Sam Needs Your Help!

Here is the story of a cat, and the TNR group that saved his life:

Sandestin is a resort located on the long northwestern arm of Florida, between the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay. When people hear its name, they are more likely to think of golf than feral cats, and because a group of volunteers are working hard to Trap, Neuter and Release the area’s homeless cats, perhaps it will stay that way. By trapping ferals, spaying and neutering them, and releasing them back into a managed colony, the cats are less likely to become a nuisance, and their numbers will be controlled. In 2009, the TNR volunteers of Sandestin caught 75 cats. Fifteen were kittens and were able to be tamed and given homes. The other 60 were neutered, spayed, vaccinated and microchipped. The group estimates that if these cats had not been fixed, they would have bred abundantly, and Sandestin would have had 401 more cats to deal with in 2010!

The focus in Sandestin is on managing feral cats, not really rescue, but on rare occasions, a cat comes along that is in desperate need of help. That was the situation one afternoon in January, during Florida’s recent cold snap. The group got a call from a resident who had heard a cat’s screams, and found a young brown tabby hanging upside down from a plant rack. The homeowners freed the cat, but his leg was badly injured. So a couple of volunteers rescued him and got him emergency care, figuring that they would clean up the damage and most likely release him back into the wild. But a different story as unfolding — although the cat’s leg wasn’t broken, the wounds were so badly infected that it had to be amputated.

Fortunately, the cat, now named Sam, was just five months old — still a kitten — and quite willing to befriend the people who saved him. Sam is currently in foster, and being such a fetching young tripod mancat, he is winning over just about everyone who is caring for him. When Sam has healed enough, he will be adopted into a good home, but for now, the Sandestin TNR group is saddled with a load of vet bills they weren’t expecting!

Go visit the group’s blog to find out more about Sam, and the good work his rescuers are doing. And please, if you can, donate something, no matter how small, to help cover all the costs to get Sam healthy!