F, Suite 2, Duluth, GA 30096- 678-561-FIX1 (3491)

Pit Bull Rescue Central- Click link, fill out application

Project Spay Neuter @ Pet Vet, Inc.- 4630 Martin Rd. Cumming, GA 30041- 770-887-1565

Save Our Strays- 404-729-2671

Society of Humane Friends- Lawrenceville, GA- 770-962-4301

Spay and Neuter Team of Atlanta (S.A.N.T.A.)-470 Franklin Rd. Suite 105 Marietta, GA 30067- 678-581-4055

Spay Elijay- 706-698-HOME

Spay Georgia- (Certificate Program)- 770-662-4479 and follow directions on message

SPOT (Stopping Pet Overpopulation Together) (Financial Assistance)- 404-584-7768

The Sterile Feral(feral cats only)- PMB210 3 Central Plaza, Rome, GA 30161- 706-232-2418

WellPet Humane- 5342 Peachtree Rd. Chamblee, GA 30341- 770-455-1011

West Georgia Spay/Neuter Clinic- 525 E. Montgomery St. Suite B, Villa Rica, GA 30180- 678-840-8072

Woods Animal Hospital- 11 Thrasher St. Norcross, GA 30071- 770-448-6735

Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. – and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. As a result, every year 4 to 6 million animals are euthanized because there are no homes for them.

The story below was found on AJC.com and it really wrings my heart. Each and every one of our seven pets that we enjoy our lives with have their own stories of being homeless and not altered. Now they are living in the lap of luxury, being showered with affection and attention, are spayed and neutered, and only leave the house on a leash. It’s hard to imagine that they could have become one of the statistics, and be euthanized just because some person let his unaltered dog run free. It’s puppy season right now and any unaltered dog has a large chance of running off if they catch a whiff of the opposite sex. If you don’t have your dog spayed or neutered, please ask yourself why and then why not. There are MANY low cost spay and neuter clinics around Georgia. Here is a list of about 30 of them: Low Cost Spay/Neuter, Vaccinations and Veterinarians in Georgia

Here’s the AJC story:

Counties killing dogs, cats by the thousands

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Troubled times are dooming more dogs and cats in metro Atlanta, and the same poor economy that puts animals in the pound ensures that many won’t get out.

Counties are cutting budgets at a time when animal shelters are putting down a growing number of animals. In the past two years, the number of cats and dogs destroyed at animal shelters in the five core metro counties has risen 24 percent. Last year, the counties killed almost 30,000 cats and dogs in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett.

Gwinnett County led 2009 with 7,588 cats and dogs put down, almost half of them because the shelter could not house them.

“We are trying to help citizens who are having financial trouble and can’t feed their animals by giving them food donated to the shelter by local merchants,” said Gwinnett police Lt. Mary Lou Respess, who is director of the county’s animal shelter. “The shelter also helps sponsor events at local pet supply stores to promote adoptions and is planning a free spay and neuter clinic this spring for pit and pit mixes, the most common breed at the shelter.”

All the adoption promotions in the world will never solve the problem, said Virginia Keller, president of the Spay Neuter Action Coalition of Georgia.

“These people just don’t get it,” she said. “There will never be enough homes for all the animals that are produced at today’s rate. Never. The answer to this problem is strictly spay and neuter.”

Keller said she has seen people repeatedly drop off puppies or kittens at the shelter with no thought that they could end the cycle with a simple operation on their dogs. Others, she said, get a $1,000 pure-bred puppy and think they’re going to get their money back by breeding it. But instead, it wanders down the street and produces some mixed-breed pups that the owner has to try to give away, she said.

“They think animal control is an adoption center,” Keller said. “No way. I don’t know how you get this idea across to people, unless they want to come and watch it happen.”

Another tack many animal rights groups take is offering to volunteer at shelters. Several groups in Gwinnett have said they would drum up volunteers, but Respess has said there are liability issues to consider when working inside the kennels.

There are some things volunteers can do. Gwinnett’s shelter has begun a program to get volunteers to walk the dogs. Gail La Berge, who heads the county animal advisory council, said the staff has found the dog-walking program improves the animals’ disposition and makes them more adoptable. She also said volunteers can sign up online and commit to times of their choice.

The Gwinnett shelter has also explored expanding hours into evenings to allow working families more time to visit and shop for a pet. Statistics show a noticeable increase in adoptions when the shelter remains open late, La Berge said, but budget cuts won’t allow for overtime, so the shelter is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

The lean budget prompted the advisory council in mid-March to recommend increasing fees. The council, which recommends policy changes to the county commission, voted to double the charge for daily boarding to $10 and for quarantine to $200. But members balked at a suggestion to more than double the owner surrender fee from $20 to $50, fearing owners would abandon their animals on the streets. The fee was increased to $25.

Respess said the shelter offers reduced rates of $60 for spaying and neutering for animals that are being reclaimed, in lieu of the reclaim fee and subsequent boarding fees. The service includes rabies, DHLPP shots and microchip.

Other animal assistance groups operate on fewer dollars but with as much devotion.

“I think the increase is due to people losing their jobs,” said Samantha Shelton, founder and president of Furkids, the largest no-kill shelter in Georgia. “Yet there are so many resources out there that are available to people.”

Furkids operates a 5,000 square-foot facility for cats near Doraville. It also runs seven full-time adoption centers and has 20 active foster homes for dogs and kittens.

Over the past two years, the organization has seen donations plummet, yet it still offers free food and medical care to help owners keep their pets during tough times.

“I wish we could keep more of these pets in their homes, rather than people turning them over to animal control,” Shelton said.

Euthanasia counts at metro county shelters

	2007	2008	2009
Clayton
Cats	1,867	2,095	2,258
Dogs	3,095	3,715	4,099
Cobb
Cats	3,394	4,058	4,000
Dogs	3,095	3,715	4,099
DeKalb
Cats	1,077	1,895	1,843
Dogs	2,751	3,390	3,619
Fulton
Cats	464	400	565
Dogs	2,664	2,573	1,958
Gwinnett
Cats Dogs	3,169 2,763	4,025 2,966	4,588 3,020
Totals	23,874	28,091	29,612

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.                – Charles Kuralt

From SPOT Society:

The reasons for spaying are compelling and well-known:

• Overpopulation and the resulting mass euthanasia and neglect. There can never be enough good homes for all the puppies and kittens born, including purebreds.
• It avoids heat cycles, unwelcome visitors fighting on the lawn, accidental pregnancies, unwanted puppies and kittens, inconvenience and expense.
• Better-behaved pets – Spayed pets are less likely to spray or mark or roam. They are less aggressive toward humans and other animals. 85% of dog bites involve intact pets.
• Healthier pets
  • Females spayed before their first heat cycle have 96.4% less risk of breast cancer. Spaying after the first heat but before a litter still reduces the risk by 84%. Breast cancer is four times more common in dogs than in humans.
  • Spayed females have no risk of uterine infection, or uterine, ovarian, or cervical cancer.
  • Dogs and cats have their own sexually-transmitted diseases, many fatal, and some potentially contagious to humans. Spayed and neutered pets are rarely exposed to these diseases.
  • There are many complications associated with pregnancy, having babies, and raising a litter – infections, emergency c-sections (very expensive), seizures due to calcium deficiency, etc. The risk of pregnancy and rearing a litter is far greater than the risk of anesthesia and spaying.

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The reasons for neutering are compelling and well-known:

• Overpopulation and the resulting mass euthanasia and neglect. There can never be enough good homes for all the puppies and kittens born, including purebreds.
• It avoids fighting over females, trying to escape looking for females, and the resulting inconvenience and expense that results. Males can smell a female up to 3 miles away, and will often get in trouble out looking for girls. Most of the animals hit-by-cars and lost are intact males. Smaller dogs are often killed by larger ones.
• Neutered pets are less likely to spray or mark or roam. They are less aggressive toward humans and other animals. Eighty-five percent of dog bites involve intact pets. And who can stand the aroma of Tom Cat urine?
• Dogs and cats have their own sexually transmitted diseases, many fatal, and some potentially contagious to humans. Feline Leukemia, for example, is the leading disease killer of cats in our area, and is spread through fighting and sexual contact. Spayed and neutered pets are rarely exposed to these diseases.
• Neutered males have no risk of testicular cancer. Prostate cancers, and other prostate problems, are very common in older un-neutered males.

LOW COST SPAY/NEUTER, VETERINARIANS and VACCINATIONS:

• Gwinnett Humane Society- www.gwinnetthumane.com 770-798-7711
• Georgia SPCA- www.georgiaspca.org 678-765-2726- address: 1175 Buford Hwy. Suwanee
• WellPet Humane * low cost veterinarian*- www.wellpethumane.com, 770-455-1101-address: 5342 Peachtree Rd. Chamblee, 30341
• Humane Society of Northeast GA- http://www.humanesocietyofnortheastgeorgia.org 770-532-6617- address: 845 West Ridge Rd. Gainesville, 30501
• Spay Georgia- www.spaygeorgia.org -770-662-4479
• Lifeline Animal Project- www.atlantapets.org 404-292-8800- address: 129 Lake St. Avondale Estates, 30002
• Spay and Neuter Team of Atlanta- www.spay-neuterteam.com 678-581-4055-address: 470 Franklin Rd. Suite 105, Marietta 30067
• Atlanta Humane Society-*low cost veterinarian* www.atlantahumane.org 770-830-2763- address-981 Howell Mill Rd. Atlanta, 30318
• Dekalb County Humane- www.dekalbhumane.org 770-593-1155-address: 5287 Covington Hwy. Decatur, 30035
• Woods Animal Hospital * low cost veterinarian*- (770) 448-6735- address: 11 Thrasher Street, Norcross
• West Georgia Spay/Neuter Clinic- www.westgeorgiaspayneuter.com – 678-840-8072- address: 525 E. Montgomery St. Suite B, Villa Rica, 30180
• Athens Regional Spay and Neuter Clinic- www.athenshumanesociety.org – 706-353-CATS- address: 1781 Mars Hill Road, Watkinsville
• Crossroads Veterinary Services- *low cost veterinarian* www.crossroadsveterinaryservices.com – (706) 224-3200 or (706) 743-7614- address: 210 West Main St., Lexington, 30648
• Friends of Animals- http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/spay-neuter/index.html – 1-800-321-PETS
• The Georgia Animal Project- www.theanimalproject.org – 770-704-PAWS- address: P.O. Box 689, Holly Springs, GA 30142-0689
• Humane Society of Cobb County- www.humanecobb.org – 770-428-5678
• Leftover Pets, Inc.- www.leftoverpets.org – 800-978-5226
• · Pit Bull Rescue Central- www.pbrc.net
• Project Catsnip- www.projectcatsnip.org – 770-455-7077
• Spay Elijay- www.homeward.petfinder.com – (706) 698-HOME
• Save Our Strays, Inc.- http://www.saveourstraysatlanta.com- 770-972-5067
• Cherokee County Humane Society- www.cchumanesociety.org – 770-928-5115
• Pet Assistance and Welfare Society of Athens (PAWS)- Email: operations@pawsofathens.com – 706-310-0663
• Cat Care Hospital (Marietta) - 770-424-6369
• Casper’s Fund- www.caspersfund.org – 678-318-1886
• Forsyth County Project Spay Neuter- www.projectspayneuter.com – 770-887-1565
• Helping Prevent Homeless Pets, Inc.- 770-887-1565
• SNAP (Spay Neuter Assistance Program)- http://www.fultonanimalservices.com- 404-794-0358
• Peach Pets Animal Hospital *low cost veterinarian*- www.peachpets.com – (770)814-9000- address: 6955 McGinnis Ferry Rd, Suite 104, Johns Creek , GA 30097
• Society of Humane Friends of Lawrenceville- www.societyofhumanefriends.com – 770-962-4301
• Humane Society of Hall County Low Income Spay and Neuter Clinic- 770-532-6617, E-mail: hshc1@bellsouth.net
• Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter, Inc.- www.moas.org – 706-795-2868, address: 1888 Colbert-Danielsville Rd.  Danielsville, GA 30633
• Humane Society of Morgan County- www.humanesocietyofmorgancounty.org – 706-343-9977
• Paradox Farm Spay and Neuter (Conyers/Oxford)- 770-972-5067
• Paulding County Animal Control- 770-445-1511- E-mail: animalcontrol@paulding.gov
• Paulding County Humane Society- www.pauldinghumanesociety.org – 770-443-3565
• Conyers/Rockdale Humane Society- 770-922-4618

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  ~Dalai Lama

Feral cats are descended from domestic cats but are born and live without human contact. The difference between a stray cat and a feral cat is that strays are homeless descendants of domestic cats, but unlike feral cats, have had prior contact with humans, therefore exhibit temperament similar to that of a domesticated cat.

The average lifespan of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is about 2 years for individual cats and about 5 years for those who live in a managed colony. Indoor domesticated cats live on average from 12 to 18 years, but it isn’t unheard of for them to live to their early 20′s.

There are programs called “Trap-Neuter-Release” or “TNR” that can help reduce the feral cat population. They help improve the health and quality of life for the feral cats by vaccinating and sterilizing them. This helps prevent the spread of disease and also prevents more litters being born into this harsh way of living.

Listed below are some TNR programs, rescue groups and other resources that can help you learn more about ferals and what you can do to help.

Altered Feral State: Walton, Newton & Rockdale Counties

Athens Area Humane Society: Athens

Atlanta Cat Rescue: Atlanta

CampusCats: University of West Georgia, Carrollton

Carroll County Humane Society: Villa Rica

Cat Zip Alliance: Athens

CatLanta: Atlanta

Cat Nappers: Albany

Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen: Lawrenceville

For Paws Sake: Conyers

Furkids: Atlanta

Georgia Humane Society: Sharpsburg

Humane Society of Forsyth County: Cumming

Island Feral Cat Project: Savannah

Lifeline Animal Project: Avondale Estates

Project Catsnip: Atlanta

Spay Georgia

The Milton Project: Savannah

The Sterile Feral: Northwest Georgia

University of Georgia: Athens

Whiskers Project: Blairsville

This information was gathered from The Humane Society and Wikipedia

Prowling his own quiet backyard or asleep by the fire, he is still only a whisker away from the wilds. – Jean Burden