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Got Cats?
Are you feeding cats in your neighborhood on Maui?
Are you feeding cats in your neighborhood on Maui?
Let's get them fixed!
Let's get them fixed!
With free* community cat spay and neuter appointments at the Maui Humane Society (MHS), your colony cats will have a free trip to the vet. We can help trap the cats in humane traps and gently transport them to and from MHS as well. We prioritize colonies where the caretaker has medical or mobility limitations - or if you don't have a car. Or, we can help people who are just overwhelmed. We get it. If you have a business where you and your employees are caring for cats, you can reach out too. We strive to help everyone who asks for assistance if we have the people and MHS appointments to help. Or, we may refer you to others who can. We also have access to occasional large spay-neuter clinics.
All cats trapped and fixed as feral/community cats will have the top of one ear tipped (the tip of one ear is removed while under anesthesia - the cat doesn't even know) for identification purposes. If you have a very friendly pet cat and don't want its ear tipped, then it must be fixed as a pet which is $65 at MHS - although they don't always offer this service. (It's not being offered now.) Our group does not help pay to fix pet cats.
All cats receive a tiny microchip under their skin to help find their owners if the cats are lost and then found by others.
Questions? Please email us at rustymauicat@gmail.com or send us a message on Rusty’s Facebook page.
*Vaccines are $10/cat and highly encouraged.
The Importance of TNR
It's estimated that there are at least 40,000 community cats living on the island of Maui, but some feel the true number is more than double that. Most of these cats live in colonies, occupying a specific territories with regular sources of cat food.
There are ongoing efforts by The Rusty MauiCat Collective and by other non-profit groups and individuals to humanely reduce the feral cat population by practicing TNR (trap - neuter/spay - return). Cats are humanely trapped, fixed, micro-chipped, ear-tipped for easy identification, vaccinated (optional, but encouraged), and returned safely to their colonies. Volunteer colony caretakers continue to feed and care for the cats throughout their lives.
Why Spaying and Neutering Colony Cats is Important:
It Helps to Stabilize the Cat Population
It is the Most Humane and Effective Solution to Reduce Cat Population Growth
Cats Become Better Neighbors (less fighting and howling when fixed)
It Answers the Community's Desire for Compassion
Protects and Improves Cats’ Lives
The most common source of the cat overpopulation tragedy on Maui are individual pet owners who refuse or are afraid to get their cats fixed. People are the obstacle. Sometimes parents want their children to witness "the miracle of birth"; other times people let their unaltered cats wander and then they mate with other intact cats. There are also people who are genuinely uncomfortable having their cats neutered, which often results in cats mating and the birth of many kittens year after year. A female cat may have up to three litters a year in Maui's tropical climate.
By spaying and neutering just one male and one female cat, more than 2,000 unwanted births can be prevented in just four years – and more than two million in eight years!
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