Volunteers build houses for stray cats
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CHAMPION -- Volunteers came together recently to help TNR of Trumbull County to build shelters for cats that roam in different communities.
The volunteers gathered on a recent weekend to build the houses.
Gloria Thomas, volunteer coordinator for TNR, said the organization has a work building in Champion where the volunteers often get together to make the shelters. When completed, the 27 volunteers had made more than 300 shelters.
"These are winter cat shelters so those cats that are out in the winter can go inside and not freeze to death," said TNR President Bob Barasch of Warren. "Last year we gave out more than 700 shelter houses which people place in their yards for outdoor and stray cats."
Thomas said in the spring and summer when it is raining, the cats go inside them.
Barasch said the shelter houses are lined with mylar and straw and have a small circular entrance for the cats to get in and out. He said mylar is a shiny aerospace plastic that reflects heat back to the cats.
Barasch said they will give out the houses at the end of September and in October and November. The volunteers included adults and children.
Toby Phrampus, 9, of Hartford, said he helped line the houses with straw. He said he likes helping animals.
Christy Conde of Warren said she has a stray cat she adopted named "Frankie."
"I heard about this organization to get him neutered so he can have a safe and happy life. I have lived in Warren for 30 years and this is the first time I have had a stray cat," Conde said.
Kathy Carr of Cortland said this was the second time she helped build the shelters since she has been volunteering at TNR and at Healthy Hearts and Paws in Warren.
She said she learned that TNR needed volunteers to help with the build day and she decided to help.
Karen Middleton of Warren said she wanted to help make the houses since the winters have been very cold in recent years.
"I wanted to do my part and help where I could. The group that was here today made a lot of the houses," Middleton said.
Barasch said TNR's goal is to spay and neuter cats to help control the pet population. He said cats can reproduce four or five times a year and can get pregnant at four months old.
"The problem is people for one reason or another do not want their cats anymore and the shelters are full and are left outside. Some manage to survive, but many don't because they can't handle the cold and how to fend for themselves outside,'' Barasch said.
Thomas said the lifespan of a cat outside is two to three years while indoor cats live to 12 to 15 years.
"We help between 2,500 and 3,000 cats per year needing help. That is why we stress spaying or neutering to stop cats from reproducing," she said.
Barasch said the idea is to locate a colony of cats and get them spayed and neutered and eventually the colony will die out. He said the cats need to be trapped and then fixed. He said there are not a lot of trappers.
He said there is a chart at the TNR office that shows how two pairs of cats within six years can reproduce 1,000 cats.
Thomas said starvation and predators are the primary causes of cat deaths. She said she has heard there are many local communities that have large colonies of cats.
To raise money, TNR hosts fundraisers such as a pancake breakfast at the Cortland Masonic Lodge in October as well as raffles. The organization also works with the Optimist Club on 50/50 raffles.