Las Vegas Cats Hit the Jackpot
Cats, like their humans, are naturally drawn to Las Vegas. The promise of easy riches, free-flowing catnip and the bright lights can be irresistible.
But the outlook is grim for the unlucky few who lose it all and don’t have bus fare back home. They end up begging for handouts at the all-you-can-eat buffets, and seeking refuge during the day from the brutal desert sun.
Fortunately, Best Friends Animal Society has teamed up with a Las Vegas casino to set up a trap-neuter-return program to help Las Vegas ferals. Here’s the story from Best Friends’ staff writer Sandy Miller:
Vegas hotel-casino to have trap/neuter/return program
By Sandy Miller, Best Friends’ staff writer
They aren’t looking to win a seven-figure jackpot that would set them up for life. They aren’t wishing for a lucky turn of the dice. And they couldn’t care less about all those slot machines.
All they’re looking for are regular meals and a safe place to live out their lives. And thanks to Best Friends Animal Society, along with some help from local volunteers, the cats at one large Las Vegas hotel and casino are getting just that.
Like a number of businesses, the hotel-casino has discovered that the best way ― and indeed the most humane way ― to deal with the feral cats on its property is to set up a trap/neuter/return program. So Best Friends staff and local volunteers are setting up feeding stations in areas of the property that don’t have tourist traffic.
“The hotel has done the right thing,” says Shelly Kotter, campaign specialist for Focus on Felines, one of four campaigns aimed at reaching the goal of No More Homeless Pets. “It’s a long-term solution that will have benefits for the hotel and the cats.”
Kotter said she doesn’t want to reveal the name of the hotel-casino because people might abandon their cats there.
Best Friends staff and volunteers will humanely trap the 15 to 20 cats living on the hotel property and take them to a Las Vegas veterinary clinic that has agreed to provide low-cost spaying and neutering.
“Volunteers will be a big part of it,” Kotter says.
Feral and shy cats account for a large percentage of the five million animals that are killed in U.S. shelters each year. But it’s been shown that trapping and killing feral cats does nothing to keep their numbers down. Once those cats are gone, other unaltered cats will simply take their place, bringing nuisances like spraying and late-night mating calls with them. And it doesn’t take long for their populations to grow.
What does work is trap/neuter/return, or TNR. The cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinary clinic where they’re spayed or neutered and vaccinated. While under the anesthesia, a small tip of one of their ears is taken off to identify that they’re part of a managed cat colony. Then
they’re returned to the area from which they came where caregivers continue to feed and watch over them. Spaying and neutering takes care of all the nuisances associated with unaltered cats.
Best Friends is launching a Las Vegas chapter of its Focus on Felines campaign and hopes more Las Vegas residents will get involved in helping the city’s feral and stray cats ― or “community cats.” Best Friends will hold a free workshop for feral cat caregivers and others interested in learning how to help community cats from 1 to 3 p.m., Sept. 5, inside the Findlay Chevrolet Community Room at 6800 S. Torrey Pines Dr., in Las Vegas.
Among other things, the workshop will cover:
- The basics of TNR
- Understanding relocation
- Working with your neighbors on nuisance concerns
- Working with your local vets
- Working with your local government and animal control
To learn more, e-mail Kotter at shellyk@bestfriends.org.
Read more about Best Friends’ Focus on Felines campaign.
Photos by Molly Wald, Best Friends’ photographer.
[LINK: Best Friends Animal Society; TOP PHOTO: icanhascheezburger.com]
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Yay! What an awesome project. Best Friends is a fantastic group. I hope others follow in this direction.
This is great to hear! Maybe other hotels will do the same!
I love that cat picture!!! We all need to understand that cats are such great pets and we shoul dtake great care of them. So if a cat one a million dollars what would he buy first??
Reading this over I noticed that Best Friends is organizing volunteers. Wonder if they’re contributing any cash for the spay/neuter or gas or traps or anything. I doubt it after seeing what they did after the two gulf hurricanes. You might consider that they’re playing on peoples emotions to raise funds for their founders largess while using volunteers to do it at little cost to Best Friends. Keep your money close to your home rescues where you can watch it.
Good for thems. I will tell Uncle Milty to say hi when he’s in Lost Wages later dis monf.
I was born in Las Vegas! My mama found a great human when she was out on the streets.
Pistol: A lot of vets out there contribute spaying/neutering services to organizations like these.
What good work. We wish them much success.
Go away, Pistol Packer the troll.
I will be attending the seminar tomorrow as I live in Mesquite, NV and am a caregiver to a feral colony behind one of the casinos here. Yesterday I TNR my 30th cat/kitten and will celebrate the event by leaving some tuna fish for the colony, HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!
Pistol Packer is telling it exactly the way it is. You all have been duped in believing in this organization when virtually all their funds go to pay big salaries, etc. I became suspicious about a year ago and a group started delving into their financial records which would shock you. In a puppy mill raid they take one or two of the worst to put on their website to beg for funds and the rest are dumped on someone else to stand the expenses of vetting, etc. that all these sick dogs require. This has happened again and again. Keep your dollars local and help your shelters who do not get these millions ever year. See where you money actually goes and what it actually does………..
Give us links that substantiate your allegations, Mystery Gal.
This is a great program and we hope that more of the casinos chip in and do this!
What a great plan, Best Friends and the hotel in Las Vegas both need to be congratulated!!
funny cat picture. Yea for the kitties! Keep up the good work Best Friends and all who do so much to help the kitties.
another good story. keep them coming! I’m sure there’s no shortage of interesting/amazing/inspiring/thought-provoking cat tales to share.
Pistol Packer and Mystery Gal I don’t know where you are getting your info from but it doesn’t line up with the facts. Best Friends publish their financial statements and IRS reports (see http://www.bestfriends.org/aboutus/pdfs/08BFAS990Final.pdf ) including the salaries of their execs. The average salary works out at ~$27K ($16M for 600 employees) and their top execs are getting ~$70K. These are hardly excessive salaries and Best Friends does great work. They took in Minxy when she was 11 years old, looked after her for 10 years including a lot of medical stuff as she got older and found her a home. They work with other rescue groups around the country and focus on taking in the sick and “unadoptable” animals and they still find homes for over 80% of them.
Great story and hats off to the casino for helping out!
This sownds like a grate organization that is really doing a grate job taking care of thowse animals in need.
I strongly believe in TNR programs and am happy to hear one is being put in place in Las Vegas. Best Friends Rocks! I also disagree with Pistol Packer and Mystery Gal. I completed an internship with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and also worked under them for 4 years. It is not true that they rescue one or two animals to put on their website and dump the rest off on someone else. My husband was one of the Best Friend volunteers to drive down during hurricane Katrina. They filled several vans with cats to bring back to Utah. They were all tested for heartworms and given vet care. Upon returning to Utah, some of the local groups here took in some of the cats, but that was by their choice. If you have ever been to Best Friends, you would see how many animals they really have. The standard of care they are able to give these animals is impressive. They have a fully staffed vet clinic and the vet makes daily rounds. They also do free spay/neuter in their area.
I should have gone with him, my slogan is “Bono, Blackjack and Booze mix well and stand back,MOL!