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Cats Hit Jackpot

September 02, 2009, 4:34PM MT

By Sandy Miller, Best Friends' staff writer

Vegas hotel-casino to have trap/neuter/return program

They aren’t looking to win a seven-figure jackpot that would set them up for life. They aren’t wishing for a lucky turn of the dice. And they couldn’t care less about all those slot machines.

All they’re looking for are regular meals and a safe place to live out their lives. And thanks to Best Friends Animal Society, along with some help from local volunteers, the cats at one large Las Vegas hotel and casino are getting just that.

Like a number of businesses, the hotel-casino has discovered that the best way ― and indeed the most humane way ― to deal with the feral cats on its property is to set up a trap/neuter/return program. So Best Friends staff and local volunteers are setting up feeding stations in areas of the property that don’t have tourist traffic.

“The hotel has done the right thing,” says Shelly Kotter, campaign specialist for Focus on Felines, one of four campaigns aimed at reaching the goal of No More Homeless Pets. “It’s a long-term solution that will have benefits for the hotel and the cats.”

Kotter said she doesn’t want to reveal the name of the hotel-casino because people might abandon their cats there.

Best Friends staff and volunteers will humanely trap the 15 to 20 cats living on the hotel property and take them to a Las Vegas veterinary clinic that has agreed to provide low-cost spaying and neutering.

“Volunteers will be a big part of it,” Kotter says.

Feral and shy cats account for a large percentage of the five million animals that are killed in U.S. shelters each year. But it’s been shown that trapping and killing feral cats does nothing to keep their numbers down. Once those cats are gone, other unaltered cats will simply take their place, bringing nuisances like spraying and late-night mating calls with them. And it doesn’t take long for their populations to grow.

What does work is trap/neuter/return, or TNR. The cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinary clinic where they’re spayed or neutered and vaccinated. While under the anesthesia, a small tip of one of their ears is taken off to identify that they’re part of a managed cat colony. Then they’re returned to the area from which they came where caregivers continue to feed and watch over them. Spaying and neutering takes care of all the nuisances associated with unaltered cats.

Best Friends is launching a Las Vegas chapter of its Focus on Felines campaign and hopes more Las Vegas residents will get involved in helping the city’s feral and stray cats ― or “community cats.” Best Friends will hold a free workshop for feral cat caregivers and others interested in learning how to help community cats from 1 to 3 p.m., Sept. 5, inside the Findlay Chevrolet Community Room at 6800 S. Torrey Pines Dr., in Las Vegas.

Among other things, the workshop will cover:
•    The basics of TNR
•    Understanding relocation
•    Working with your neighbors on nuisance concerns
•    Working with your local vets
•    Working with your local government and animal control

To learn more, e-mail Kotter at shellyk@bestfriends.org.

Read more about Best Friends’ Focus on Felines campaign.

Photos by Molly Wald, Best Friends' photographer.

Comments

Posted September 03, 2009, 9:46AM by lld

Two paws up to the Casino/Hotel that thought about doing the right things with the TNR! And kudos to them for reaching out to Best Friends. Good job all around, and I hope this opens the door for other businesses who might be facing a similar challenge. And the best part is that the cats get to live out their lives where they are comfortable.

Posted September 03, 2009, 11:32AM by Thyrals

Great news for this hotel, I wish them a great year for opting to do the right thing by these kitties!

Posted September 03, 2009, 11:39AM by crazysleepingcatlady

I have a good friend who is going before her condo association next week to present options regarding a TNR program for their feral/stray cats. With her experience, knowledge and credibility I am confident she will have the same success as this particular casino. I'm so glad to be reading more and more of these success stories. They are becoming more frequent and that's such a great thing! The quicker we can spread the word and make life easier for these cats while insuring their numbers don't continue to increase the better for everyone. Let's keep these cats out of the shelters so we can achieve No More Homeless Pets. These cats are just as deserving of a safe, loving environment.

Posted September 03, 2009, 11:41AM by crazysleepingcatlady

And since there are "only" an estimated 15 or 20 cats at this particular casino, it will be so much more manageable than if these cats were not s/n and allowed to produce litter after litter. Natural attrition will take care of this once we've done our part and had them all s/n. Great job everyone!

Posted September 03, 2009, 4:44PM by jmuhj

Today, this hotel. Tomorrow? ALL of the hotels! Kudos to everyone responsible and long may the cats live, safe and healthy!

Posted September 03, 2009, 5:4PM by squeakie42

What a fantastic example of a humane "business model"! Congratulations to the casino hotel, and especially to the management & staff who agreed to this plan. For once, it's good that 'what happened in Vegas DIDN"T stay in Vegas.' I hope more businesses will take a lesson from this admirable action plan.

Posted September 03, 2009, 6:23PM by lisamhopp

Although I understand the reason for not listing the hotel/casino's name, I wish that we, as members, could find out--so we can always patronize this hotel when we visit Vegas and reward them for doing the right thing!!

Posted September 03, 2009, 7:59PM by suzieq67

I wish I knew too! Since I live in Vegas, I would make it a point to go to that hotel and have dinner and see a show!!!

Posted September 03, 2009, 8:17PM by dennislubrano

Aloha: This is great news. As a former LV resident I think it is great the Gaming Industry is partaking in this, which makes me think of all the other states that have gaming? I know of one Hotel Casino that had one of the local shelters come with adoptable pups for the employees and the Hotel Casino offered to pay the adoption fees. How great is that? Perhaps others might like to do the same? So you other Go Locals might contact your gaming industries. Plus many hotel/casino corporations are located all over. If you know which ones in LV participated in feral felines program, perhaps their sister locations might do the same. Ps: Do not forget about the tribal casinos. "Lucky Felines" Also many of the hotel/casinos have in house newsletters for the numerous employees that work there, so why not see who to contact about an insert article for Best Friends Animal Society Network? Think about how many new Volunteers you can recruit in driving distance to Best Friends in Kanab?? Take care. Dennis Lubrano Hawaii Go Local Team Leader

Posted September 07, 2009, 1:52PM by pedhannah

A very inspirational story. I'm forwarding it to my friends who are not Best Friends members hoping they will get on board not only with the feral cat situation, but with Best Friends. I wish much success to this hotel/casino for doing the right thing by these little creatures of God.

Posted September 17, 2009, 4:46PM by floridacatlover

Horray for the casino, I hope this is one of the "what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas". If only all communities would adopt this policy, we would have a much better world, for the cats and people!