The West Haven News
August 12, 2005

Group Rescues Feral Felines
By Erin Albren Savidge , Special to the News

Cheryl DeFilippo, president of The Greater New Haven Cat Project, Inc. (GNHCP), encourages West Haven residents to help abandoned, feral and stray cats in their neighborhoods.

"People could make a big difference if they just didn't turn their backs and walk away," she said. "We need more people to get involved. We have to take responsibility and humanely address the problem."

GNHCP, which began in 1996, is a non-profit organization that addresses cat abuse, neglect and overpopulation in the area. Secretary Chris Tomczyk, DeFilippo and Diane Frost, all part-time volunteers, collected donations during a WPLR party on July 28 at West Haven Beach. They also educated visitors from morning until afternoon about spay/neuter assistance and responsible pet ownership.

According to GNHCP, Connecticut is experiencing a cat crisis. "Staggering numbers of feral and stray cats are found in cities, suburbs and rural areas," GNHCP noted. "Many of these cats live in unsheltered and threatening environments where they face suffering and death through starvation,abuse and disease. Through uncontrolled breeding, they produce vast numbers of unwanted kittens that are even more vulnerable to these threats. The kittens that survive produce new litters within a matter of months."

The www.gnhcp.org Web site said that the trap/neuter/release program is the most effective and humane solution to reduce feral cat populations. GNHCP defined a feral cat as offspring of a domestic cat that has lived with little or no human contact. A feral cat often lives in abandoned buildings, near dumpsters or in parking lots. A group of feral cats is called a colony. In the trap/neuter/release program, these feral cats are neutered or spayed, vaccinated and returned to their environment. Veterinarians also give them pre- and post-operative care if necessary.

The GNHCP volunteer sets up a trap in an area that the feral cat visits for food. The feral cat might receive food from a "feeder," a person who nourishes the animal on an occasional or regular basis. The volunteer makes sure the "feeder" does not bring food to the trap site that day, so the feral cat can take the bait inside the trap instead.

"Every Saturday morning I leave my house around 7:30 and I'm there (at the trap site) for a few hours," said Frost. "You need luck on your side."

The volunteer brings the captured cat to a covered garage for a short period of time. Later, the volunteer takes the cat to a veterinarian, who gives distemper and rabies vaccines to the animal. The veterinarian neuters or spays the cat with dissolvable sutures, so stitches do not need to be removed. The cat also gets a health exam and is treated for ear mites and/or fleas. A male cat usually can return to his colony one day after surgery, whereas a female cat normally can return four days later.

In 2003, GNHCP neutered and spayed 400 abandoned, feral or stray cats in the greater New Haven area. This year, the organization neutered and spayed 107 cats in West Haven alone. "The trap/neuter/return program is more cost-effective than trapping and euthanizing feral cats," said GNHCP. "A vaccinated and sterilized colony of feral cats poses no rabies threat to humans and will deter unsterilized cats from moving into the colony."

Another goal of the organization is to find foster homes for friendly cats in the trap/neuter/release program. DeFilippo, Frost, Tomczyk and other volunteers care for these cats until they are adopted. "There are 30 cats in foster care that we are trying to find homes for," DeFilippo said.

Although GNHCP has 30 active volunteers, the organization is always looking for more. "Our biggest need is in the fund-raising department because that's how we survive," said DeFilippo, a program coordinator at Yale University in New Haven. "We can only do so much."

Frost, a leasing assistant for Subway Real Estate Corp. in Milford, believes it's a great responsibility to care for these unwanted cats. "You feel like you have succeeded making a difference in the community," she said.

One kitten in Tomczyk's care is regaining strength after facing numerous hardships in his young life. "He had one wound on his back and an external parasite, which created a hole near his trachea," said Tomczyk, who works with accounts receivable and order entry at Rostra Tool in Branford. "His name is Farrell. The name means 'courageous man of valor.' If he survived malnutrition, he deserves such a name."

DeFilippo has opened up her heart and home to several cats requiring regular medical attention. "The ones I have are cats that, when they were rescued, had health issues," she said. "When you are the reason they are to live, it's hard to give them up. Some of them come from horrendous situations. We believe they only need to be rescued once."

GNHCP will participate in the Milford Oyster Festival on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Milford Green. Also, a concert to benefit the organization will take place on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at Rudy's Bar & Grill, 372 Elm St., New Haven. Pizza and refreshments will be served. Admission is $20.

To adopt a cat, make donations or volunteer your time, call GNHCP at 782-2287 or send an e-mail to gnhcp1@ gnhcp.org. Also, check out photos and descriptions of cats ready for adoption at www.gnhcp.org.