FOCA rescues 35 cats from LaSalle home

Friends of Companion Animals recently rescued 35 cats and kittens from a LaSalle home.

"The rescue project began when a family member of a homeowner with health issues, including onset of dementia, started hearing kittens crying in the LaSalle home. Thinking it was a litter of kittens, they did some exploring to find out it wasn't just one litter, but seven litters ranging from 3-days-old to 4-weeks-old," the organization's Nadine Meeker said in a written release. "In addition, they found the moms and other cats in need of medical attention, making a total of 35 felines that need help. The discovery shows why spay/neuter is so important to proper animal welfare."

"Sadly, this case is another example of how rapidly cats can reproduce, and why feeders need to also spay/neuter newcomers to colonies. ‘If you feed, don't let ‘em breed is the motto,’" Penny Bly, shelter director, said. "In this case, what began as another TNR project turned into something much larger, but we couldn't turn our backs after what we found."

Friends of Companion Animals, 2532 N. Dixie Highway, is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal welfare organization that assists with feline-only adoptions. Bly said TNR stands for trap-neuter-return.

"Feral cats are trapped in an area, neutered or spayed, and then released back to where they came from. We’ve done TNR on over 70 cats in the last few months alone around Monroe County," she said. "Fixed cats are often returned since, as a rescue, FOCA can't keep feral cats. They pose a risk to visitors and the FOCA caregivers at the all-volunteer operation. In this latest case, most of the cats in this project are friendly or small enough to be acclimated to humans," Bly said.

Bly urges residents to closely watch cat populations.

"This is also a preventative tale. While it began with the best of intentions, it escalated out of control. If you have family or friends who are caring for animals, it's important to also keep tabs on the situation sooner rather than later for everyone's sake. People are often surprised how six cats become 20 or more in just a matter of months," she said.

Bly also seeks local residents' help in controlling cat populations.

"We get so many requests for help, but we can't do all of them, no matter how much we wish we could," Bly said. "We have a program where people who want to tackle the problem in their neighborhood can get tips and training."

Bly said FOCA seeks foster families with a spare private room in their homes to house cats and kittens until they are 2 months old.

"The group is asking anyone within 40 miles of FOCA with a spare room to reach out via the FOCA website and submit a volunteer application for consideration," Bly said. FOCA also accepts monetary donations and cat supplies.

"FOCA has set up fundraisers on our Facebook page and our Network for Good program that can be found on our website at friendsofcompanionanimals.org/donate. Not only do donations help this LaSalle case, but other TNR cases that come to us in the future," Bly said.