By Cheryl Conway
The population of feral and stray cats in Mt. Olive has been reduced greatly over the years but every now and then there are some cats and kittens looking for a furever home.
Take Valentine and Anna, for example, who have been in foster care since they were 12 and 10 weeks old, and they're now 7 months old, shares Michelle Lerner, long-time volunteer with Mt. Olive TNR.
“They look like they're from the same litter, but they're not biologically related,” she says. “They met in foster care and became inseparable. When Valentine got moved to a new foster home, she cried for three days until Anna was moved to be with her, and Mt. Olive TNR decided at that point that they need to be adopted together.”
That has been the challenge with these two pals.
“It takes longer to adopt out a bonded pair, though, and adoptions slowed to a trickle this spring and then stopped, so Valentine and Anna are still waiting patiently for their forever home,” says Lerner. “They're playful and loving, good with other cats, and they're spayed, up to date on vaccines, negative for FIV/FeLV and microchipped.
“Adoption fee is normally $150 for a kitten but Mt. Olive TNR Project will reduce the adoption fee to $200 for this bonded pair to be able to go to the right home,” she adds. The adoption application can be found at www.mtolivetnr.org or email mtolivetnr@gmail.com.
History of Mt. Olive TNR
It was 16 years ago when The Mt. Olive TNR Project began. That was the time when there were a lot of feral and stray cats in Mt. Olive, recalls Lerner.
“Through years of intensive spay/neuter and adoption, the population was humanely reduced to a very small and controlled population,” she shares. “However, there will always be some newly abandoned cats or feral cats wandering across town lines.”
With that comes the continued need for trapping and for foster homes, she says.
“Occasionally, we encounter a situation with many cats needing help,” says Lerner. “This happened to us several times in the last few years because during the lockdown in 2020-2021 many people got kittens and did not get them neutered, and the kittens grew up and reproduced.
“We had a few situations where they were reproducing in people's apartments, and one where they were reproducing outside,” she adds. “When this happens, we suddenly have the need for trappers and foster homes.”
Because Mt. Olive TNR has “had long stretches of relative quiet with very few cats, our volunteers and foster homes have dwindled, and then when we need them, we have really had to scramble, which is unsustainable.”
With that the case, Mt. Olive TNR is always “in need of a few more residents willing to foster sporadically as needed and new volunteers.
“We did many adoptions last fall and winter; the slow-down has really just been in the last few months,” adds Learner.
With the school year ending, and families going on vacation, adopting a cat is most likely not the priority.
Lerner also explains the difference between stray and feral cats.
Feral cats were most likely born outside and are not tame and need to remain outdoor cats she explains.
“To our knowledge, there are 21 TNR'd feral cats left in town,” she shares.
Stray cats, on the other hand, are tame cats who had a home but then got lost or were abandoned.
“At any given time in Mt. Olive there are probably a few of these; if we hear of one, we work to find their home and, if there is no home to be found, get them into foster care,” she explains. “Animal Control is also called for stray cats, and impounds them and, if not reclaimed, places them with a no-kill rescue.
“There are not many feral cats or stray cats living outside in Mt. Olive anymore, but there will always be some,” she says. “And we don't have eyes everywhere, so if residents know of any outdoor cats, feral or otherwise, who need spay/neuter or foster care, they should reach out to us and/or Animal Control.
“MOTNR is desperately in need of more foster homes and a few residents interested in learning how to trap,” adds Lerner. “The unique thing about MOTNR at this point is that the work is sporadic and at maintenance level, meaning it's not constant.
“We need a few residents willing to be on call to foster kittens or an adult every once in a while, when it's needed, because if we don't have people on call for when it's needed, we can't help when we get urgent calls,” she adds.
Time length can vary, says Lerner, as sometimes cats need fostering for a few days, weeks and sometimes months.
“Most of the trappers in the group are also aging or have health problems, so we'd love to train a few new volunteers as trappers,” she adds. “We provide extensive training and support. We could also use another volunteer to provide pre-operative and post-operative care, and we can provide training and support for that as well. And of course, donations are always helpful, as that's how we pay for vet care.
"We may have a litter of 6 young kittens ready for adoption in a few weeks as well, and possibly a young female adult," she adds.
For more information, visit www.mtolivetnr.org or call (973) 804-6273.
