Helping Community Cats and their Caretakers in Coastal Florida
February 7th, 2025
By Ketia Johnson, Outreach Manager –
In January, I participated in our RedRover Responders Coastal Cats deployment, where we partner with local organizations to help coastal communities’ free roaming cats. During this deployment, we formed teams to carry out a large-scale TNVR program with our local partners, Operation Catnip of Gainesville, Florida and the Town of Ingles Animal Control. TNVR, which stands for Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, is a trusted and humane method to help control community cat populations.
I attended my first Coastal Cats deployment last year in Apalachicola, Florida, where I joined the shelter team and helped care for the incoming cats who were trapped and brought in for surgery. This year I was placed on a trapping team, making it my first experience trapping cats. The RedRover Responders volunteers on my trapping team were excellent teachers: patient, and cared greatly about the cats and their caretakers. In fact, two of the volunteers were expert trappers in their own communities where they have worked with animal shelters and individuals to support the control of free-roaming cat populations locally. Everyone on the team were RedRover Responders alumni, making it an excellent opportunity for me to learn from the best.
My favorite parts of the deployment were working together with my team and connecting with local community members about their cats. The caretakers were incredibly grateful for the support from Operation Catnip, the Town of Ingles Animal Control, and RedRover Responders. We often had discussions with the caretakers as they were very knowledgeable and could share important information, such as background on their cat population, relevant historical facts, and any medical needs that required attention. Getting to talk with folks about their cats was one of the best parts of the job!
“Return day,” where we return the cats back to their home areas after recovering from spay/neuter surgery was truly a beautiful experience. It was heartwarming to see cats return home knowing that they will live a longer, healthier, and more humane life. Being able to contribute to supporting cats and saving lives, all while spending time with friends, certainly makes this deployment a fulfilling one!
