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Saving  Feral and Abandoned Cats and Kittens

An Interview with Pat Rulo, a  Cat Rescuer 

According to statistics, two breeding cats can have two litters per year.  With roughly 2.8 surviving kittens per litter and a breeding life of 10 years, those cats can multiply to more than 80 million cats and kittens in ten years!  The ASPCA estimates that 10 million cats and dogs are killed each year in the US due to a lack of homes.  This is a deplorable situation, but it is not a hopeless one.  To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, "Our greatest inhumanity to animals is not hating them, but being indifferent to them."  To help end that indifference, we spoke with Pat Rulo, a woman who, with the help of two others, rescues feral cats and kittens in the Philadelphia area.  Their not-for-profit organization, For Cats' Sake, has trapped, neutered and maintains hundreds of stray cats and kittens (and the women shoulder most of the costs themselves.)    Unfortunately however, there are always more.  Says Rulo, "Education is the key to helping this situation.  Most people love animals and would like to help.  They just don't know how."  Rulo says that one of the first steps towards helping is to spay or neuter your own pet.    The next step is to get involved.   "Take the initiative to say, 'no it's not my cat, it's a stray, but I'll take care of it.'  It can cost you as little as $50 to save a life. I knew I wanted to help, but, initially, I didn't know how.  However, it's not that tough.  It might take a little bit of time, but you can do it."   One of the things Rulo provides is education and guidance for people who have the interest but not the know-how.  "People think that to eliminate the feral colonies would take care of the problem, it doesn't.  The cats keep coming back.  They keep breeding." Rulo gets donations of food, litter and money.  "I could never afford to maintain the colonies if I didn't."  But for the person who wants to help but has reservations due to monetary constraints, "Maintaining one or two cats doesn't have to be a big expense.  You can get a huge bag of cat food for $10 that will last for as much as a month."    According to Rulo helping stray cats is not a choice but an obligation.  "You should look at it as if you have no choice but to get involved.  Don't stick your head in the sand and ignore the problem.  That won't make it go away. Instead of wringing your hands, do something with them."  Here, some questions and answers to help you start saving lives.   

 Q:  What is the mission of For Cats' Sake? 

 PR:  We trap, spay and neuter feral and stray cats. We release them back into managed colonies.  We also put up for adoption the kittens and cats that can be viable pets.  Our aim is to keep the population of stray and feral cats down.

 Q:  What is the definition of a feral cat? 

 PR:  A feral cat is a cat that has been born outside and is never - without intervention - going to be someone's pet.  If you get them young enough, usually before four months - and that depends on the cat's disposition - you can usually turn them around from being feral to being someone's pet. 

 Q:  How do you trap a cat? 

 PR:  You can buy humane traps at a hardware store or pet shop.  We use "Have a Heart" traps.  Your local shelters will also rent them to you if you don't want to buy them.  Some rescue groups also lend their traps.  We usually recommend that people trap the cats themselves because we have a lot of colonies that we take care of on an ongoing basis, so, unfortunately, we don't have the time to help everyone.  We have helped people in the past, but it is easy enough to do yourself.  You place food at the back of the trap, past the mechanism that trips the door.  We tell people to lay newspaper down on the floor of the traps to make it more comfortable for the cat.  When the cat enters the trap and walks to the back to get the food, it trips the mechanism that closes the door.  We also recommend covering the trap with a large towel.  This also helps calm the cat down.  I've seen many feral cats lie down and go to sleep in the traps.  The cat should be brought to a vet as soon as possible for neutering and vaccinations.  

 Q:  When and why did you get involved in saving abandoned and stray cats?

 PR:  I've always loved cats. I've only been doing this for a little over two years.  I remember going past the woods and seeing a bunch of cats.  I would leave food for a man who was feeding them and then I ran into a woman who introduced me to trapping, spaying and neutering.  She's part of our group now.  I'll never forget the first cat I trapped.  She was a kitten, about three months old, very wild.  She was a beautiful cat.  I named her Sylvia.  I socialized her and she came around to be sweet and loving.  I then put her up for adoption.  I am still in touch with the wonderful woman who adopted her. 

 Q:  Tell me about the "trap, neuter, release program" or TNR.

 PR:  TNR is an international program that offers a fairly new approach to controlling the population of feral cats.  People used to think they could round them up and kill them all, but you would never get them all.  Trying to eliminate them never worked.  This program actually helps.  A lot of shelters say that having to euthanize animals is down because of TNR.  TNR helps to keep colonies under control.  Plus, the cats are healthier and live better lives than they would have without being neutered.  When you spay and neuter cats, they don't have to expend their energy in mating, fighting, bearing litter after litter, nursing, and having to compete  for a smaller and smaller food source.  Males are less likely to fight,  therefore Feline AIDS is less likely to be prevalent in the colonies.  The incidence of Feline Leukemia is also reduced.  It's important for people to know that there's something they can do to help.  If someone has a stray or feral cat in their yard, for example, there's a good chance there are other strays and ferals around.  Many people love cats and will feed it and provide some shelter.  But if they don't neuter the cat, it will breed and create more cats that need food and shelter.  Others might ignore the cat and hope that it goes away.  Of course, while the first scenario is better than the second, neither is ideal.  To help cut down on the feral population, people can trap the cat themselves and then bring it to a veterinarian who will spay or neuter it.  It can then be released back into the wild, and, ideally, should be fed and sheltered from the rain.  If that's not a viable alternative, they can contact a rescue organization and offer financial support or donations of food and traps.  There are thousands of rescue groups internationally.  If you want to help, contact one of them.  Sometimes your local shelter can provide names of rescue groups.  Many times they are very small, like us.  People find us through word-of-mouth.  We don't advertise because the volume of calls is overwhelming.  It's important to remember, though, people don't need us to trap cats.  It's a simple enough thing to do. 

 Q:  What happens to the cats after they are trapped? 

 PR:  They are taken to the vet, where they are neutered or spayed, and vaccinated.   (Pennsylvania law requires that cats are given a rabies shot.)  We also won't put a cat up for adoption unless it has been tested for Feline AIDS and Feline Leukemia. Cats that cannot be rehabilitated are released to managed colonies where they are fed and sheltered.  We manage about six colonies on our own.  If someone were to do this on their own, they would have to manage the colony.  It's not that tough to do.  Management includes providing some type of shelter, dry food and clean water.  And most cats will stay around right where their food source is.  They don't have to be brought indoors; they can stay outside.  We've built shelters for our colonies.  It's not the cold that actually kills cats outside.  It's the rain when they can't get dry.  The shelters keep them dry and as warm as they can be.  We provide information on how to build very inexpensive shelters.  Also, we've actually retrapped cats that have needed medical help. 

 Q:  What is the significance of notching the ear? 

 PR:  An international symbol to show that a cat has been spayed and neutered is to notch the left ear.  This is done while the cat is under anesthesia being spayed or neutered. 

 Q:  Approximately what is the cost to neuter or spay and vaccinate the cats?  

 PR:  It is going to vary but if you ask around you can usually find someone in your community that will do low-cost vaccinating and neutering.  Call your humane shelter.  They are a good source of information.  Check out rescue groups on websites.  Even if they can't physically help you, they can guide you as to what to do. 

 Q:  Do you advocate vaccinating strays? 

 PR:  We basically give them a rabies shot.  If you are taking care of one of two cats outside your home, you can have them vaccinated.  We manage hundreds of cats so we can't retrap them all and give them booster shots. 

 Q:  What about keeping them as house pets?

 PR:  If they've been rehabilitated, they can make wonderful house pets.  They are very grateful.  But, they need time and you have to have patience.  The animals need to learn to trust. 

 Q:  What would you tell someone who has a stray cat or cats near their home? 

 PR:  To immediately do something about it.  Get them spayed or neutered because next year they are going to have ten cats near their home.  It will become an unmanageable situation.  Spaying and neutering saves lives.  It's as basic as that.

 Q:  How does neutering a male cat change his behavior? 

 PR:  They are a lot less likely to fight, and therefore a lot less likely to carry diseases such as Feline AIDS, which is often spread by fighting (biting).  They don't roam as much.  And they don't stink.  People have outdoor cats that have ruined their porches from spraying all over.  People hate it, but if they were to neuter the cat, more than likely, it's not going to spray. 

 Q:  Do you advocate trapping, neutering and then returning to the wild as opposed to trapping and bringing the cat/cats to a shelter? 

 PR:  Definitely.  Most shelters will put a feral cat down right away.  They won't even consider trying to find it a home.  They are overwhelmed.  They get so many feral cats on a daily basis.  TNR is a wonderful alternative to bringing a feral cat to be euthanized in a shelter.  If a cat is just out on its own, without any help from a rescue group or someone trying to help, a feral cat's lifespan is maybe two years - and it's a rough two years.  They're starving, sick … However, in a managed cat colony, that is, one that provides food and shelter, the cats can live much longer, happier lives.  Many of our cats are seven years old now.  They are living as comfortable a life as can be, being outdoors.  They're healthy, fed and sheltered.  They have the basic necessities of life.  It's important for people to know that if they get a cat they have to make a commitment to care for that cat for the rest of its life.  Too many times cats are dumped and left to fend for themselves.  It's a myth to think that if a cat is dropped it off in a park or somewhere, it will survive.  It won't.  It needs human intervention in order to live a healthy life. 

 Q:  Are all vets equipped to handle feral cats? 

 PR:  No.  A lot of vets are not equipped nor do they want to work with ferals.  Also, it might cost a lot of money to bring a feral cat to your vet to be spayed or neutered.  There are veterinarians who are equipped to work with ferals and will do so at a lower cost.  Some will even spay and neuter for free. 

Q:  How do they find a vet that will work with ferals? 

 PR:  Speak with your local animal shelter that can refer you to a vet that will work with ferals.  There are spay clubs that will issue certificates that help to pay for the cost of spaying or neutering an animal.  They are not-for-profit groups. Locally, we have The Spayed Club and Spay and Save.  You have to do a little investigating to find a vet that will deal with ferals.  But people will guide you.  I love getting calls from people who want to help.  They may not know what to do, but they have the desire and they do it. 

 Readers who want to help by donating supplies or money, or who want more information on dealing with ferals can contact  For Cats' Sake, PO Box 225, Richboro, PA  18954. 

               "Mama," a feral cat that was trapped, spayed and is being sheltered and fed outdoors; and her kittens, "Albus" and "Pandora," trapped at 9 weeks and now socialized as indoor house cats.  

Questions or comments? Contact us.