Shoal Bay Villas
In 2004 Kathy Haskins, Manager of Shoal Bay Villas partnered with AARF to assist with a pilot program to see if TNR would work as an effective way to control the population of cats existing on the property. The group started with 1 female cat in 2001 and over the last 3 years a number of litters have been born. Some of these have been successfully rehomed while others have become feral and have reproduced. The original cat Calico Mom is now working on her second set of grandchildren. Another female joined the colony in 2003 and has had at least one litter. Shoal Bay Villas currently cares for 7 cats/kittens that are a mix of tame and feral animals.
Located directly on Shoal Bay beach and surrounded by beach restaurants, cats are abundant. History has shown that the cats tend to try to obtain food from villa guests and have been fed by staff. As always this causes some concern for management as some guests do not like animals around their villas. Other guests who are cat friendly tend to feed the cats around the villas and encourage them to visit.
A feeding station had been in place at the back of the property by the office for several months and the cats were accustomed to a daily schedule making that portion of the program relatively easy.
Caroline and Sylvester at Feeding Station
The two feral cat traps donated to AARF were used in July 2004 to catch the cats on the property and they were transported to the free AARF Free Spay/Neuter Clinic.
Grey Socks 1
The matriarch Calico Mom and Bob Tail Bunny were both spayed during the clinic. Caroline, her daughter who was very tame, disappeared at the time of the clinic only to deliver her 4 kittens 2 days later. Tommy the 8 month old son of Caroline was also absent and unable to be caught at the time as well as the young kittens of Bob Tail Bunny.
Caroline Shown Still Nursing Her 5 Week Old Kittens
As Caroline's latest batch of kittens were weaned and three rehomed, Caroline was spayed in September 2004. Tommy was neutered in October 2004. The three remaining cats will have surgery by the end of 2004. Of these remaining cats at least 1is a male but it is unclear what the sex of the grey cats might be.
With all 3 reproducing females now spayed, the reproductive cycle will stop. The colony will be monitored for further developments. It is expected that once the 4 remaining cats are done, the colony will remain stable and healthier. Sylvester continues to become more socialized and is available for adoption.
Many thanks to Kathy Haskins and Shoal Bay Villas for becoming an AARF TNR Partner. Kathy has spent many months researching this program and has been of great assistance to AARF in its development.
Update: As of December 2004 all cats in this colony have been spayed/neutered or rehomed. The success of this program is in large part due to the commitment of management and staff.