ALTON - Feral City 4 Feral Kitties, an organization that sponsors a trap, neuter and release (TNR) program for feral cat colonies in Madison County, will host a music trivia fundraiser next month.
On Saturday, April 13, 2024, community members can enjoy music trivia for a cause at the Alton Owls Club. Proceeds will go to the Feral City 4 Feral Kitties organization so they can spay and neuter more cats throughout the community.
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“So many feral cats, they’re not treated very well by people. They don’t like these cats in their flower beds and fighting and yowling all hours of the night,” explained Linda Shaw, who helped found the organization. “But once you get them fixed, it stops a lot of the misbehavior that people don’t like. So it just makes a big difference for the kitties and for the people who live around the kitties.”
Shaw said that the organization traps six to 12 cats a month and takes them to the vet to get vaccinated and spayed or neutered. The cats can then be returned to their colonies, but they will no longer reproduce. This minimizes the amount of feral cats in a community while ensuring the existing cats are healthy.
“It just makes for a better situation for the cats,” she said. “They’re more content, they’re healthier and they just do much better overall.”
While Feral City 4 Feral Kitties tries to match some cats with barn homes, Shaw said there simply aren’t enough homes in the area to accommodate these feral cats. The organization takes care of cats who aren’t healthy enough to return to their colonies, but otherwise, they focus on the TNR program to improve the cats’ health and manage the existing colonies.
She knows many people get overwhelmed by the amount of cats near their homes. Through the TNR program, the organization aims to cap the number of cats in an area. The operations also minimize fighting and spraying, which are a few of the chief complaints that Shaw hears from people who live around feral cats.
“So many people will say, ‘Oh, I don’t know what to do about all these cats.’ Well, reach out to us and we can help you get involved in being proactive by fixing the strays in your neighborhood,” she said. “Then you’re not coming back to try to fix the problem once you have 60–100 cats. If you can get them fixed when you have two or three strays versus a huge number of strays, it makes everybody’s life easier to get those few kitties done first. Anybody can do it, wherever you live. Most neighborhoods have a few stray cats, and if you can get involved and get those kitties fixed, it just makes a huge difference.”
The music trivia night will help the organization fund the vet visits. Shaw said they also hope to purchase a property where they can take care of more cats, especially the ones who aren’t healthy enough to be returned to their colonies. She wants to make sure these cats can live the remainder of their lives “happy and healthy and loved and safe.” She joked that some of the money will also be used to purchase more Temptations cat treats, since all of the cats are “hooked.”
“The money that we’re making goes to support the cat food, litter, all of those things,” she added. “[The trivia night] was loads of fun when we did it last year. Everybody had a great time. So we’re looking forward to having a lot of fun this year too.”
The trivia night is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 13 at the Alton Owls Club. For more information about the organization and the trivia night, including how to purchase tickets or sponsor a round, visit FeralCity4FeralKitties.org or check out their official Facebook page.
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