What is OAR, Ohio Alleycat Resource?

OAR is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, which promotes non-lethal control of
feral cats in the Cincinnati area through a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program. In
addition, they run a small shelter that houses tame cats and kittens until they
find their forever home.

How did you get involved with OAR, and what is your title/job description?

 I’m new to OAR! I moved to Cincinnati in May 2011 to take the position of Clinic Director in OAR’s spay/neuter clinic.

When was OAR founded, and how did it get its start?

It was founded in 1998 in O’Bryonville by Kathleen Nicholson, a local business owner who was concerned about feral cats in the neighborhood. She was soon joined by others who wanted to help cats in their own neighborhoods. From the beginning, the group practiced Trap-Neuter-Return on feral cats and took small kittens into a rescue for socialization and adoption.

Please tell about your Feral Cat Fix-a-thon.

Our Feral Cat Fix-a-thon was held Saturday, October 15, 2011, in honor of National Feral Cat Day. Funded in part by Alley Cat Allies, and by our generous donors and volunteers, we offered $5 surgeries to the public on October 15, 2011, and then the week that followed National Feral Cat Day.

At our Fix-a-thon, we spayed/neutered 78 feral cats in one day – two vets, each with their own surgery team, worked the surgery day, switching halfway through the day (only one vet worked at a time). Over the course of the whole weeklong feral extravaganza, our surgery staff fixed 166 ferals!

We started planning our Fix-a-thon in August, writing grants to cover the cost, and lining up colony caretakers whom we could help. The effort took all of our staff and a good many of our volunteers – the post-surgery mess that had to be cleaned up was covered by our wonderful volunteers, who mopped, did laundry, and scrubbed traps for hours the following day!

Do you have an assistance program for anyone needing to have his or her
cat spayed or neutered? 

Our regular surgery cost is $35 – our goal is to keep surgery affordable so that cost is never a barrier to have your pet spayed or neutered. To that end, we also offer assistance to help with that $35 cost for those who cannot afford it. We partner with other groups who offer vouchers for surgery (e.g. Scratching Post Cat Shelter and League for Animal Welfare); we write grants to help people fix their feral colonies, and help low-or no-income families fix their cats at a reduced rate; and we offer specials throughout the year to reduce the cost. In February, we will be offering $20 spays, thanks to a PetSmart “Beat the Heat” grant we were awarded.

On Spay Day, February 28^th, we’ll be offering free surgeries to a targeted area in greater Cincinnati.

In addition, we work with some wonderful groups in Kentucky who help cover the cost of surgery for northern Kentucky residents. The Friends of the Kenton County Animal Shelter and Friends of the Shelter Boone County both co-pay the entire cost of surgery for residents of their counties – clients only pay for a $10 rabies vaccine!

Cat owners who call and have a difficult time covering the $35 cost, we can usually come up with a creative way to make sure we, or the animal welfare community at large, can help them get their cats fixed! If folks need help, they should always call us and see what we can do to make sure their cats get fixed.

You practice TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), the most humane method for population control of feral cats. How many ferals did you TNR in 2011?

OAR has a TNR group that meets monthly to identify colonies that need our help, and goes out trapping together fairly frequently. But the true achievement at OAR is that we really encourage residents to learn how to do TNR on their own, rather than relying on others for help. We loan out traps (we  have a trap bank of about 80 traps, including a few drop traps) and teach people how to trap, but the goal of our TNR Resource Center is to empower people to practice TNR in their neighborhoods on their own – that way, far more colonies in greater Cincinnati can benefit from TNR, and not wait for our volunteers to come out and help! Our own TNR group doesn’t keep track of how many cats we TNR (and as individuals we’re always out doing “side projects”!). But OAR has spayed/neutered 1,373 ferals in 2011.

Do you have tame cats available for adoption?

OAR does operate a small shelter of adoptable cats, with about 80 or so cats (though, as with any shelter, we always have more cats than the “80 or so” OAR tries to keep it at! Thank goodness for fabulous foster homes.).

How many cats found their forever home in 2011, and how many are
currently waiting for their family? 

In 2011, OAR is on track to adopt out 200 cats and kittens (Julien, cat #192, is going home
today!) – but don’t worry, there are still 110 sweet and deserving kitties who still need to be placed! We took in 15 abandoned cats recently, as well as 6 from a hoarding situation that several shelters helped with, and they (along with all the others) would love to be on a cozy couch!

If people want to make a donation, how would they do that?

Donations are always greatly appreciated! Gifts to OAR help care for the hundreds of cats that come through our shelter every year, as well as help us reduce the cost of spay/neuter surgeries for our clients.Donations can be made on our website, at www.ohioalleycat.org, or can be sent to our address at 5619 Orlando Place, Cincinnati, OH 45227.

I’m sure OAR is always in need of items other than money such as treats, toys, cleaning supplies, etc. Do you accept donations of these as well?

Some of our favorite donations are bleach and laundry detergent! We do a lot of laundry in this place.  We also love donations like trash bags, Ziploc bags, hand sanitizer, and paper towels. In surgery, donations of puppy pads (to place in the ferals’ cages) and old towels and sheets are always gratefully accepted.

For the kitties at the shelter, their wish list includes washable toys, small, stainless steel bowls, and liquid KMR for the bottle feeders!

Thanks for taking the time for an interview, Devon. I live in Missouri, but I hope to
visit your facility one day. OAR is making great strides to help homeless and feral cats, and I know they are grateful.

To learn more about OAR, please visit http://www.ohioalleycat.org/.

Editor’s Note:  Check out Author Lorna G. Poston’s blog:  http://myriadmusings-lgposton.blogspot.com/

Sweet Dixie is crate-trained and does well on a leash. She is up-to-date on all shots and has been spayed. As you can see from her pictures, she is very sweet and she’d make a great therapy dog. If you or someone you know wants a dog that would be a great companion, this is the one!

UPDATE: Bittersweet story: Dixie’s caregiver passed away, but his son decided to take Dixie home and give her a home for the rest of her life! He already has a Beagle, but thinks the two will get along fine.

As keeper of a cat facility, P.U.P.S. knows how important it is to give cats nutritious food to keep them healthy and happy. The best case scenario is to get these cats adopted into homes. The sad part is some of these cats have bad habits or are older and no one cares to adopt them. P.U.P.S. also has board members who provide neuter/spay services to those stray cats to help keep the cat population down in targeted areas. There are food needs here as well. Strays depend upon the caregiver to get-by especially in these harsh winter days.

Animal advocates do help one another and our “call” is in to national distributors who help nonprofit organizations with a need for dog and cat food.

On behalf of P.U.P.S., will keep everyone alerted to any availability of food.

Let’s make the new year…a year to help more pets and people. We never know what the day may bring, but we’re hoping it’s cat food!

P.U.P.S. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and your donation is tax-deductible.

Thank you!

Happy New Year!

P.U.P.S. is something much more than just a membership, a website, a blog. It’s a place where you can learn about pets that need a friend and a home. It’s a place where pet lovers can read about what we can do together to make a difference in the life of a person and his or her pet. It’s a cold and cruel world when you have no one.

Please find it in your heart to help “Pets Uniting People Society (P.U.P.S.)” offer hope for a person with a pet or a family with more than one pet who are struggling to find a way to make it through another day, wondering where the help and hope is coming from.

Could you reach out in this New Year and give a small donation so we can continue to spread the word and show the way for pets and people in distress? We’ve said this many times, people should not be shunned or penalized because they have pets, they should be rewarded and helped as much as possible.

Give today! Become a MEMBER of Pets Uniting People Society. Pets really do unite people…we got the testimonies to prove it!

Help us make 2012 a record year for Pets Uniting People Society!

“Pets Uniting People Society” mailing address is:

P.U.P.S.

Post Office Box 49

Tremont City, OH  45372

To donate safely and securely online, here is the link:

P.U.P.S. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax-deductible.

P.U.P.S. needs to find Figaro a home.

There are just cats, but then there is FIGARO! He’s so nice and pleasant, he makes one want to sing!!

Unfortunately, he’s been declawed (so he’s an inside cat), but fortunately he’s young, neutered, and healthy ready for someone to take him home.

Figaro has a great personality and would make someone a super companion! And, did I say he is handsome?! He is!!

He just woke up from a nap when these pictures were taken.

It’s been a while since “baby boomers” were in school, even high school, but many things learned there were not forgotten. Today, in Springfield, OH, PUPS’ Clubs offers students opportunities to learn about the proper care and handling of pets. PUPS brings in an area pet professional every month to head the roundtable discussion.

PUPS believes in its mission of “education, awareness, and responsibility” in animal welfare and many area pet professionals believe in it too. Even if one student takes to heart and mind what we are stressing as important in animal welfare, it will be worth it all.

Recently, Dr. John Bruce, Northwood Veterinary Hospital, Springfield, OH, took over an hour outside of his normal routine as a local veterinarian and spent that time at Springfield High School’s PUPS Club. His talk was very interesting and he brought up many important factors to consider before acquiring a pet.

Thanks Dr. Bruce for taking time out of your day to show your concern and compassion for young people and pets! We appreciate you! And, so does Phantom, the therapy-dog-in-training!

• Name change/purpose approved from IRS & State in July 2010
• Website/blog created in December 2010
• School Club launched in May 2011
• Published first edition of “PUPS Digest” in September 2011
• Dog food given to 50 families at Daily Bread Food Pantries
• Provided dog food for a local dog rescue
• Provided neuter/spay funds for 52 feral cats
• Provided food for over 80 shelter and feral cats
• Rescued and adopted 4 dogs (assisted in finding homes for 4 others)

Baxter, PUPS' Poster Pooch

PUPS is thankful for the availability of resources and assistance of other nonprofits and people’s generous donations in order to do what we do on a daily basis. On behalf of the PUPS’ board of trustees, a “big thank you” to all the advisory board members: Ann Kallal, John Curtis, Dr. Dana King, Dr. Kenith Burnett, and Dr. John Bruce. In addition, PUPS wishes to thank MARS Food Bank, Columbus, OH, and Alley Cat Resources Neuter/Spay Clinic, Cincinnati, OH, and so many talented individuals, i.e. Nikki Boetger, Lisa Scarsi, Yvonne Kimman, and Lorna Poston! Encouraging words from so many more! It’s been an incredible year!!

As we give thanks, remember pets are always uniting people in everyday life. In this season of giving, please be generous in donating to Pets Uniting People Society (PUPS) so we can help more people and pets.

We are definitely counting our blessings and are thankful for what God has done!

*Combined neuter/spays from our new members and the newly organized neuter/spay committee.

PUPS found Chloe a Home

PUPS School Club at Springfield High School brings awareness and education to youth about the problems sometimes faced with having a pet in the family. However, with the proper education and right outlook many obstacles can be overcome.

What a great morning it was on September 28th at “Partners in Business” at the Springfield High School. Over 30 businesses participated with more signing on to help the youth of our community understand how businesses operate on a daily basis whether they are “for-profit” or ”non-profit”.

In the near future, check this blog site for frequent updates regarding newly organized PUPS’ activities throughout the Central Ohio area.

“We can judge the heart of a man
by his treatment of animals.” -Immanual Kant