Teamwork helps save 150 Sacramento cats whose homes are being demolished.
By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff 
Imagine your world turning upside-down, your family abandoning you, and the imminent destruction of the only home you have ever known. That was the reality for a large group of cats after a Sacramento judge mandated that the residents of Regency Trailer Park vacate their premises and that the entire neighborhood be razed.
Knowing that there were many cats still living in the area, word spread quickly through the local rescue community; however, no one initially stepped forward to lead the effort to save the animals.
Julie Lindsey of
Sisters Animal Sanctuary (SAS) could not get these cats out of her mind. She and her sister, fellow animal advocate Kathy Monahan, spearheaded the rescue effort to save what they initially thought to be approximately 50 cats. On January 28 she posted a plea for help on both the
Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC) and the
Coalition for Community Cats networks. With a demolition date scheduled for February 16, they knew fast action was necessary.
Debi Lindblade, volunteer for
Happy Tails, and an integral part of this rescue effort, began calling various veterinarians and animal welfare groups including Best Friends for assistance. Kathleen Burke, Animal Help Specialist was assigned to the case and sent a message out to members requesting help. “It’s wonderful when a community can come together to solve a problem,” comments Burke. “If everyone just pulls together and helps, a lot can happen.”
As people responded, various teams were created to help make this rescue succeed; people signed up to assist with equipment, feeding, trapping, transport, spay/neuter, recovery, foster and permanent homes, and relocation.
(
Kathy Monahan of Sisters Animal Sanctuary and Ann Dickson of Cause for Paws)
Once that was arranged, 21 individuals converged on the trailer park on February 10 to participate in a mass trapping effort. In that first night, the group successfully captured 41 cats, though unexpectedly quite a few appeared to be ill. A triage was set up to determine which ones needed additional medical assistance and which ones were able to be immediately spayed or neutered and placed. While all cats were infested with parasites, others displayed upper respiratory infections, serious dental issues, and some even had severe wounds. It was at that point they realized there were far more than 50 cats who needed saving and the rescue had suddenly become a much larger effort than they had previously imagined.
They originally thought they had only two weeks, but fortunately the demolition has been slow. Much of the work consists of tearing down the trailers piece by piece. This has allowed the group to continue their rescue efforts and they have been allowed continued access to the park to trap, as long as they stay away from the areas that are currently being torn down. “Our attitude is we’ll go until they kick us off,” said Lindsay. “Once you start up, I’m not going to only do it half way. We’re going as long as it takes to get all the cats.”
Their Herculean efforts would not have been possible if it were not for the assistance of many organizations and individuals who have rallied together from Placer, Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento counties on behalf of the forgotten felines.
The medical needs for the cats have been overwhelming. Under the coordination of Dede Shaw, the
Animal Spay Neuter Clinic quickly stepped forward to help. Not only have they provided free spay and neuter surgeries to a great many of the cats, but they also loaned live traps and even a transport van. In fact, the facility devoted a clinic entirely to the Regency cats at the beginning of the effort and has been continuing to fix cats individually since that point. Dr. Kari Mundschenk, owner of
Just for Cats Veterinary Hospital and Dr. Jugtar Purewal, owner of
Laguna Creek Vet Hospital have been extremely helpful to the cats with more serious health issues.
Feline Lifeline has helped trap, find many barn placements, and has taken in
11 cats available for adoption.
FieldHaven Feline Rescue and Adoption has used their networking skills to promote the rescue effort, successfully screening and placing 41 of the cats. Claudia Schlachter of the
City of Sacramento Animal Care Services contacted all of the registered feral caregivers to help with placements and Cause for Paws of Sacramento has helped with trapping, handling the ferals, and helping to raise funds for the rescue.
Many individuals have helped in the effort, but without doubt Manfred Werner can easily be crowned “King of Trappers” in this event, as he alone has managed to outwit 58 cats – which is over 1/3 of all those rescued. Who would have thought this artist/race car driver/cyclist would have a soft spot in his heart for the little furry felines; however, only three months ago he helped
trap, neuter, and return (TNR) some cats in his own neighborhood. Lindsey explains, “He saw it in his own backyard and it struck a chord in him and tugged on his heartstrings.” Now he has been trapping at Regency every night for the past three weeks, continuing to catch cats and is determined to capture the final two holdouts.
“Many fine people in the community saw great value and worth in the Regency cats,” notes Lindblade. “They saw the love and hurt deep in their eyes and in their essence and being. These cats suffered hunger and mental pain prior to being rescued through a group effort of community volunteers who saw their worth. This rescue effort went on prior to, during and after the demolition days at Regency Trailer Park. The Regency cats are special kitties of all ages, just as our community represents special people of all ages. They've been spared for a reason, to trade off love and affection with you! Please don't be afraid to consider an older cat when making an adoption decision. Just as people of all ages have value, so do our four-legged friends.”
Thus far the rescuers have saved 150 cats, one dog, and even one turtle. Miraculously, they have already successfully placed 115 of the cats. Only six have tested positive for
FIV, two of whom are sweet and social. Of the remaining 37 cats (including the two felines who still need to be caught), 31 are ferals who require colony or barn placement and six are friendly and need to be adopted into loving homes.
In addition to compassionately rescuing the felines, approximately 75% of the cats captured were intact females. By spaying them, this effort has prevented an untold number of homeless kittens this spring. If the cats had moved on to other areas, entire new colonies of feral cats would have begun, adding to the current overpopulation problem.
However, this rescue has come at a high cost. To date the veterinary fees, despite discounts and free services, total around $20,000 and Lindsey anticipates the figure will continue to rise to around $25,000 by completion. Some financial assistance is being provided by the City of Sacramento,
United Animal Nations, and
The Humane Society of the United States; however, funds are still desperately needed. Lindsey requests people to, “Please remember to ask your family and friends to send $1 to help pay for the medical care of the cats. If we get 20,000 people to send $1, the bills will be covered, I hope.”
UPDATE 3/9/08:
Good news from Julie Lindsey. “Our motto was ‘No cat left behind.’ Our mission has been accomplished and the last of the 152 cats was trapped tonight [3/7/08] and for Manfred that made it his 60th cat at the trailer park.” The final cat trapped was named Queenie, though apparently she was no easy catch. She first evaded capture from a baited drop trap. “She quickly entered the trap area, Manfred pulled the cord, and Queenie was so fast she dashed out before the trap even hit the ground,” notes Lindsey. “I'm sure she was carrying a piece of fish in her mouth and smirking as she ran from the area.”
The trap was reset and after a long wait she entered and success! However, she then refused to enter the transfer trap. Despite an hour of attempts to cajole, bribe, and coax her in, nothing worked. Eventually she and Manfred were able to wrap the trap and cat in a sheet and move them into a car to transfer her. Now the last holdout is at the veterinarian’s office for a physical and spay.
Lindsey sums it up as follows, “There are no shining eyes in the dark at this trailer park anymore. Not one, not anywhere. The last cat is now safe and accounted for. Mission accomplished,” notes Lindsey. However, she also states, “We still need homes for some of the cats and I know we can all make that happen with our continued efforts to save the Regency Park Cats.”
An added bonus to this rescue is that Ann, another one of the volunteers, managed to save two kittens who were living with a former tenant of the trailer park. Both Hope and Charity were extremely ill; though they are now in loving hands who will nurse them back to health and homes.
How to help:• Donations are needed to help cover the enormous veterinary costs. Gifts may be sent to:
Sisters Animal Sanctuary Inc. (SAS)4801 Laguna Blvd., Suite 105
PMB 331
Elk Grove, California 95758
Please make a notation that the donation is to be used for the Regency Park cats. If any excess is received, it will be deposited into a separate account to be used for future TNR efforts.
• Colony or barn placements are still required for the remaining 31 ferals and permanent homes are needed for those six social cats who deserve a loving home.
For more information: •
Regency Park Cats website•
Local television news coverage this rescue effortPhoto credit: photos provided courtesy of Patrick Bell.