OUR SERVICES
Who Do We Help?
Project MEOW works primarily with caregivers in zip codes 19104, 19139 and 19143 who are already feeding one or more colonies (group of cats living outdoors) or are willing to do so in order to facilitate getting cats spayed/neutered and immunized. Caregivers or their communities should be able to make a commitment to complete Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) for all the cats in neighborhood colonies, and to provide ongoing care for the cats.
We also help residents who find kittens and other at-risk cats living outdoors that should not remain in their current environments. This includes cats who might be candidates for rescue and adoption.
How Do We Help?
We aim to make TNR possible for individuals in West Philadelphia by connecting individuals to the following resources:
- Trap Loans ($25 refundable deposit required)
- Trapping Assistance – Trapping for the first time can be intimidating. We’ll show you how it’s done, step-by-step. We can help trap cats for caregivers with special needs (elderly, disabled, large colonies, etc.)
- Pre-surgical holding – Once cats are trapped, they need a place to stay before going to their surgical appointment. You can do this in a basement, spare bath or bedroom. If you can’t hold them, we can often do it for you.
- Transport – Not everyone has a car. We make it easy to get your trapped kitty to its surgical appointment by transporting him/her for you. We transport to TNR clinics about once a week.
- Post-surgical Recovery – Cats can be released only after they’ve had a chance to recover from their surgery (2-7 days). If you’re not able to provide post-surgical recovery, one of our volunteers can often do it for you.
- Cost –Every cat we TNR costs us $25. This cost includes the fees for surgery, anesthesia, and the rabies vaccine. In addition, Project MEOW provides food and care for these kitties while they are recovering. We don’t believe that money should stand in the way of helping our neighbors fix their colony cats, but we can only TNR as many cats as we have funds for.
Between 1/1/2018 – 3/31/2018, Project MEOW has TNRed over 70 cats. This means we have spent over $1.5K on these kitties. So please head to our Donate Page or Facebook Page to support us. Even a donation of ten dollars helps.
NOTE about Non-TNR Costs: Routine Spay/Neuter/Immunization costs will vary depending on whether a non-TNR’d cat is fostered for adoption or adopted by the finder. These costs currently range from about $15 up to about $60 per cat. Periodically, non-TNR services will be subsidized by grants. Veterinary care for extensive medical needs may sometimes be required and generally, caregivers are responsible for these lp?costs. In some cases, financial assistance for non-TNR and/or extraordinary medical expenses may be available.
Evaluation and Assistance for At-risk Cats and Kittens:
If, when and how to rescue kittens – If you find kittens outdoors, your first impulse might be scoop them up and bring them home. That could be the worst thing for the kittens–-and for you. Please check out this guide before you act and contact us if you still have questions.
Evaluating rescued cats for potential adoption – Project MEOW can help you evaluate cats, to see if they’re more likely to be adoptable or might be better off if you cared for them outdoors.
Help with resources for adoptable cats – Project MEOW is not a cat rescue and we have no physical location from which to adopt cats. We can, however, offer you other resources, including the possibility for you to foster via our rescue partner PAWS, connections to other rescue groups, and other suggested ways to find a cat a good home on your own. Sometimes Project MEOW volunteers can offer temporary foster space in their homes.
Guidance/help with community mediation – If you think cats in your neighborhood are at risk, we may be able to offer you some solutions to common cat problems to resolve the situation.