Category: <span>News</span>

Category: News

What is TNVR?

The initials “TNVR” seem like some obscure secret organization until it is discovered that they actually stand for “Trap, Neuter, vaccinate, Return”.  As it turns out, TNVR is a humane strategy for reducing the number of feral and stray “community cats” and improving the quality of life for cats, wildlife, and people. TNVR is what SCRUFF does! TNVR involves humanely trapping community cats, and spaying females or neutering males, then vaccinating them against rabies and distemper, and surgically removing the tip of the left ear (a “tipped” ear is the universally-recognized symbol of a cat who has been spayed or neutered).  Finally, TNVR includes returning the cats to their community location where the caretaker continues to provide food, water, and shelter. TNvR prevents new litters from being born and stabilizes the size of the colony. SCRUFF needs your help to help feral cats!  For more information about volunteering with SCRUFF, TNVR, or to make a donation, please  contact Scruff at: Telephone – (518) 526-3372 Email – contact@scruffcats.org

First Spay Day of 2022 Scheduled

The first SCRUFF Spay Day for 2022 has been scheduled. All Spay Days take place at the Animal Protective Foundation (APF) in Schenectady. For a downloadable PDF of the schedule, visit our Spay Day page here. Contact us for more information and to book an appointment.

Feral Fact: Feral Cats Are Not Adoptable!

We are often asked, “Why feral cats can’t “just be captured” and adopted out as pets?” That is a very good question. But the answer is fairly simple. Feral cats are not adoptable! Although they are the same species as our household pet cats, they are adapted to living out doors. They are very wary of humans and are not socialized to people. In short, they cannot, and do not, get along with us humans. Stray cats, on the other hand, are cats who once were pet cats and somehow got separated from their homes. The cats can be returned to their humans, or if that is not possible, the can be “re-homed” into a new situation. SCRUFF’s mission is to work with the public to humanely reduce the population of feral and stray cats and to educate the public on ways to care for these “community” cats.