A glimpse into TNRQ

My aim was to write a short blog post about what has happened so far this year, just to give people an idea of what we actually get up to. Well, once my notes filled a whole A4 page, I realised some editing was needed... So here we go, the edited down version:

TNR - 115 cats spayed and neutered during January, February & March

This was made possible by the funds raised from "Boot Scootin", by people who donated to our Gofund me Campaign "100 Spays" and to the support of the Canadian Veterinary Hospital, Qatar Veterinary Centre, Dragon Animal Care Clinic and Al Timimi Veterinary Clinic to celebrate World Spay Day. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this.

---

Marcel

Marcel is a member of a colony looked after by a TNRQ volunteer. Unfortunately, his colony carer discovered him limping badly one morning and a visit to the vet showed his leg was fractured, foul play was sadly suspected. Of course, we have to help such cases, even though it drains our very limited funds.

Marcel has had is operation and is recovering really well. He is being completely spoiled in his foster home (yes even afternoon tea), he is such a friendly special boy, we are now looking for a forever home for him, we just can't put him back on the streets after all he has been through. 

---

Compound Spay and Neuter Project

We continue to work with a compound in Al Waab doing TNR. This is an amazingly forward thinking compound who embrace TNR wholeheartedly, if only there were more like it! We work on TNR projects all over Qatar but this one always stands out for us as we have their complete support and backing.

---

Qatar University Cats

We were contacted by a kind young student keen to TNR a group of cats she has come to know and been feeding on her campus at Qatar University. It came to light that some of these cats have also sustained injuries, the nature of which suggest, there may sadly once again have been foul play involved.

The little calico in the photo had a diaphragmatic hernia, which she has now had surgery for and is recovering well. There is also a male cat with a dislodged kidney and another female with a very bad femoral fracture.
Such cases make you despair of humankind, we know not everyone likes cats but please, don't hurt them. 

---

Lily and Toby

These two gorgeous babies were living in the school grounds where two of our volunteers work. Unfortunately, the school management decided they had to go but of course they had nowhere to go, that was their home! The volunteers frantically searched for a foster home which they luckily found but finding them good permanent homes in Qatar proved just too difficult. Happily though, someone in the UK offered them a home and they get to stay together. They are in a foster home at the moment just waiting the designated time after the RATT test but will soon be jetting off to their happy ending in greener pastures.

---

The education program is launched.

This is something we have wanted to officially set up for a while but the volunteers who were comfortable presenting weren't available during school hours; the rest of us were happier talking to cats! We were so grateful when Claire offered to help and since then we now have a team of 3 people all raring to go. This is probably actually one of our most important achievements, "It is the children of today who will become the rescuers of tomorrow" - let's hope so.

To find out more about the program please click here: Education

---

Boot Scootin

Our Boot Scootin fundraiser was a great success and raised much-needed funds so that we can continue with our work - keep the cowboy hats ready for the next one!

---

Adoption Gallery was set up

We worked out between all the volunteers we have a lot of cats who need homes, hence the need for an adoption page on our website. At the moment it is in the early stages, we still have yet more cats to add but if you are thinking of adopting please look at our gallery, all the cats are rescued and would love a chance at a forever home of their own.

---

Andy

We have known Andy (previously known as “Fat Andy” before his recent weight loss due to ongoing teeth problems) for 5 years. A popular member of the colony, his quirky little ways and loving nature mean he is loved by his carers. Sadly this last year has seen a decline in Andy’s oral health, culminating in the news today (after another bout of terrible pain and inability to eat even the wet food provided by his carers) that he must have the majority of his teeth extracted if he is to be able to eat again and be pain-free. Unfortunately, the bill for the surgery is QR 2000, at a time when we're down to limited funds. QR1000 has been collected among his carers and now thanks to the kindness of the public donations, we have enough for him to have his surgery.

He is another lovely friendly guy who would love a forever home but that is the next hurdle to cross...

---

 Kittens, Kittens, Kittens

At TNRQ our priority is obviously trying to prevent kittens being born on the streets and suffering, however, that situation is nowhere near under control in Qatar, so tiny souls cross our paths all the time whilst we are out trapping and looking after colonies. Best case scenario mum is with them and taking care of them but sadly that isn't always the case and they so easily get sick with their lower immunity. But then on top of the normal rescues, a volunteer had 4 newly born kittens left on her doorstep, she works full time so how was she supposed to manage kittens who needed feeding every few hours! Luckily a solution was found but there are only so many foster homes to go around and there are never enough to meet demand, never mind someone willing to bottle feed 4 kittens.

---

Colony care

And then there are our wonderful team of volunteers out on the streets every single day feeding the TNR colonies, checking their health and making sure no new unfixed cats have appeared. It all adds up to a lot of work by a small group of volunteers but we all agree, the cats are worth it.

The Ginger Challenge

It is so frustrating when you mess up a trap opportunity the first time around, in this case, I firmly blame my cat Snickers; here she is this time messing up my painting, luckily the tray was empty of paint!

We had recently moved to a compound and a stunning ginger cat had been coming into our garden and spraying the walls to mark his territory, as tom cats are prone to do. I decided it was time to trap him and sort this situation out.

The scene is set, the trap is in place and I am patiently inside watching from the window just above the trap but out of sight. Ginger, enticed by the smell of tuna is edging into the trap and almost on the plate (they step on the plate and it triggers the door to shut), when Snickers unseen by me, comes into the room obviously wonders what I am looking at and tries to launch herself up to the very small window ledge, misses it but manages to bash the window in the process. At which point Ginger startled by the noise, springs backwards out of the trap, hitting it on the way out which makes the door snap shut in his face terrifying the life out him. He then goes at breakneck speed up the nearest tree and is gone.

As experienced trappers know, once such an incident happens a cat can become completely trap shy, getting them near a trap again is very hard. So I went through the process of cable tying the trapdoor open and feeding Ginger near the trap, aiming to get him used to it. Clever Ginger would eat in front of the trap, beside the trap and behind the trap but he would not put one paw inside that trap, not even for the tastiest offerings. This went on for weeks and then one morning he arrived in the garden with a swollen face and completely closed up eye - toms (unneutered males) fight over territory, food and females, Ginger was no different but this time he had come off worse! Now I really needed to somehow catch him.

As the trap was out of the question, husband and I thought we would net him but Ginger wasn't having that either. As soon as we tried to go into the garden when he was there, he was gone, we couldn't get anywhere near him, we needed another plan. In the meantime, I put antibiotics in his food and the swelling went down on his face but still, the eye was closed and weeping.

Desperation was starting to set in when a fellow TNR volunteer mentioned she had a drop trap, I had used these in the Philippines and thought this could be the solution to the problem. So we set it all up and of course Ginger wouldn't go under it! He sat on the garden table and scorned us whilst we sat holding the end of the string waiting to pull.

Finally though (after many a boring moment sat holding the string and waiting) he was getting really hungry and was tempted under the trap. This was it, if we messed up now we would never get him! At this point, I gave the string to my husband whose nerves weren't quite as frayed as mine, a quick tug the trap dropped and we finally had him!

So that is the very long story of the Ginger trapping challenge, though it didn't quite end there as just to add to the bad timing we were going on holiday the next day, at the visit to the vet we got the diagnosis that part of the actual eye itself was cut, was very painful and needed drops put in it for about 10 days - yes drops in an eye of a cat who just wanted to attack and get free! Well the vet took on the job of doing this (with thick gloves I bet) and we paid for Ginger to board whilst we were on holiday; just don't ask what the total bill was with all the treatment and boarding, am sure Ginger will show his appreciation one day...

Anyway, it all ended well. His eye is healed, he is neutered so no longer marks the walls, doesn't go off fighting or searching for girls, actually most of the time he can be found snoozing on the garden chair cushion. I am even allowed in the garden with him, as long as I keep my distance. I think the garden now belongs to Mr Ginger who we now call Teddy, though this is one Teddy bear who definitely does not want a cuddle, we are friends from a distance which is fine by me.

By Denise (a TNR volunteer)