Feral Cheryl, TNR Demo Cat

Feral Cheryl is a sock kitten with a job to do. She’s the brainchild of my friend Marie, who commissioned me to find a sock kitten with the courage to help show people how to TNR, which stands for Trap Neuter and Return. It’s really Trap Vaccinate Spay/Neuter and Return, sometimes called TVNR. Cheryl isn’t afraid of traps. She’s not afraid of anything.

Feral Cheryl will be joining the Alley Cats and Angels’ TNR task force, for the TNR 101 workshops Princess Marie is leading. Cheryl will fearlessly enter the safety traps they use to capture real-life feral kitties, so that this knowledge can be passed on to others, and other feral cats can be saved from the cycle of over population. It’s a serious job.

Cheryl is fully prepared. Marie thought it would be a good idea if Feral Cheryl were to show her fierceness a little, just so people would be reminded not to hug a feral cat. So, Cheryl obliged and displayed her teeth and claws.

Cheryl also told me she wanted a tattoo. So, I did my first tattoo! It says “Tom”, some guy Cheryl knows, I guess.

I even did a little digital editing on her hang tag, so the picture would share her left ear crop. For anyone who might not be familiar with the ear crop, it’s a way to identify cats in feral colonies who have already been spayed and neutered. It lets rescue groups know to re-release a feral cat who has already received his or her trip to the veterinarian.

If you’d like to learn more about Alley Cats and Angels and their TNR program, please visit their web site by clicking here. They also have lots of friendly cats and kittens who are up for adoption. They are a great group of people and kitties.

In other news, this is our deck today. A sheet of ice. We will have to wait for it to melt before any toys are delivered to the Post Office or anywhere else. I’m sure Cheryl will keep them all entertained while they wait.