This article touches base on how a feral colony caregiver email system could also help lost and found cats who suddenly show up for a nightly feeding.
I live in a small county in South Carolina. When I started doing TNR in 2014 I was added to an email system that would announce when spay/neuter clinic would be held each month and an email would arrive around three weeks before the scheduled date.
A few years back colony information was added to a database. Colony caregivers were asked to fill out a form as to where their colony was located and how many cats were being cared for. This information was kept by the Humane Society and not posted to the general public (to protect the cats).
Think of what a benefit the email system could provide in finding lost and found cats. Many times a lost cat will attempt to feed with a colony to prevent starvation. If a caregiver knows a mass email can be sent out to be on the lookout for a lost cat it would greatly improve the chances of the cat being reunited with the family who lost it.
The cats lost near Charlotte, North Carolina following a wreck where their owner was killed is a perfect example. The story posted to PoC on December 27 is still making its rounds on social media. The end goal is to find the cats and the best chance of that happening is to get word to all of the feral colony caregivers in the Concord/Charlotte area.
A mass email would do that. Imagine the reach if every colony caregiver was sent an email with the photo and information of a missing cat and could email the Humane Society if the cat was spotted or hopefully ends up in a humane trap.
This is not a difficult system to set up if anyone wants to suggest it to whoever is in charge of TNR spay/neuter in your area.
Please continue to share the cats lost in the fatal wreck on Christmas Eve. Everyone is hoping for a good outcome but it’s like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack because the area where the cats could have made their escape to is so large.
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