NC man praised for saving cats through Cabarrus County TNR program

The idea for this article comes from Michael (PoC), who recently made the comment that not many men are involved in cat rescue. Michael, and the readers of PoC, I’d like to introduce you to Jimmie Hoffman. Jimmie plays a major role in all aspects of saving the feral cats of Cabarrus County, North Carolina.

I recently did an article for Examiner on a man who believed he should be given an award for trapping 17 feral cats in less than a week and bringing them to Cabarrus County Animal Shelter to be euthanized. That article can be found here.

Unfortunately, several of those cats were killed this past week. Thanks to Jimmie, along with rescue coordinator Marleen Jenkins and a feral cat sanctuary in Chapel Hill, 12 of the cats are now safe. The cats were taken from the shelter, most likely while the vet who preformed euthanasia, was still on the premises. Jimmie took them to his home to stay in his recovery building until transport to Chapel Hill could be arranged. The cats left Saturday for their new home, where they will be spayed and neutered.

Jimmie Hoffman and Dave Burgess, who do most of the trapping for Cabarrus TNR, do a lot more than just set up traps. They will often bring the electronic traps and infrared camera equipment to demo for adoption event guests and rescue groups attending various events and fundraisers to educate the public on the Cabarrus TNR program. He and his team set up electronic cat surveillance equipment and electronic traps hooked up to cameras and remote control, and has helped people with suspected cat poisonings in the Charlotte/Concord area.

Jimmie is also hands-on with his foster cats at adoption events. He doesn’t just hand them over and hope they find a loving forever home. Jimmie is there at the event to explain any special needs one of his cats may have. If you would like to help the Cabarrus TNR program you can make a contribution by calling in a CC or DB card donation to CSNC Phone (704) 784-6304, please tell receptionist it is for the Feral Fund and Jimmie Hoffman. You can also mail a check payable to CSNC memo line Jimmie Hoffmans Feral Fund! Cabarrus Spay Neuter Clinic S413 Church Street N, Concord, North Carolina 28025.

I envy Ella Caudle. She had the pleasure of following Jimmie, Marleen and the other rescue volunteers around photographing what it’s like on rescue day. A behind the scenes look at how regular people turn into super heroes when cats are in danger of being killed. Ella has a Facebook page at Good Samaritan Animal Society, and most if not all of the photos used for this article are hers.

Please note that Jimmie does save a dog every now and then. Cabarrus, unfortunately, is like many shelters in the south where dogs get far better promotion than cats. Between this fact, and the shelter not offering public adoptions at the shelter (everyone has to go through Marleen), cats have little opportunity of making it out alive without their team. Jimmie is much more than a cat fosterer. He’s a rescuer, inventor, team player and lover of all animals. In his spare time, he traps injured birds for Carolina Water Foul.

Michael, I hope this shows you there are dedicated men in my area who do as much as the ladies when it comes to saving cats. I felt he needed recognition and praise for all he’s accomplished in saving cats from this high-kill shelter. Without Jimmie, Marleen and the others who work the Cabarrus TNR program, the cats would likely all be killed.

Please also comment on Facebook as well as it helps spread the word – thanks.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cabarrus-TNR/129457650535362