Stray H.E.L.P. is back working a dire situation at a Poughkeepsie mobile home park. What began as a trap/neuter/return or place effort in March 2016 had become a massive re-location effort by July 2017. With your support we spayed/neutered and vaccinated 135 cats, adopted 49 of them into loving homes and relocated another 42 by November 2017 when we paused our efforts due to weather.
Regretfully, we could not begin again in the spring of 2018 as planned. Red tape, lack of responsible ownership and denial by several residents that the park was shutting down left us helpless to continue our work. We remained in contact, and supported the residents whom we could.
Since that time, a new owner has bought the property and vows no one will be allowed to care for colony cats, stating “the county is depending on me to clean up this place, and that’s what I’m going to do”. A handful of the 44 remaining cats from 2018 went with their caretakers, have passed away or are unaccounted for. There are new cats as a result of the few unaltered cats from 2017.
We have only one offer to take friendly cats or kittens, however, these are not friendly cats or kittens. We need help now to relocate approximately 20 to 30 community cats. Thankfully, the majority of them have already been spayed or neutered; however, we are racing against the clock to 1. ensure there are no more kittens born to this troubled life, and 2. find new location(s) for this docile colony of cats. Successful re-location, and vetting, of the remaining cats needs to happen for their health and safety.
Your ability to provide your time volunteering, a monetary donation or a safe and protected environment for re-location of some or all of the colony would mean so much to the cats in crisis and our dedicated volunteers. Please share the cats’ desperate need for help with your contacts, as well!
Our ultimate goal is to educate the public about TNR so that ultimately every free roaming cat can be vetted, neutered, and properly managed in a safe environment. We rely on wonderful, open-hearted individuals like yourself to achieve this goal one meaningful life at a time.
Sincerely,
Ann LaGoy
President, Stray H.E.L.P.