TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

13.07.2013 Views
The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook gnawing at something hard is required for a cat’s teeth to be scraped clean. Raw bones, especially raw chicken necks, will achieve this. Cats can digest raw bones and in the wild they derive their calcium from them. The bones and necks must be raw because cooked bones can splinter and can cause injury. As with any raw meat, it’s important the bones or necks be very fresh to avoid bacterial buildup and illness. Using ground beef to cheaply improve nutritional content One way to dramatically and inexpensively improve the nutritional content of low quality cat food is to supplement it with ground beef, preferably ground chuck because of its high fat content (which is good for cats). When feeding ground beef, it’s imperative to add calcium in order to balance the phosphate content of the meat. Otherwise, you could cause long-term health problems. Mix in one teaspoon of either calcium lactate or bonemeal to each one pound of ground beef. The beef mixture can be added to wet food or fed separately. Mixing it with dry food creates a real mess. If you want to go the extra yard, add chopped-up and steamed vegetables to the beef/calcium recipe, such as broccoli, zucchini or carrots. Dried barley is also nutritious. Never add onions – they’re potentially toxic for cats even in a small amount (like chocolate). Fresh ground beef can be fed to the cats raw and uncooked. Raw meat is the most natural diet of all for cats who after all, when they catch a mouse, don’t cook it first before dining. But raw meat must be fresh, meaning it was put out that day at a reliable store and shows no outward signs of browning. If it concerns you to feed the meat raw, then lightly cook it. It will still greatly increase the quality of the cats’ diet. Chicken and turkey can also be used in place of the ground beef (again adding calcium in the same proportions). However, because of its greater susceptibility to bacterial buildup, we recommend you do cook the poultry unless it’s very fresh and organic. Don’t feed the cats only the meat mixture described here, but use it as a supplement. If you want to feed only a self-prepared raw or cooked meat diet, you need to learn more about cat nutrition, including what vitamins and minerals to add. These books are excellent resources for learning more: ♦ “The New Natural Cat,” by Anitra Frazier (Penguin Books, 1990) ♦ “Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats,” by Dr. Richard Pitcairn, DVM (Rodale Press, 1995) ♦ “Food Pets Die For (2 nd ed.),” by Ann N. Martin (NewSage Press, 2002) ♦ “Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts to Consider,” by Ann N. Martin (NewSage Press, 2001) • Vitamin C to the Rescue by Anitra Frazier It is certainly easier, cheaper and a lot more pleasant to prevent illness than it is to trap a sick cat, transport him to a vet and then try to diagnose and treat the frightened animal. Vitamin C, the first vitamin discovered by humankind, is truly a friend indeed to the caregiver of a feral colony. An efficient healer and powerful protector, it works like a 25

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook nutritional knight in shining armor fighting against invasions and battling stress of all kinds. Germs, viruses, dirt, x-rays and chemicals such as antibiotics, steroids, tranquilizers, anesthetics, pesticides and the preservatives in commercial pet foods have all been shown to use up large quantities of Vitamin C. Healthy cats can make some Vitamin C in their intestine. The operative words here are "healthy" and "some." Cats can manufacture enough C only if the diet is rich in all the other nutrients they need and only if daily stresses do not become too numerous, too extreme or too prolonged. Stresses such as extreme heat or cold, fighting, being wounded or hurt, being trapped or caged, loud noises, strong, unpleasant smells or forced change of territory use up Vitamin C at an alarming rate. Even a healthy, well-nourished cat couldn't produce enough to cover the kinds and amounts of stress faced by the feral on a daily basis. Depletion of Vitamin C leaves a cat easy prey to every germ or virus that happens along. The life of a feral cat, especially a city feral, is full of stress every day. Any trapneuter-return program is bound to include being trapped, caged, cut and having a shocking number of chemicals used on the body. The smell of the cage cleaner alone is enough to reduce a cat's Vitamin C to the danger level. The rest of the veterinary procedures raise the stress level to astronomical proportions. Is it any wonder that many succumb to upper respiratory and other diseases shortly after their neutering experience? What we need here is a knight in shining armor to bring the cats safely through all this stress. Enter Vitamin C. Just as Rescue Remedy works on the emotional plane, Vitamin C works on the physical body. This inexpensive and easily obtainable supplement will greatly enhance any cat's chance for survival. The most common forms of Vitamin C are calcium ascorbate (which used in the buffered variety tastes nasty), ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate. Ascorbic acid is usually the cheapest and has the happy side effect of acidifying the urine. An acid urine prevents the growth of germs and the formation of crystals in the bladder. When found in its natural state in foods, Vitamin C is accompanied by bioflavonoids, rutin and hesperadin. Science has found that these nutritional sidekicks are provided by nature to help the body absorb the C and put it to work more efficiently. A cheap jar of ascorbic acid powder will certainly give a lot of support and protection and it will help acidify the urine. A C complex powder of ascorbic acid with bioflavonoids, rutin and hesperadin will do a lot more for only a little more money. Health food stores will have several choices available. I use Twin Lab Super C, yellow label. Vitamin C does not need refrigeration but you must keep the contents of the bottle dry. Use a clean, dry measuring spoon. C cannot be stored by the body so it must be given every meal. A cat can absorb no more than 250 milligrams at a time; in most brands that's 1/8th tsp. of powder. If everything is going well for a colony, I give only 125 milligrams or 250 for each two cats. If the weather turns harsh or some other stress presents itself, increase the dose to 250 milligrams per cat. During trap-neuter-return projects when stress will skyrocket, I give the full dose for two days before trapping. During confinement and treatment, I feed three or four small meals a day in order to get the C into them more frequently. If a cat objects to the sour flavor, as happens occasionally, cut the dose down by half or use just a few grains. Any amount is better than zero. I find I can get away with more if I 26

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Page 3 and 4: Contents The Neighborhood Cats TNR


Page 7 and 8: Foreword The Neighborhood Cats TNR












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Page 35 and 36: 6. Winter Shelter The Neighborhood





Page 45 and 46: 8. Trapping The Neighborhood Cats T

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Page 63 and 64: • Hard-to-catch cats The Neighbor



Page 69 and 70: • Directions for use by Laura Bur


Page 73 and 74: 10. Caring for Cats in Traps The Ne









Page 91 and 92: 13. Return to the Colony The Neighb

Page 93 and 94: 14. Relocation & Sanctuaries • Re







Page 107 and 108: 16. Feral Cat Resources Neighborhoo




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