Kauai Community Cat Project

Kauai Community Cat Project (KCCP, formerly Kauai Ferals) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare and support of community cats -- homeless cats, stray cats, feral cats.  We practice TNR -- trap, neuter, return -- of the cats we care for.  What this means is that we provide a regular supply of food and water for colonies of community cats, and we also trap those cats to have them spayed or neutered, so that they don't produce kittens.  And, importantly, we return the spayed or neutered cats to the place where we trapped them. Over time, colonies we manage through TNR stabilize and decline in numbers over time, because no kittens are being born.  However, we also see a steady influx of cats and kitten into these otherwise stable colonies, because people abandon and dump unwanted cats.  Colony caretakers know their colonies well, and know when a new cat or cats appear.  Adult cats are TNR'd.  With kittens, we trap them and put them into foster homes to get them used to being around people.  We spay or neuter the kittens when they are old enough, get them vaccinated, and then adopt them out.  Sadly, sometimes we find newborn kittens, and for these very young ones, we locate fosters who can bottle feed them.

We are currently the only organization on Kauai doing TNR, but we are aware that there are many independent caretakers on the island.  KCCP provides assistance to community cats whenever possible.  Through an application on our website, people -- most often, tourists -- write in about community cats they see, asking for the cats to be TNR'd.  Our small group of dedicated volunteers responds to the sightings as we are able.  Sometimes when we go trapping, we leave empty handed, but then we go back and try again.  And sometimes, we are able to trap five or more cats at a time.  Our volunteers take the trapped cats to be spayed or neutered at KCCP's expense.  We NEVER charge for this service, but we are always happy to receive donations.  KCCP relies solely on donations to do our work.  

This year we are on track to TNR about 500 cats, nearly double our 2013 number.  The current cost of a spay or neuter and microchip at Kauai Humane Society is $25.  And if that was the only expense we had, we would be in pretty good shape.

But, we have food to buy for the many colonies we care for, as well as expenses for deworming and flea and tick treatments, and various other medical issues.  This year, though, has brought us a very large number of sick kittens.  Our per kitten cost, WITHOUT medical issues, is about $100 -- about FOUR times the cost of an adult cat.  This cost includes spay or neuter, deworming, vaccinations, and food and litter supplies for our fosters.  And neither we, nor the veterinarians we work with, know why many of these kittens have unusual intestinal parasite problems that just do NOT go away with standard treatment.  That means more supplies for fosters and more time in foster care, as well as additional medicines and veterinary care.  This year we have also cared for a number of kittens who have other medical problems:  quite a few are blind, some have deformed limbs, and we have one poor kitten with most of its tail torn off.

Won't your please help with a tax-deductible donation?