Work It Work It Work It!

I like to think of myself as a hands-on kind of dog. I like to read stuff on the internet for sure, but I also like getting in there and doing stuff. When it comes to learning about feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return it's helpful to be able to see things in person, get some hands-on advice, and meet folks face-to-face who also care about helping cats. And guess what? There are workshops to help with that! They're called Helping Community Cats Workshops and they happen a couple times a month in lots of different cities. If there isn't one near you, Alley Cat Allies teaches you how to start your own complete with an outline, videos, and materials.

Recently I got to sit in on a couple Helping Community Cats Workshops in our office in Bethesda, MD. I learned a whole lot!

Everyone who came to the workshop got a bunch of materials to take home. There was an agenda of the workshop, door hangers to tell neighbors about Trap-Neuter-Return, brochures on how to get involved, a step-by-step Trap-Neuter-Return guide and other good stuff.

Plus a pen for taking notes!

Before all of our guests started showing up, I checked out the trap that was going to be used in the demonstration. I've seen a humane trap lots of times before, but every time I want to sniff them and check 'em out. The Office Cats are equally interested in these traps too!

So that's where the cats go, hm?

My pal Amanda was speaking as one of our Trap-Neuter-Return experts. She let me check out the examples of bait options: regular canned cat food, and stinky sardines. Office Cat Oliver had to check it out, too.

"Which bait do you like?" "The one that you open!"

Soon it was time for all of our visitors to show up. The Office Cats and I were the welcoming committee!

Oh hey you guys. Come on in! 

Our first workshop was pretty small, but our second workshop had a lot of people show up! The cats and I were all very helpful.

Me and the cats hanging out. 

Part of the workshop included watching some videos. The first video was Helping Community Cats, which is a good overview of what feral cats are and how you can help. The second video was How to Trap an Entire Colony which shows from start to finish the whole Trap-Neuter-Return process. And the last one was Community Relations, which talks about the very important job of communicating with neighbors about the cats. You can watch all of those videos online!

The ladies from Alley Cat Allies National Cat Help Desk were great presenters. Laura told everyone about Community Relations, and how it's important to talk to everyone in the community about the cats in the neighborhood. That's so you can coordinator efforts with the people who feed the cats, and help the cats be good neighbors to those folks who don't. That includes talking about humane deterrents--ways to keep cats out of areas where they aren't wanted.

Laura, explaining how to use deterrents, while Office Cat Oliver helps.

Amanda is one of our Trap-Neuter-Return experts, so she talked about how you plan for and carry out TNR. She demonstrated how to set a trap, using our pink TruCatch box trap.

First you put the paper in, then you put the bait in, then you set the trap and wait for cats! Right?

A lot of things were covered in the workshop, but the best thing about some in-person instruction is the Question and Answer session afterward. It's a great time to get some individual advice and attention about the cats that matter most to you--the ones in your neighborhood!There were lots of questions after the workshop was done.

But not from me! I was all tuckered out.

If you ever have a chance to get to a Helping Community Cats workshop you should go! They're really informative and a lot of fun.