Moe, one of many many cats at Stillwater. (KRCR){p}{/p}
ANDERSON, Calif. —
Don and Joan Neptune have been working the Stillwater Cat Haven out of Anderson since 2000. Now after serving to over 1,800 cats, over the previous 24 years, the pair, who’re each of their 80s, say they’re reaching a breaking level in the event that they don’t get assist.
Don%20andpercent20Joan%20Neptune%20convertedpercent20theirpercent20propertypercent20slowlypercent20aspercent20thepercent20Stillwater%20Haven%20expanded.%20(KRCR)
“God put these kitties on the earth to be mousers, and not birders, I don’t suppose,” Joan Neptune says. “But to catch little things that don’t do the earth any good, but to give people a chance to get to know them.”
Don and Joan say the beginning of Stillwater was all due to Joan’s love of the animals. Twenty-four years in the past, they had been known as in to begin a “lure, neuter and return program”, or TNR, on the Anderson River Park, the place a feral colony of cats had gotten uncontrolled.
The%20Stillwater%20Cat%20Haven%20haspercent20wellpercent20overpercent20100percent20catspercent20livingpercent20onpercent20orpercent20nearpercent20thepercent20property.%20(KRCR)%7B %7D
“That started it, that was a successful effort,” Don says. “She trapped and neutered and took care of the corporation yard cats at Anderson River Park, and from that went to other places that she knew about.”
Over the years, they’ve TNR’d 1,823 cats and adopted 471 of them out to new houses. All whereas the cats on the sanctuary stored including up.
“The cats that were in places like Safeway’s parking lot, we decided we couldn’t really put back where they were,” Don shared. “Some of the other places in downtown Anderson didn’t seem like appropriate environments so they ended up coming here.”
Dinnertime%20forpercent20thepercent20Neptune’s%20andpercent20thepercent20indoorpercent20cats.%20(KRCR)
Along with feeding and caring for the round 100 cats that reside on or close to their two-and-a-half-acre property and paying the parents that work for them, they handle a number of TNR colonies within the space.
“It’s the only way you can save their lives, and if you love cats you don’t want them to get killed,” Don said.
According to leading national agencies focused on combatting America’s feral cat problem, TNR programs are the best way to manage feral populations. As well as mandating spaying and neuter people’s personal pets. However, until something like that is put in place in the area, the Neptunes have been picking up the slack.
“Over time, we did a lot of cats and spent a lot of money doing it,” Don said.
The cost of all that care is about $100,000. With so many animals now on their property, it leaves the couple few options for the future.
Don%20has%20created%20numerous%20outhouses%20and%20structures%20to%20house%20the%20cats%20in%20their%202.5%20acre%20property.%20(KRCR)
“I originally had the thought, ‘well, hey, at some point in time, we just quit; we’re gone, it’s all over,” Don said. “But having the cats here creates an issue of survival for those cats.”
Stillwater is a non-profit, however the overwhelming majority of funding comes from the Neptune’s private financial savings. As the years have gone on, they’ve had few methods so as to add funds, whereas prices stack up.
“We’ve created some potential thoughts but we have no solutions at this stage,” Don said.
With the money they have left, Don believes they can operate for one more year before Social Security checks will be the only funds they have. Now, Don and Joan are looking for people who are willing to help, whether that’s through financial support, or taking charge of the program themselves.
Many%20of%20the%20cats%20at%20Stillwater%20are%20too%20feral%20to%20live%20inside,%20so%20they’ve%20expanded%20facilities.%20(KRCR)
“If just somebody could move in here and take over them I would be so happy,” Joan says. “Like another non-profit, but I guess that’s not as easy to come by as it used to be.”
Joan%20sayspercent20she’spercent20lovedpercent20catspercent20sincepercent20shepercent20waspercent20givenpercent20herpercent20firstpercent20onepercent20atpercent2011percent20yearspercent20old.%20(KRCR)
At the least, they only need somebody who can handle their cats.
“They’re not all that friendly,” Don says. “There are some ferals. They need, we need a solution for it all. ”
The Neptunes say they need to work with different companies like Haven Humane and the City of Anderson to assist make higher strides in addressing the feral cat drawback in the neighborhood.
To report errors or points with this text please e mail the editorial workforce.