2023 Open Arms Challenge

This was interesting.

It occurred to me that the very thing Garden City Community Cats Project is passionate about isn't on the support triangle at all. That is, community colony caregivers, who support large number of free roaming cats that otherwise would need to be dealt with by animal shelters. If there are groups like ours, standing at the ready to spay and neuter their cats, these compassionate caregivers are saviors to the community, cats, and shelters.

I never realized how invisible these colony caregivers were and what an asset they could be if We gave them the ability to spay and neuter all their cats, as well as donating to their food supply so that they could continue to keep these animals out of the shelters.

I am both excited that we have found the missing link for an amazing resource, but saddened assuming this may never be seen for the resource that it is.

GCCCP has been evolving into this community collaboration for about 3 years out of necessity because our does not have a contract with the only area shelter. Necessity caused us to look hard at the resources we had locally. It turned out that our greatest asset was from the same community that had the greatest need, our caregivers..

------------------------------
Donna Brown
Garden City Community Cats Project
------------------------------

I wonder if colony caregivers would be included under the "Assisting the Owned Cat Population"? I totally understand that community cats are not "owned" in the same way we think of pets/housecats as owned, but they do have a place to stay and someone looking over them even if they don't come inside or even have names.  I know that I think of the community cats in the alley behind my house as "mine" and I know my neighbors do, too.

------------------------------
Amber Eby
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Hi Amber

It is wonderful to be able to continue these thoughts with someone who understands the relationships of caregivers and communities, with their cats.

I don't think caregivers and their cats would be assisted under pet support programs for the reasons I stated in A new way to look at feral (free roaming) cats discussion. "I have found that there is a great bias against free roaming cats,…"

I am envisioning the community as "sheltering" their free roaming cats and the more I work in our city, with the residents, the clearer the vision.  GCCCP has a network of 40 colony caregivers that we support with free spay\neutering, food and supplies. They shelter the cats and we support their efforts.

I envision a Community Cat Center, not a shelter. The center will have traps and kennels to borrow, along with food, supplies and donated items. Even now,everything we have to give is free and has been donated by community members who have been made aware of the compassionate caregiver. They want to help and appreciate the efforts being made.

There could be kitten and cat adoption events and a mobile vet could come on a scheduled for spay and neutering. The center would morph into what the community needed.

And the cats would never burden the animal shelters.

------------------------------
Donna Brown
Garden City Community Cats Project
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-03-2023 09:51 AM
From: Amber Eby
Subject: Support Triangle is Missing Our Colony Caregivers

I wonder if colony caregivers would be included under the "Assisting the Owned Cat Population"? I totally understand that community cats are not "owned" in the same way we think of pets/housecats as owned, but they do have a place to stay and someone looking over them even if they don't come inside or even have names.  I know that I think of the community cats in the alley behind my house as "mine" and I know my neighbors do, too.

------------------------------
Amber Eby
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

I love the idea of a Community Cat Center!  It sounds very similar to what Cat Network of Stanislaus is doing in my area.  The idea is "helping people help the cats" and sharing traps and food.  

------------------------------
Amber Eby
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-03-2023 05:23 PM
From: Donna Brown
Subject: Support Triangle is Missing Our Colony Caregivers

Hi Amber

It is wonderful to be able to continue these thoughts with someone who understands the relationships of caregivers and communities, with their cats.

I don't think caregivers and their cats would be assisted under pet support programs for the reasons I stated in A new way to look at feral (free roaming) cats discussion. "I have found that there is a great bias against free roaming cats,…"

I am envisioning the community as "sheltering" their free roaming cats and the more I work in our city, with the residents, the clearer the vision.  GCCCP has a network of 40 colony caregivers that we support with free spay\neutering, food and supplies. They shelter the cats and we support their efforts.

I envision a Community Cat Center, not a shelter. The center will have traps and kennels to borrow, along with food, supplies and donated items. Even now,everything we have to give is free and has been donated by community members who have been made aware of the compassionate caregiver. They want to help and appreciate the efforts being made.

There could be kitten and cat adoption events and a mobile vet could come on a scheduled for spay and neutering. The center would morph into what the community needed.

And the cats would never burden the animal shelters.

------------------------------
Donna Brown
Garden City Community Cats Project
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 05-03-2023 09:51 AM
From: Amber Eby
Subject: Support Triangle is Missing Our Colony Caregivers

I wonder if colony caregivers would be included under the "Assisting the Owned Cat Population"? I totally understand that community cats are not "owned" in the same way we think of pets/housecats as owned, but they do have a place to stay and someone looking over them even if they don't come inside or even have names.  I know that I think of the community cats in the alley behind my house as "mine" and I know my neighbors do, too.

------------------------------
Amber Eby
Grants Specialist
Maddie's Fund