What to do for National Feral Cat Day?

I was sitting here wondering what to do for National Feral Cat Day.

Two years ago we had a great (if not perfectly planned) shelter building party. Thank goodness Nancy and Tom brought Real Tools and I summoned up the bravery to turn on Mark's table saw, because we knew we would get supplies for so many shelters? We churned out 15 that day.

With so many kittens still needing adoption, I don't really have time for another shelter-building event, so I looked closely at what really needs to be done.

And what really needs to be done is revaccination. I've got cats out their in colonies who need their rabies boosters, so they'll be set for another three years.

So I took off half days on October 10, 11, 12, 13 so I can trap cats in the evening, hold them overnight, take them to the vet bright and squirrelly the next day, get their vaccination (right in the trap) and re-release them that morning. Then I can wash the traps if needed and re-set them the next night. I'll pre-bait the week ahead, so the cats are used to the traps.

Target colonies will be the Fast Food Ferals (6 cats?) and the Poultry Farm (42 cats). This comes out to about $240, which is pretty cheap for 48 rabies shots. I'm sure there will be a few cats in there without eartips who I will need to hold onto for spay/neuter, but I don't expect a flood of them.

It's something that needs to be done, and it would make the health department very very happy. I'll need to give my vet a heads up so they can order some extra rabies vaccines, as I'm sure they don't normally give that many in a four day stretch!

I'll also get topical flea treatment (Revolution) from my vet, so the cats can all be treated for fleas, worms, and earmites.

I suppose that's a bit of a cop-out---doing something that already needs to be done in honor of Feral Cat Day, instead of something extra. But if that's what it takes to give me the boot in the butt to get it done, so be it!

This means I'm CALLING IN MY TRAPS! I'll need them by the first week in October, so anyone who has any, please use them to trap whomever needs trapping during September. I think I have some as far away and New Jersey!

BTW, Alley Cat Allies has a very very nice poster this year. I think I'll order more, and I may get mine framed for the cat facility. I'm a poster snob, and usually don't like what major organizations come up with because they are often too cute or trendy. ACA, of course, has a subject (adult ferals) that doesn't really lend itself to "cute." Thank goodness.