Big thanks to Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass and to Council President Andrew Friedson for the delightful and important council proclamation (see illustration) honoring MC C³. The ceremony took place on Oct. 1 and we had a great crowd there supporting community cats! We are grateful for the recognition for our group, but more important, for this big step forward promoting community cat awareness in our county. Thank you everyone who came out! (Photos by Benjamin Sky Brandt for the Montgomery County Council.)
We are proud that MC C³ has once again received a spay/neuter grant for community cats from the Maryland Dept. of Agriculture. The efforts of our volunteers and supporters provide us with the track record that allows us to showcase our efforts and obtain the funding to carry on with this important work. This grant covers several zip codes in the Silver Spring/Wheaton area: 20901, 20902, 20903, 20904, 20905, and 20906, during calendar year 2024.
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MC C3 Receives Petco Love Grant for 2024
We are proud to announce that MC C3 is the recipient of a $1000 grant from Petco Love to assist us in providing spays and neuters under our TNR progam. Many thanks to Petco Love for this help and recognition, for the third straight year, and thanks to our volunteers and all the community cat caretakers for the work they put in!
MC C3 Receives Grant from PetConnect “On Our Way to Spay 10K” Program
MC C³ is thrilled to participate in PetConnect Rescue‘s “On Our Way to Spay 10K” program. Our grant is allowing us to spay/neuter many of our community cats!
MC C³ is proud to be partnering with Pet Connect Rescue to fund our live-saving work!
Shelter Building with BDO Greater Washington Office
MC C³ had the honor of being selected to participate in the “BDO Counts” Volunteer Service Day of the Greater Washington D.C. offices of BDO, a member of BDO International, the world’s fifth largest accounting network. Twenty participants from BDO attended a cat shelter building session as part of the company’s strong and longstanding commitment to support community volunteerism. MC C³ volunteers both directed the shelter-building process and educated attendees on the goal of humanely and effecively reducing feral cat populations. If you and your team are interested in partnering for a similar event, MC C³ has many volunteer opportunities. Contact info@mcc3.org or visit mcc3.org for more information. (Photos by Felix Sithiphone, BDO)
Trapping Adventures with a Trail Cam
Any trapper will tell you that cats are very intuitive, so at times, trapping can be quite challenging. That is the case for a colony of cats in Olney, MD, where our volunteers have already TNR’d two female cats and continue to work to trap others, despite the difficulties that these cats have presented.
Our trappers set up a trail camera to learn the number and movements of the cats. The referral for two cats turned out to be a colony of six cats. Moreover, the cats used the storm sewers to travel underground, and were able to access three different subdivisions. Neighbors were a big help in allowing a camera and a drop trap to be set up on their property. Yummy food (sardines, tuna, salmon, and canned chicken) was set out on several consecutive nights so that the cats would be unable to resist showing up.
Neighbors had identified a “big black cat” that our volunteers had never spotted, but he was imaged by the trail camera, which verified that he was neither ear-tipped nor neutered.
A one-year-old female cat named “Licorice” was also detected by the camera. It was nice to see her because our team had TNRed her just last month. The image clearly showed her ear tip as well as the distinguishing white spot on the chest.
A female black-and-white “tuxedo” cat had only been sighted once by our volunteers, approximately two months ago. The camera showed that she was frequently present, despite being seldom seen by humans. She visited in the late evenings and throughout the night. She is spayed, vaccinated, and ear tipped now!
A Caretaker’s Story (Oct. 2020)
A cat caretaker writes: “I am so grateful for the Trap Neuter and Release program!! They have really helped me and the animals. I started with one really hungry looking cat I found asleep on my deck. I fed him and got him back on his feet and one more came along looking for food which I fed. Then a male and female pair came along and sort of adopted me. Soon I was seeing 5 kittens with them and another adult cat who was helping them with the kittens. So I was feeding the adults and 5 kittens. Eight cats. A few months went by and the cat that was helping them showed up with six kittens. That is when someone said to me that they had heard of Trap, Neuter, and Release and the Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition. I [contacted] them, and they immediately responded. I was already putting out more money than I could afford trying to feed 14 cats (and the kittens were eating plenty because they were growing). All I could see was those new kittens reproducing in a few months and more mouths to feed with less and less food for each cat because I couldn’t afford any more. I did not want to see the animals starve or be put to sleep if I called. I felt comfortable calling the Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition who would trap neuter and release them and had a food bank to help. I am very grateful for their help.”
Thanks to Alley Cat Allies for their generous assistance for our TNR program.
Feral cats that were trapped, neutered, vaccinated, and returned in the above case.
We’re in the Giant Food Giving Tag Program!
Buy the “Give Back” reusable bag at any Giant Food location and follow instructions on the tag to direct a $1 donation to MC C³!
