Each year, Assemblyman Bob Reilly, D-Colonie, donates his salary to the community, and this year a portion of it is going to the cats.
In the Town of Colonie alone, there are an estimated 200,000 feral cats and with $1,000 of Reilly’s 2012 salary, Spaying Capital Region Un-owned Feral Felines (Scruff) can make a dent in sterilizing that population.
“It’s extremely helpful because we’re an all-volunteer run organization and we operate off of donations of individuals,” said Dr. Roger Blankfein, a veterinarian at Lansingburgh Veterinary Hospital who is on the Scruff board of directors.
Over the years, Reilly has donated more than $467,000 to charities in Colonie, Clifton Park and Halfmoon, but this is the first time Scruff has been selected as a grant recipient. It’s one of 19 groups to receive money this year.
Scruff works to spay or neuter feral cats around the Capital District and has treated more than 1,900 since its inception in 2007. It averages about 450 a year.
“It’s probably the only organization in the greater Capital Region dedicated specifically to addressing the problem of feral cats. … Scruff is the only one that has been doing it specifically to address the feral cat problem humanely with trap, neuter, vaccinate, return versus some other strategies which have proven to not be effective,” said Blankfein.
Many feral cats that are brought to humane societies are housed for a certain number of days to give a potential owner the chance to claim it. If they remain homeless, many are euthanized.
“That costs the shelter a lot of money,” said Blankfein.
Scruff, on the other hand, uses the vacuum method. That means residents set traps lent out by the organization and bring the captured felines to a designated veterinary hospital on a scheduled day, where the cat is spayed or neutered and then returned to the area it came from.
“People preferably will trap their own cats and bring them in on an appointment basis. … In some cases if people are unable to do the trapping themselves, oftentimes we can arrange for a volunteer to assist them with that,” said Blankfein.
The Town of Colonie authorized the purchase of have-a-heart traps that are available to town residents hoping to trap a feral cat on their property. The traps are available through Colonie Animal Control.
Scruff holds “spay days” on the third Sunday of every month and averages about 70 surgeries each time, a number that varies based on the weather or effectiveness of the traps.
“We try to schedule around 85 and hope 70 show up,” said Blankfein.
There are between 50 and 60 active volunteers that help keep Scruff running and Just Cats Veterinary Hospital in Guilderland is Scruff’s main location.
“There are a couple clinics in the area that will help us out if someone has caught a cat and needs to get it done right away,” said Blankfein.
Having “unaltered cats” roaming your property can be unpleasant, especially if there’s a larger colony occupying the space. Cats that aren’t fixed tend to fight more frequently, yowl or cry more often and their urine has a stronger stench.
“These are the nuisance behaviors that a lot of people complain about but when an animal or cat gets spayed and neutered they don’t fight nearly as much, urine doesn’t have nearly as strong a smell and the yowling behavior stops because they’re not going through heat and engaging in reproductive activity,” said Blankfein.
Some people wonder why Scruff returns the cats if they’re clearly unwanted neighbors. Blankfein said it’s the best option.
“The cats occupy a location because of a reason and that usually means there are resources available in terms of food or shelter, so if you have the cats sterilized then they will be there consuming those resources and then fewer cats can occupy,” said Blankfein. “Whereas if cats were just to be removed, a new cat would move in right away.”
Sterilizing the Capital District’s feral cats can get pricey. The suggested Scruff donation is $35 and there’s a nominal fee for residents to have a cat spayed or neutered. Still, surgeries can require up to $80 or $100 for necessary supplies.
“Those fees barely cover the expenses of what’s involved and procedures, as far as anesthetic drugs to use and vaccines and supplies,” said Blankfein.
The Mohawk-Hudson River Humane Society also received a $3,000 grant courtesy of Reilly. Reilly’s salary is doled out through the Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region.
For more information on Scruff, visit scruffcats.org.
