| Messages of Thanks | |
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| SNIP International helps small animal welfare organisations in many countries. Whenever we can we post here the messages we receive from them, with pictures showing the work we are helping to support | ||
| More thanks from VOCAL, Crete | ||
  November 27th 2009: This week we have been working with vets and neutered 161 cats in 6 days. There were also a number of other operations such as eye and teeth removals, hernias, injuries etc to deal with Without your traps, Nurses Best Friend and squeeze box we could not have been so successful.Some of those who needed extra care had to stay in cages for a few days of recovery. We are also caring for 24 kittens at the moment, and;as it is winter we have great difficulty sending them on to new homes overseas. One of the pictures (left) shows the lucky brothers who are being kept safe in the big cage. Thank you once again from VOCAL for the help and support that SNIP International gives us. To see more about VOCAL's work, click here. |
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 Thanks from LithuaniaThe Lithuanian Animal Welfare Organization “Pifas“ would like to kindly thank “The Kismet account”, SNIP International, WSPA and MDC Exports for the conference in Vilnius (September 18-20th, 2009) “Lithuanian cat population Management: the Problem and Solutions“. Following the last year conference, “The Theory and Practice of Stray Cat Population Reduction”, held on April 25-27th, 2008 in Kaunas, we strongly believed that another conference in the capital of Lithuania could be very useful as it could widen the opportunities for implementation of the “Trap-Neuter-Release” program in both the biggest cities as well as throughout Lithuania. “Pifas” would like to thank “Dogs Trust” for the opportunity to attend all training sessions and get more ideas about implementing TNR. Also we would like to thank David Newell and Chris Laurence for the advice about ear tipping, rabies vaccinations and the EU Convention, and Clarissa Baldwin for giving the contact of SNIP International to our CEO Brigita Kymantaite, which was the beginning of TNR success in Lithuania. The full report on the two conferences can be read here. If you want to know how SNIP International can make a difference, it's worth taking the time to read it. |
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  Thanks from PolandI send to you first report from use in Szczecin (of the) Foldaway Eeziset Cat Trap and TTR. I catch in this cats to neutering and return, adoption, euthanasia (two feral cats jaundice on Kormoranów; one urina, one cancer - unknown guardians), one adult feral she-cat to remove eye at neutering. Not ever I remember using camera at catching cats! Older photographs from use ECT and TTR I send to you later. |
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| Thanks from "Plakakats", Crete | ||
 Hi to you all from Plaka. I thought I would send a photo of a recent house guest. This cat was either hit by a car or possibly burnt himself on one of the log stoves the tavernas use in the winter. He was not a good patient - but having the hospital cage made caring for him possible. He is now back on the street and has a nasty scar right across his body, but he comes every morning for his breakfast and seems to manage very well. I have also recently caught a very beefy tom cat that has been beating up the younger males. I tried with both a manual and the automatic trap that I have from SNIP and he was having none of it. For several weeks I let him get used to being close to me at feeding time. Then, using the bottom slider (Nurse's Best Friend) I was able to catch him while he was distracted by food. I had been trying to catch him since the summer, so I am surprised you didn't hear the cheer! He is also back on his patch and none the worse for parting with his manhood.
I just wanted to let you know that I use the equipment sent by SNIP International constantly and could not manage without it. We have visiting vets here at the moment and as there are only a few cats in Plaka that need sterilising, I use my equipment to help other people. There is an old Greek man and his wife who feed the cats in a nearby town. They are worried because they cannot afford to keep feeding them if they reproduce. Some are already done but, as Jiannis says, it just takes one of each! Hooray! A Greek who understands! I hope you are all well. Thanks again for the equipment. |
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| Thanks from "Animals Lebanon" | ||
 During the ICAWC in Italy in 2008, a representative of Animals Lebanon was proud to accept a cat trapping cage from SNIP International.
While many organizations see trapping cages as just another piece of equipment, we were extremely pleased to receive this as there are none available in Lebanon and they are difficult to source from overseas due to size and customs fees. Animals Lebanon was greatful for the cage as it came when we were launching our TNR program. This cage was used throughout our project wiht LAU, savings the cats on the university campus from being poisoned, and help convince the university to take a more humane approach when dealing with the cats living on the campus. This cage has so far been loaned to seven different people, trapping 19 cats cats. We feel this usage is vital as it encourages community involvement in TNR, as well as illustrating to the general public that the work we are doing is in no way 'mysterious' or harmful, and that once it is done there are noticeable benefits. In the six months since we received this cage, we have used it to trap more than 50 cats, most for the purposes of TNR, and others to receive veterinary care after they had been through our TNR program. Again, thank you for the donation of this trapping cage and we look forward to being able to work with SNIP International in the future. To visit the "Animals Lebanon" web site (in English) click here. |
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| Thanks from "Society for the Protection of Animals (Ljubimci)", Pancevo, Serbia | ||
| We have received one pair of protective gloves (small ones) and cleaning set (scoop set) from SNIP International. We are using the cleaning set in our shelter for everyday cleaning of kennels. It is very useful tool and it makes this job much easier for our shelter staff and volunteers. Protective gloves have been used by veterinarians who are helping us with the spay/neuter project that we have started together with the local municipality six months ago. Gloves were very handy in some cases where cats acted very aggressive due to the fear - protection was very effective and vets came out without a single scratch when they were using them to handle stray animals. |
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| Thanks from "Animal Life", Sibiu, Romania | ||
| At the ICAWC in Stresa we received from you a double crate for cats which came very handy to us:
We have a lot of stray /feral cats in the city and generally in Romania cats are seen as even less "important" than dogs. Generally they are fed very little because they are believed to make it on their own and catch mice (especially in villages). Kittens are often drowned or thrown away and cats are hard to place for adoption. We have spayed about 80 cats since we started our small organization in 2006, a part of them found by us and placed for adoption, part of them had owners who either couldn't afford or didnt care about spaying. We have a vet who does the surgery free for us, so that he often reserves one whole day just for our animals (cats and dogs). In such cases the crate was very good for keeping the animals before surgery. You see, in Sibiu, where we live, there is no clinic where owners can leave their sick animal for treatment, you have to get it home and have the doctor come there or get it to the him every day. Our vet is the only one who helps us with serious cases and keeps them under supervision at his practice. We had cases of very sick cats who needed shots or medicine every other hour and also supervision: again the crate was perfect to keep the animal in a confined, closed space. To visit the "Animal Life" web site (in English) click here. |
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| Thanks from "Lesė", Lithuania | ||
 The animal welfare organization "Lese" would like to thank "SNIP International" for providing us with the equipment. We are now able to run our TNR programme in Lithuania. The equipment works just perfectly.Eezicatch Cat Trap and Trap Transfer Restrainer is constantly in use. So far, we have sterilized 24 female and neutered 5 male cats. 3 of them have been socialized and adopted. 6 female cats were too pregnant to be sterilized so were left in our shelter to have kitties. Others have been eartipped, vaccinated against rabies and released to the same area. The cats' locations have been registered in our website. Now they are being looked after by caregivers. We also use the Eezicatch Cat Trap in our daily pet rescue activities and Trap Transfer Restrainer for giving medical care. Catching feral cats became simple.  That is why we are very thankful to you for helping us. With your help, we will be able to reach our goal - reduce the number of unwanted pet animals in a humane way. Update - August 2009 We are continuing TNR project in Lithuania. We have already spayed/neutered 44 cats. Our project has been running slow due to lack of funding, but in a short while we will be able to spay/neuter more cats. There is more information on our web site; part of it is already translated into English. To visit the site, click here. You can also see photos of the spayed/neutered cats here. |
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| Cretan Animal Welfare Group | ||
 We wish to thank you once more for your help in ensuring a better life for the cats of Crete. Your useful donation of a cat trap, a Nurse's Friend cat box and a pair of gauntlets enabled us to carry out our work efficiently as well as ensuring higher welfare standards for the cats. Furthermore, these have proved valuable items when we are dealing with feral cats that may demand immediate veterinary treatment. To date we have neutered 11 female cats, 5 of which were pregnant, and 3 males. These were all in controlled colonies where we have people feeding and caring for them on a regular basis.  A volunteer caring for one of these cat colonies in Heraklion city was especially grateful for the equipment as she successfully trapped a feral cat with teeth problems so bad that he couldn’t eat, and it led to the cat being cared for, neutered and returned to live happily among the rest.The equipment is also being used regularly to care for the cats of our Cat Café (approx. 11) at Malia Park Hotel. In 2009 we are planning to extend the project to include a new cat colony (based in the parking lot of a local supermarket) and another new cat café on hotel grounds. |
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| People for Animals Trust, Haryana, India | ||
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Please find enclosed photos of the Wildlife Gloves donated by your organisation to us with our rescue work (in the photo we have rescued a monkey with severe electrical burns). These Gloves are very easy to use and very much comfortable for catching any dog, cat, or any wild animals. We are very much grateful for your donation of Wildlife Gloves to our organisation. |
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Ravi Dubey People For Animals Trust Faridabad, Haryana India. |
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| Animais de Rua (Portugal) | ||
| "The trap has been used continuously since the day it arrived :) We are very happy with it, as the cats enter it easily and almost always step on the right place to close the door. We are as happy with this trap as with the ones we had from trapman, with the advantage that the plastic door of this trap is much more resistant and less fragile. Until today, we have trapped 36 cats with the trap, in 3 different colonies in the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. You can see some images of our field work using the trap here. (the link takes you to YouTube) Thank you again so much for this opportunity! To visit the "Animais de Rua" web site (in English) click here. |
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| Nine Lives in Athens | ||
 On the left is Evgenia of "Nine Lives Greece" in the process of catching a cat for neutering in an Athens park. The cat - the black and white one - was caught and neutered shortly after the photo was taken. Evgenia wrote: On behalf of all the Nine Lives Team I would like to thank SNIP International for their most generous donation of the wooden trap to us at the International Pet Conference in Berlin. The trap has been used on several occasions either to trap cats or to let them sleep overnight after their treatment.  I lent the trap today to another society so that a blind pregnant cat will be trapped and they have promised me to take pics as well which I will send them over to you. Life has never been crazier for me here. I have taken this picture (right) of a cat belonging to a colony of Athens that I am neutering. This work is done exclusively by me and it's quite remote, in an industrial area, so I always have to go at night which is not always possible. |
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 Visit the Nine Lives site by clicking on their banner. |
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| Nine Lives has now published a very good Newsletter; to open a copy click here You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it; that can be downloaded free by clicking on the logo below  |
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More news from Nine Lives, Athens |
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 I have attached some pictures of a new case we have been helping. It's at an area near my house, which saved me a lot of driving. It's quite densely populated; at the bottom of huge blocks of flats live around 20 un-neutered cats.
Half of the females were pregnant while the other half ware in season. Some limping, others thin, skin problems, tailless, open wounds etc. The boys were in a bit better condition but still scruffy, skin problems etc. It's a miracle how those cats have not been poisoned yet, because the noise they are making due to fights and mating is incredible. Anyway, during the weekend we trapped 3 females ( the vet said they were all pregnant!) and will keep going until they are all done. I have left your trap there because we need to do the females urgently first as they are so many of them pregnant. You can't see cats in the pictures because the time they were taken wasn't feeding time  so most of them were elsewhere, except the female in the trap who had gone mental at that moment. She was pregnant with an open wound in the belly and something had cut her tail so she was bleeding from her tail; horrible, just awful.Anyway, we will try to help them and the lady who cares for them and is actually English but has very limited finances. The cats will be released back to their "home" tomorrow. |
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| Visit the Nine Lives site by clicking on their banner. |
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| The Cat’s Whiskers (from Bangkok) | ||
We must thank SNIP International,
a UK based organisation who have generously donated a cat trap and restraining
cage to help us with our ever-increasing cat ABC program. We can now
help those feral felines who have so far evaded us - grateful purrs go
to SNIP on their behalf! To find out more about them, click on the banner below |
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| Thanks from ARK, Animal Refuge Kansai, Japan | ||
  Although we are primarily running a shelter for stray, abandoned and
abused dogs and cats, we try to do outreach programmes for feral cats
using TNR. As far as there are carers in the locality to feed and
monitor the cats, we trap and neuter as many as possible and
providing they are healthy, return them to the original place.
There are a multitude of feral cats in high rise housing areas and of course most residents would like them removed altogether. It is important that we get residents to understand that what we are doing will ease the situation and that carers will ensure that the cats are not a nuisance. Last year we trapped and neutered 23 cats in one such area in the space of two months, where a disabled woman had been feeding them. Osaka has the highest number of homeless people in Japan. They mostly set up tents in city parks or along riversides. Nearly all these people keep cats or dogs for companionship and although the animals are well fed, they are not neutered and thus proliferate. Although the city authorities are keen to remove these animals, the homeless don't trust the authorities who they suspect, rightly, will just kill their pets. The authorities often asks ARK to intervene in these cases. In one on-going case of a man with 31 dogs, we have neutered and health checked all the dogs and are trying to find homes for the adoptable dogs, while returning to him dogs he is especially attached to. At another park we are trapping and neutering cats belonging to another homeless person, so far 33 in two months, but since the cats are mainly feral with no possibility of being rehomed we return them to the park. We use the automatic traps, one of which was donated by SNIP International, to catch the cats.The squeeze cage is used by the vet when giving injections. To visit the ARK web site, click here. |
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| Thanks from Southern Italy | ||
To visit the Lega Pro Animale web site, just click here. |
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| Serendipity in the suburbs of Marmaris, Turkey | ||
Marilyn Hadley, who lived for 10 years in Turkey but is now back in the UK, has set up a small charity, Serendipity, which raises funds in UK to help street animals (cats, dogs and the occasional donkey) in Turkey.
 Serendipity
recently received a cat trap and crush cage from SNIP International. Marilyn
sent us this note of thanks, together with a note from the Turkish vet
who is helping her.
The vet only sent me 2 pictures I am afraid and you can't see the cat trap nor a cat but anyway you can see how they neuter the cats, upright on a small table turned on its side. I guess they did not have a camera out in the street when they were catching the cats as the photos were taken in Behçet's clinic, which for Turkish standards is really up to date. Although he is a private vet he does and always has helped street animals and makes huge reductions for people on low incomes. So thank you again for the cat trap and the crush cage. Please rest assured they will be put to good use and will always be in use. Behçet Duzgun added: A lady brought the cat trap. Thank you very much. We started to operate on street cats this month. Armutalan municipality is going to pay for medicines and stitches. We operate on them in my clinic for free.  We
want to operate on approximately 100 cats. We did 45 operations from 02 March
till today in Armutalan and 30 operations in Içmeler Bye Behçet We had another e-mail from Turkey in early April. We operated more than 100 cats in March. Thanks for the cat trap. One night around my clinic we caught 15 cats with the trap you sent. And three vets operated on them in the morning in two hours. After this I believe that if we work hard we can operate all cats and dogs in Marmaris in one month. If we can get enough support. Thanks for everything Behçet If you would like to contact Serendipity, they can be reached by e-mail: just click here. |
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| Thanks from Romania Animal Rescue | ||
 Everyone
involved with Romania Animal Rescue would like to thank SNIP International
for their generous donation of equipment for our ongoing spay/neuter
program in Galati, Romania.Of special importance is the TTR, or"squeeze box", designed to trap, neuter, and return feral cats. Without the help of SNIP International, Romania Animal Rescue's veterinarian in Galati, Dr. Ileana Gheorghita, would not have been able to spay/neuter approximately 300  cats in Galati,
Romania, since November of 2006.Thanks SNIP International for helping us with our mission of humane animal control! Sincerely, and with great admiration, Nancy Janes, President, Romania Animal Rescue Inc. USA If you'd like to visit the Romania Animal rescue web site, click here. |
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| Dog Neutering Clinic in Banjul, The Gambia, February 2007 | ||
  GambiCats
held their first welfare and neutering clinic in Banjul, The Gambia,
in February 2007. They sent us an e-mail detailing their success, and
thanking us for helping make it possible. Here are some extracts.Despite several last-minute problems concerning premises for the Clinic, the programme was a great success. Some 42 dogs were caught; of these 27 females and 11 males were neutered, given anti-rabies vaccinations, microchipped and ear-notched for ID.  One dog was found to be microchipped already; searching the records revealed she had been done in January 2006 & the ear tip was not easily noticed. Two dogs had to be put to sleep and one died shortly after arrival.Since January 2006 around 70 dogs have now been neutered and treated in Banjul by GambiCats. This is only part of the picture, however, as some 26 other dogs and 7 cats were also neutered at the Clinic. These were strays being re-homed and some from Gambians who heard about the Clinic & brought in their animals. The total number of animals neutered during the 9 days was a staggering 71! |
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 For
2 months beforehand we were trying to find a central location for the
clinic. When we boarded the plane at Gatwick we thought the Banjul City
Council had found a place, but on arrival we were told it was not available!Luckily Matar and Sol at the Port, where we had worked before, swung into action; the room was cleared and cleaned in a day! We set up on Friday and began operating. GambiCats would like to thank Sue Harvey & Suzanne Jones, the vet and nurse for their splendid work - 71 animals in 9 days in these conditions is an amazing achievement. We must also thank Dodou, Alhajie, Lamin and Foday for their success in catching and handling the dogs, no easy matter in the crowded streets of Banjul. We also thank many helpers and sponsors including SNIP International, RSPCA, WSPA, Dogs Trust, Monarch, Pam Pitman, and many many others. In The Gambia our thanks go to the Dept of Livestock Services, the Gambia Port Authority and Dr Ceesay. For more information on GambiCats, please visit their website by clicking here. |
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| Thanks from SW France | ||
 "Les
amis des chats" is a registered French charity based in south west France.
We organise trap-neuter-return programmes in small rural villages, provide
neutering vouchers to low-income cat owners, and rehome stray and abandoned
cats and kittens. We thank SNIP International
for their kind donation of an automatic trap and crush cage. The equipment donated is really excellent. Normally we use traps that have two metal trap doors. Your trap with the Perspex 'door' is great and was put to good use from day one when we used it to trap a female who was 'trap shy', and who we had failed to catch on many previous occasions. Many thanks from the cats of Quercy. To visit the "Les amis des chats" Web site (in both English and French) click here. |
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| Many Thanks to SNIP International from Eurasia CPO! | ||
 For a long time Armenia faced
a problem which required urgent attention and solution - the problem of stray overpopulation control. In the past, this problem was scarcely addressed as it should have been, and the street animals were treated in a most barbarous way - merely
shot in the streets, cut their tails and presented to the Municipality
and received 3690 drams /approximately 9 USD/ per each tail. |
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| Some years ago, however, "Eurasia" Charity Public Organization (CPO) became the first non-governmental organization to take up the study of the stray problem and to try to solve it in accordance with the international standards and experience. "Eurasia" CPO is the first organization in Armenia to carry out an extensive study of the international stray problem history and methods of its solution which were applied in different countries and in different times. As a result, "Eurasia" CPO came to the conclusion that TNSR is the most advanced and humane method ever used worldwide. | ||
| It was not easy to achieve the designed goals. First of all, TNSR is quite a new discipline for Armenia and to implement it, "Eurasia" CPO needed the assistance of experienced international organizations. Also we need the specialized equipment and supplies which is allow us to catch, treat and transport the animals more humanely. For that purpose we apply to SNIP International, who will response us immediately. SNIP International kindly donated us traps, catching supplies etc. | ||
| We consider this donation of much importance to mention that, because the appropriate facilities are imported for the local organizations to get acquainted with their construction and proper usage. This is the foundation for the further development of TNSR in Armenia. | ||
| "Eurasia" CPO highly appreciates this contribution by SNIP International to the achievement of TNSR in Armenia, and expresses its gratitude with all possible honor. | ||
 Animed Arad is
a small, local animal welfare organisation based in Arad, Romania.
It was established in September 2001 and is a charity supported entirely
by voluntary donations.We have fixed hundreds of stray and feral cats so far using the squeeze-boxes you donated us and we will fix hundreds more in the future; we couldn't have done it without your generous support. So, thank you again very much for your work. Thanks to friends like you we rescued so far over 800 strays and spayed/neutered over 450. To visit the English-language section of Animed Arad's web site click here. |
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| Voice of the Cats Alliance (VOCAL) 2009 Update | ||
 Many thanks to SNIP International for your wonderful donations. All your donations are in regular use by VOCAL volunteers, and we recently lent our two automatic traps that you have also donated to us, to Cretan Catalist for a neutering campaign.During a recent week of intensive work we neutered 215 cats and 47 dogs. Sadly, 3 cats had to be euthanised due to sickness. All our hospitalisation cages and other cages, as well as traps, slam-dunk (bottom slider), and squeeze boxes were in constant use. We could not have been so effective without the generosity of SNIP Int. Thanks again. |
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Voice of the Cats Alliance
(VOCAL) is a small initiative to promote cat welfare in and
around Elounda, NE Crete. Our principal aim is to maintain a manageable
population of feral cats through ongoing catch-neuter-release programmes.  VOCAL is grateful to SNIP International for donations of an automatic trap and a trap-transfer-restrainer, without which our work would be considerably more difficult. In the 6 months since receiving this equipment in January 2006 we have sterilized over 50 female cats. The two female cats above right are fed by Stelios the owner and Heike his waitress at the Kantouni taverna in the village of Mavrikiano, Elounda. They are recovering after being sterilised by VOCAL. The bandages on their ears cover the ear-tipping, done so that when released it is obvious they have been sterilised. If anyone would like to know more about VOCAL, they can visit our web site at http://www.miaow.info |
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| Since this was posted, we've had more information from Virginia Swain, who runs VOCAL. It shows how a small group of caring people really can make a difference; to see how, click here. | ||
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| Hello from Cat-a-List | ||
 Hello SNIP International. We
are a newly formed group working in the Rethymno area of Crete.Many thanks for the donation of a cat restrainer for Cretan Cat-a-List. It is a much needed tool to help our work here neutering feral cats.  Our local vets not being the bravest at handling feral cats, it will ease the stress for the cats, the vets and us. On the right are Samson, Delilah and Thumberlina, who were rescued from a rubbish bin at two weeks old. And now we have an update from Jayne, who runs Cat-A-List.  A
kind Greek lady who lives next door to one of our feeding stations in Panormo
told me about these kittens, and she helped me catch them this evening, which
entailed climbing down a ladder to a sunken garden and crawling through the
vegetation. We now need to catch and neuter their mother. Panormo has a high
incidence of blind kittens, we assume from cat flu, but perhaps there are
other causes.
We have rescued 8 blind kittens so far this year. Sadly Bless died, he was our first and a big learning curve for us. We have re-homed four in Germany. (It is hard to re-home any kittens here, let alone blind ones.) So we feel that Bless didn't die in vain, he taught us all that blind cats can have wonderful lives. Our thanks to you all for your help and support. |
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| Mama Cat Trust | ||
 We
got a letter recently from Karen Heath of the Mama Cat Trust. The trust
has started work in the small resort cum fishing port of Cambrils in
northern Spain. The letter showed just what many small organisations face when they try to help cats overseas - and perhaps has a message of hope. To read it, click here. |
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