CATT Marion

The veterinary team at Sheltering Hands, Inc. performed 30 TNR surgeries for CATT Marion on Saturday. Once the cats had recovered, they were all given a nice supper. We tucked them in for the evening in the climate controlled holding room that is adjacent to the clinic. Our team affectionately calls this room "the Back Porch".

These 30 cats will be tended and cleaned in the morning and given breakfast. They will recieve multiple rounds of "room service" prior to their release on Sunday night to their respective colonies. These services are provided to the caretaker at no expense through the partnership of our alliance.

We are always looking for help with this important work and we would love for you to join us at Team CATT if you can volunteer to fill one of the many duties associated with TNR work.

Thank you to our partners:

Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

06/02/2024

What is TNR?
TNR is the practice of trap, neuter, return of community cats. The animals are sterilized, vaccinated and eartipped before being returned to their familiar territory. This practice is not only humane, it is also a more sensible approach to preventing a vacuum effect that could go on, indefinitely.

What is a vacuum effect?
When a colony of community cats is trapped and removed from their environment, it creates a vacuum. Outlying cats will filter in and take the place of the cats that were removed. When a colony is "stabilized" through TNR, it creates a biological "dead zone" while the resources, themselves, are not made available to a new wave of cats.

Our mission is to maintain an aggressive TNR effort in Marion county. The more volunteers we have, the more work we can accomplish!

Visit www.CATTmarion.org to register your colony of 10 or more cats. We want to thank all of the amazing volunteers that are making this effort possible! We are gaining momentum and growing and that is because of you all!

And a debt of gratitude to our CATT Marion partners:

Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

05/30/2024

CATT Marion is an alliance of local partners working in concert to tackle the overwhelming cat population problem in Marion county. Through the hard work and dedication of these partners, we have been able to trap, neuter and return well over 1000 cats.

We need help with this mission. There are many ways to help and we would love to have you!

Emails, phone calls, cat care, transportation and trapping. Wen probably have a position with your name on it:)

CATT Marion partners include:
Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

05/02/2024

Did you know that cats are better neighbors when they have been TNR'ed?

That's right! Cats like Tigger, here, stop fighting and spraying. Kittens aren't born and the cats start to live a healthier life.

Tigger is just one of countless tomcats that we gave seen come in for TNR services... he had obvious injuries from fighting and we were so happy to help change the direction of his life. He was seen at Sheltering Hands and received wound care, neuter, antibiotic injection, rabies and distemper vaccines, flea treatment and an ear tip. During his stay he also enjoyed limitless room service and he was later returned to his colony... a new man!

04/29/2024

CATT Marion has extended an OPEN INVITE to their monthly strategy meeting.

CATT Marion Meet
Thursday, May 2nd at 6pm
1609 SE 3rd Ave, Ocala FL 34471

We won't lie... we are hoping to recruit you. We are a TNR army of just a few and need new faces! Can you possibly fill one of the following roles:

*TRAPPER
*PRE AND POST-OP CARE
*TRANSPORT
*PHONE

CATT Marion seeks engaged community members and local animal welfare organizations to jump on board! We need like-minded people who want to make a positive (and humane) impact on the homeless cat population in our area.

WE NEED YOU!
CATT Marion is an alliance of the following partners:

*Humane Society of Marion County Florida
*Marion County Animal Services
*Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
*Sheltering Hands, Inc.
*VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

04/29/2024

Open Invite!!
* CATT Marion * Trapper Meeting Thursday
May 2nd
6pm
1609 SE 3rd Ave, Ocala FL 34471

We want to openly invite anyone that has an interest: come learn about our effort in community cat TNR! Stop in and see what role you can fill and how you can help with the ownerless cats population in Marion County. You would be surprised to learn about everything that goes into this work (and how few of us are pulling it off, right now).

*TRAPPERS
*PRE AND POST OP CARE
*TRANSPORT
*PHONE

We need engaged community members and local animal welfare organizations!!

WE NEED YOU!

04/19/2024

🐾 Have you registered your cat colony? 🐾

If you haven't already, now's the perfect time to do so! Registering your cat colony helps us better understand and support the needs of our feline friends in the community.

📋 Register your colony today at https://www.marioncatt.com/ColonyReg.html 📋

By registering, you're not only helping us track and manage colonies effectively but also ensuring that these precious animals receive the care they deserve.

Together, we can make a difference for our furry companions! 🐱💙

03/29/2024

Join us, tomorrow, at Green Clover Hall in the McPherson government complex from 2 to 4 as we hold our monthly CATT Marion trapper meeting to include an educational presentation and informative Q and A with the trappers and CATT Marion partners. The scope of this meeting will be to discuss the upcoming surgery dates for April and to share the inner workings of our work. We are hoping to recruit some fresh help!

There is currently a skeleton crew of trappers, transport and caretakers that are working to keep this effort alive. What we need is more boots on the ground. This won't be a "trapping class". We are seeking trappers that already know the ropes of TNR. We will then begin the delegation of education in the field.

What we need at this time:
* people that are comfortable with caring for the cats before and after surgery.
* people with a enclosed climate controlled vehicle that can transport
* experienced trappers (you don't have to be an expert).
* anyone else who wants to help is welcomed and encouraged to show up!

We are building the TNR army and we need YOU.

03/23/2024

03/01/2024

*****PLEASE SHARE*****
If you or someone you know is willing to trap cats for spay/neuter surgery, please get in touch with C.A.T.T. Marion ASAP! Please send a message on FB or email at [email protected].

02/22/2024

So thankful that we can all work together for the greater good!

02/01/2024

What a way to end the month with VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala completing 40 spay/neuter surgeries.

Today this crew went home.

CATT Marion partners include:

Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

01/30/2024

Spay/neutering is about more than controlling the pet population. During Saturday’s surgery day, polyps were removed, eyes were repaired or removed due to extremely painful conditions and wounds were stitched and long lasting anitbiotics were given.
It is about the cat’s entire wellbeing.

Humane Society of Marion County covered the spay/neuter cost for 40 cats. Sheltering Hands covered the spay/neuter cost for the remainder.

Check out some of the pictures. More graphic pictures of the polyp removal are in the comments. Don’t know how the little one could eat.

CATT Marion Partners:
Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

01/26/2024

We want to take a moment to appreciate trappers Sharon and Johnna for their swift effort trapping 21 cats, yesterday, in Ocklawaha, FL.

This was Johnna's 1st time trapping and we are really impressed at how well these ladies did! Sharon is a great teacher and the two if them knocked out an entire colony in about 45 minutes!

This is the kind of work we love to see! We were given 80 surgery spots for this Saturday with our partners at Sheltering Hands ... and we dont plan to waste a single slot!!

CATT Marion partners include:
Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

01/17/2024

Do you want to know more about the CATT Marion alliance? Curious about TNR and how you can help put a humane end to overpopulation of ownerless cats in our community?!

Come out and see us at our vendor booth this Saturday from 12 to 4:30 at 5th Annual Olaf's Chili Challenge presented by Sheltering Hands!!

There will be adoptions, chili, salsa, bounce house, fire department, so many wondeful vendors and area animal rescues!!

CATT Marion will be there representing and we can't wait to see everyone's smiling faces!! Carla (our trapping queen) will have a raffle basket and lots of information available about the service we provide to the community.

CATT Marion is an alliance aimed at reducing the cat population through TNR.

CATT Marion Partners are:
Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

01/10/2024

What a rainy, windy day but that did not stop cats from getting much needed spay/neuter surgery at Marion County Animal Services. They did 33 cats today and 7 cats were done at Sheltering Hands yesterday. 2024 is off to a great start! Thanks to fellow rescue partner Quality of Life Rehab & Foster who happened to be at Marion County Animal Services for helping us in the pouring rain load cats for transport.

January’s Goal is 160. Surgery scheduled with Humane Society of Marion County, VOCAL and Sheltering Hands.

Trappers needed!!! Message us for the February trapping assistance.

12/31/2023

As we roll into the new year, we want to share (with everyone) the momentum that CATT Marion has gained over the past year! CATT has been responsible for 957 cats being TNR'ed.

What does that mean?

That means 956 ownerless cats have been humanely captured, fully vaccinated, sterilized, eartipped, dewormed and flea prevention... then returned to keep thier colony stabilized.

And what does that do? It prevent future births of unwanted kittens. It prevents immeasurable amounts of suffering. It controls the population.

This is AMAZING and has all been made possible by our partner organizations and their diligent volunteers.

CATT Marion was honored with a Certificate of Recognition by the Marion County Board of Commissioners, this month. Representatives from each partner were in attendance to accept individual Certificates of Appreciation and promote the important work of CATT Marion!

None of this would be possible without the complete devotion to the work by our partners.
Thank you to each of them:

❤️ Society of Marion County
❤️ County Animal Services
❤️ of Life Rehab & Foster
❤️ Hands
❤️ - Voices of Change Animal League

We had the chance to honor Cat Alliance from Tips to Tails (CATT Mation) at a board meeting during the month of December. CATT Marion is a local resource comprised of rescue groups, low-cost spay.neuter clinics, trappers, transporters, fosters and volunteers that participate in the Trap-Neuter-Return program and work united to save more lives and improve the overall welfare of cats in our community. Participants include: Humane Society of Marion County Florida, Marion County Animal Services, Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc. Sheltering Hands, Inc. and VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

Many thanks to everyone for all that you do for our community!

12/18/2023

Come trap for us and you can work with handsome guys, like Brad, here.

Our trappers are out tonight, rounding out the head count for the 40 TNR surgeries at Marion County tomorrow. 24 cats have already been trapped and are safely tucked away at Sheltering Hands, where they are enjoying the room service while they wait.

As "guests" of CATT Marion... Brad and his colony mates will be fixed, fully vaccinated, flea treatment and an eartip tomorrow. Once they are done, they will be transported back to Sheltering Hands for a 24 hour recovery period, prior to their return to thier respective colony locations Wednesday evening.

This life changing work is made possible by the CATT Marion partners:

❤️ Humane Society of Marion County Florida
❤️ Marion County Animal Services
❤️ Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
❤️ Sheltering Hands, Inc.
❤️ VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

12/14/2023

We can all help cats stay warm during the winter!

Local rescues unite to control cat population in Marion County

12/06/2023

The partners of CATT Marion were honored by our county commissioners, yesterday, for the work we have done over the last year! Teamwork and collaboration has been the secret to the success of CATT Marion's efforts. As the article says, we have been responsible for over 900 cats being trapped, fixed and returned to their colonies this past year! That has made quite an impact, and we are just getting started!

Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

Local rescues unite to control cat population in Marion County Local animal rescue groups and low-cost spay-neuter clinics have come together in an effort to reduce the cat populations in Marion County.

10/27/2023

Review of CATTMarion services from the cat’s perspective.

“Food was great and plentiful. We were disappointed that room service ended at midnight. Rooms were a bit small but came with all basic amenities and bedding was soft. We were upset that we were forced out of our slumber to make it to our spa appointment and had to leave without breakfast.”
The cats

17 more cats spayed/neutered

Vocal for Pets - trapping
Humane Society of Marion County - transport and surgery
Sheltering Hands - transport and housing

10/25/2023

All loaded and ready to head back to Sheltering Hands for an evening meal and a good night’s sleep. Release day tomorrow.

Quality of Life Rehab and Foster along with Sheltering Hands trapping

Sheltering Hands transport and housing.

Marion County Animal Services - surgery.

37 cats trapped and brought in for surgery!

10/18/2023

We are a little late in posting for but we wanted to take a moment to share with you this pawsome video...

Here you see the release of 11 (of the 26 total) cats captured for TNR, last week, by our trappers. This colony still has a few adults and four litters of kittens that need sterilization. Our work, here, is not yet finished.

Surgeries for the cats in this clip was provided by the team at Humane Society of Marion County. Also donating surgery to this weekend's cats was Sheltering Hands. Teamwork is moving mountains for the community cats in our county!

CATT Marion is an alliance that has been formed between
Humane Society of Marion County Florida
Marion County Animal Services
Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
Sheltering Hands, Inc.
VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala

Our objective is to tackle the spay/neuter of the enormous ownerless cat population in Marion County, FL. It is estimated that apx 250,000 stray/feral cats call Marion County home.

Do you feed cats that you don't actually own? As a few cats somehow turned into a small army? We can help!

Stop the Cycle!
Register your colony of 10 or more with us at www.CATTmarion.org

10/17/2023

On 10/13/23, the Humane Society of Marion County Florida had 20 cats brought in for TNR from two different colonies. Thanks to Dr. Myrick, they completed 19 TNR surgeries (one was already ear-tipped). In this batch, several wounds were also medicated and addressed. Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc. did an amazing job trapping.

CATT Marion goal is to complete another 101 surgeries by the year's end and continue the momentum into 2024. Thank you all for your support🐱🐈‍⬛🐈

05/26/2023

3 - 28 - 48

3 CATT partner trappers spent a combined total of 28 hours in the field and caught 48 cats for health-bettering spay/neuter surgery. That was just ONE night trapping at ONE location.

No matter the weather, in the cold, in the rain, or in the middle of the night, CATT partners strive to make a difference.

The benefit for these cats and the community at large is tremendous! They will live healthier lives because of the surgery, and the overpopulation of cats in the community will be slowed.

The work does not stop there. Trapping is needed at many more locations and there are countless cats in need of surgery. CATT organizations are working hard but need YOUR help.

Donate today and help us positively impact the lives of these cats. Every dollar matters. Every bit helps.

A donation to any member organization directly benefits the process. Links for each member organization are below.

Humane Society of Marion County Florida
www.theHSMC.org

Marion County Animal Services
https://animalservices.marionfl.org/home-animalservices

Melissa Bell's Rescue, Inc.
www.melissabellsrescue.org

Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
www.qualityofliferehab.com

Sheltering Hands, Inc.
www.shelteringhands.org

VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala
www.vocalforpets.org

05/25/2023

Round 2 of last night's Silver Springs, FL colony release.
A total of 31 cats were trapped out of this colony in two shifts on Monday. About 25 total man hours and worth every minute of swear equity. This single day's effort has prevented the birth of COUNTLESS hundreds of kittens.

CATT Marion coalition members include:
*Marion County Animal Services
*Sheltering Hands, Inc.
*VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala
*Humane Society of Marion County Florida
*Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
*Melissa Bell's Rescue, Inc.

05/25/2023

A community in Silver Springs, FL can now boast that they have 31 less breeding cats. We have some work left to do, here, but this was a major step in the right direction. We had so many to release... we had to do it in two phases! ❤️
The caretakers at this park are very connected to thier community cats. They had names for all of them and the cats exited the traps so casually, it was hard to believe they needed to be trapped to begin with!

Do you know of a colony of cats that are having kittens? We want to know about it!! CATT Marion is a dedicated coalition of local animal welfare organizations that are committed to making an impact on the ownerless cats in our area.

Get your large colony registered today by calling (352)840-0663 and pressing option 2.

All cats that are trapped through CATT Marion recieve the following services at no cost:
Spay/neuter
Rabies vaccine
FVRCP vaccine
Revolution treatment
Left Ear Tip
(and any other obvious medical issues are tended to at that time)

This is a win-win for cats and humans, alike. Let's all be a part of the solution.

Thank you to our coalition members... without you this would not be possible:

* Marion County Animal Services
* Sheltering Hands, Inc.
* VOCAL - Voices of Change Animal League, Ocala
* Humane Society of Marion County Florida
* Quality of Life Rehab & Foster, Inc.
* Melissa Bell's Rescue, Inc.