operation catnip

Caregiver
of the Month

Debbie Nichtberger

Debbie is a dedicated feral cat caregiver! She cares for several colonies in the downtown Gainesville area and makes good use of our OC Outreach clinics.
It is caring individuals like Debbie that help improve the lives of ferals and strays.

gray tom
Volunteer
of the month
Sara Peden

Sara, an undergrad at UF, has volunteered dozens of hours to help make the OC spring raffle possible!
Sara has been a tremendous help at our monthly clinics arriving before 7am and leaving after 5pm. She's taken over one of the Cat Check-In lines at Admissions and is doing an amazing
job.

Thank you Sara!
 
Fundraise for kitties!

OC's Raffle was a success! We raised over $500 -- all of which will go towards sterilizing more feral cats!

Congrats to the WINNERS!!

GRAND PRIZE -
Ana Smith -
an OC Volunteer

2nd PRIZE -
Ms. Peck -
Zoological Med UF

3rd PRIZES-
Sara Peden
 Sheila Robertson
Chi Frost
Ms. Cromer

To see the prizes, check out our website:
www.nmhp.net
and click on Operation Catnip


   oc

Donate now

If your business would like to donate products or services, please contact:
operationcatnip@
nmhp.net
Stay updated by visiting
www.NMHP.net
 April 28th, 2009
Dear Catnip Supporters:

At our monthly clinic for homeless cats on Sunday, April 19th, our
ambitious volunteers spayed, neutered, and vaccinated 194 cats in less than 5 hours!

Here are more clinic stats:

Volunteers                                                                                    
Veterinarians: 8
Dr. Julie Levy-OC Medical Director, Dr. Fred Schirmer of Westend Animal Hospital, Dr. Deborah Cottrell of Westend Animal Hospital, Dr. Terry Tomlin of Town & Country Veterinarians, Dr. Alex Gallagher of UF, Dr. Cynda Crawford of UF Shelter Medicine, Dr. Karen Scheadel, Dr. Caleb Hudson (student surgeon supervisor) of UF.

Vet students: 27
Other volunteers: 43

Total =  78 volunteers!

We had a limited number of volunteers at this clinic - thanks to all the volunteers who jumped from station to station to keep the clinic moving!

Cats                                                                                               
Males =  96 (2% kittens, 3-5mo old)
Females =  98 (5% kittens, 3-5mo old)
Ratio of Males:Females = 50:50
Vaccine-Only = 11. These ferals are trapped each year by their caregivers to return for vaccine boosters only.

Total = 194 cats were spayed or neutered, received Revolution to prevent heartworms, fleas, and worms, and were vaccinated against Rabies, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, and Feline Leukemia Virus! 
 
The first cat was anesthetized a few minutes after 8:00am by the Anesthesia Team. The very last surgery was completed by 2:00pm! Our Discharge Volunteers sent cats home from 1:30pm to 5:00pm and the remaining volunteers helped clean the facility until it sparkled.

Thanks to all the volunteers who make these clinics possible!
                                                                                                      

Lunch was provided in part by generous donations from volunteers and by Judy Angley, our Food Committee Chair Volunteer.

**********************************************************************************
There are always volunteer opportunities during the month. To help with tasks such as fundrasing, advertising, trap repairs, or inventory, contact operationcatnip@nmhp.net for more details.

The next opportunity to help out during a clinic is just a few weeks away. Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 17th. You can find all future clinic dates at our website.

Thanks for doing your part in the community!
Signature

Kathy Pennenga
No More Homeless Pets, Inc.
Operation Catnip Program Coordinator
katherine.pennenga@nmhp.net
352-258-6757
KittyCat Shenanigans!

Do you care for a healthy colony with room for one more?
There are a few displaced OC grads looking for somewhere to call home. Please contact Shaye for details, operationcatnip@nmhp.net
We have a drop trap!
 If you just can't seem to catch that epic queen or tenacious tom, let us know and we would be glad to loan it to you.
The drop trap also works well if some cats in the colony are already sterilized but stubbornly keep wandering into traps preventing you from catching the last few.
????  'Nip Trivia  ????

Question:
How is rabies transmitted and why are we so careful at our clinics?

Last Month's Trivia Question:
What was the female:male ratio at Operation Catnip's largest clinic?

Answer:
50:50! Our female to male ratios hardly change.
The most significant deviation from this average was at our March 2009 clinic when we had a 40:60 male:fem ration!
Major funding provided by
The National Humane Education Society
www.nhes.org