Community Cats of Madison NJ

Hi!  My name is Judy DeGennaro and I live in Madison, NJ.  I love animals, especially cats and I am a TNR volunteer in my community (TNR-Trap/Neuter/Release).  I have been mostly self-funded for my TNR.  I have connected with neighbors and we are working together as Community Cats of Madison NJ, but the problem is BIG and we need help!  We are grateful for any financial support, no matter the size. 

It has been over two years since the day I looked out the back door into our yard at the feral cats and thought, “Someone has to do something about this!” I acted. What I didn’t know until recently is that several other folks in the neighborhood did too. All totaled we have spayed/neutered and inoculated dozens of feral and stray cats in our neighborhood (I personally TNR’d over 40)!  But there are over 100 more and at least 4 litters of kittens at this time (more to come if we don’t act quickly)!  We are strictly neighborhood volunteers, not a non-profit.  Most of our work to date has been funded out of pocket but now we need help!  Please, won’t you please help us?

TNR is a humane way to address the problem of a feral cat population and is scientifically proven to be the only method that works! Euthanasia or removal are not only cruel but ineffective because they create what is known as the ‘vacuum effect’ as cats from neighboring areas spread out and fill in the void.  With TNR, the cats are spay/neutered and inoculated, then released back where they were trapped. 

The biggest benefit of TNR is to stop and then reduce the population, which would otherwise grow quickly (a female can have 3-4 litters a year, 3-5 kittens per litter).  The cats are inoculated at the time of treatment to reduce the risk of rabies and other communicable diseases. Some other benefits of TNR are that much ‘nuisance behavior’ is eliminated: the females do not go into heat and yowl, the males do not spray to mark territory and are less aggressive - the territorial warfare between male cats is stopped, reducing the noise and the spread of disease.  Kittens 8 weeks or younger can be ‘rescued’ from a life in the wild and ‘socialized’ to lose their fear of humans and become adoptable pets, but this takes time, patience and money for wellness care. 

Cats are not indigenous wild animals in the US; this problem is caused by irresponsible humans who failed to spay/neuter and/or abandoned their pets. Many feral cats are a few generations from a stray or abandoned pet.  So sad!  Humans caused this; humans must ‘fix it’! 

What your support funds:

$25 sponsors supplies for 1 week (food for trapping and care before and after surgery, training pads for hygiene in the traps and in our cars during transportation to and from the low-cost animal clinic, disposable gloves, etc.)

$55 sponsors the cost of a spay/neuter and inoculations for 1 feral cat

$100 sponsors the cost of a cage large enough to house a litter of kittens while they are cared for and ‘socialized’ in preparation for adoption

$125 sponsors wellness care for 1 kitten (deworming, flea treatment, testing, spay/neuter, inoculations)

$375 sponsors an average-sized litter of kittens

THANK YOU!!!