What FURR is about!

FURR focuses solely on the cats of the Ole Miss campus. Unfortunately, in most cases we are not able to address the problem of free-roaming dogs on campus through our Trap/Neuther/Return method. In addition to TNR of free roaming cats, we rescue kittens and domesticated cats and remove them from campus. However, we are not a shelter. We can only rescue as many cats/litter of kittens as we have available foster homes, and foster homes are very limited.

Cats exist on campus because of the animal overpopulation problem in Oxford and Lafayette County. We have a responsibility as members of the community to do what we can to minimize feral cat colonies. Please spay/neuter your pets!

 

Trap/Neuter/Return – How do we do it

Trap – We set up traps in areas of known cat colony. The trapper usually stays at the trap site until a cat is trapped or until the trapper must cease trapping for the day. It is rare that a trap is left unattended for more than an hour. We use Humane small animal collapsible traps which cause no harm to the cat.

Neuter/Spay – The cat is taken to one of the two currently participating veterinary clinics in Oxford. The cat is tested for FeLV/FIV if the clinic suspects the cat has the disease (these cats are often males over one year old). We are sad to say that we do not have the funds to test every cat that we trap. Our goal is to one day test ALL cats that we trap. The cats are sterilized and given a Rabies vaccination. The cats’ ears are tipped while in surgery so that they can be identified and monitored once they are released. We keep the cat in a safe quiet place until it has full use of its faculties and we are sure there haven’t been any complications.

Return – The cat is returned to the same exact place it was trapped.