News

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December 11, 2018    We had our Holiday Fix-it Day today at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. It was our last fix-it day for the year. We had 22 cats in for surgery. Several were mom cats, several were older kittens born during  the summer, and a few were young adults. 

We are wrapping up the final numbers for 2018. We supported 604 spay/neuter surgeries during the year! Our goal was 610 so we are very pleased we nearly achieved this goal. 

We also want to say once again how grateful we are for the hard work of  the volunteers staffing these events. The volunteers have remained cheerful and upbeat even when dealing with challenging situations. We are also grateful to the doctors and staff of the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic for their hard work on these days. Our fund-raisers and donors are also an essential element of our programs and we appreciate their generosity. 

Our 2019 fix-it days will begin on Tuesday, January 8. That day is full and we are now scheduling for Tuesday, February 12. Space is filled on a first-come, first-served basis and preregistration and pre-payment are required. 

November 13, 2018   We hosted the Thanksgiving Holiday fix-it day today at the Fredericktown  Veterinary Clinic. Most of the cats were kittens born in spring and late summer. We had 15 males and 14 females and that was a first with the number of male cats exceeding the number of females.

This time of year, we try to caution clients to keep the cats in a warm  area until they are fully recovered from surgery. When the cats are  recovering from the anesthesia, they cannot regulate their body temperatures and may get hypothermia. A warm environment is essential for a good recovery. 

Our thanks today to our dedicated volunteers, Toni, Robb, Sharon, Brandy, Debi, Carol, and Rita. We also thank the staff at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic for an awesome job. 

November 7, 2018   We have excellent news today! Volunteers started a large trapping  project in a local village in early April and today we think it is nearly complete after trapping over 35 cats.

Early in the project, volunteers, the colony caregiver, and neighbors worked to trap nearly 20 cats who were living on the street. As the summer progressed, the cats became leery of volunteers and the colony caregiver then learned how to use a humane trap. She was able to trap many of the remaining cats using different strategies and bait to trap them. Last night, we are happy to report the colony caregiver was able to get the mom cat into her garage and into a trap--using a famous colonel's chicken as bait.

Mom cat was transported by a SNACK volunteer to the Fredericktown  Veterinary Clinic for surgery, a one-year rabies vaccination, and ear-tipping. Because of the cold weather, we're going to be cautious about her return to the colony and may delay it for a day so she has a little extra time to recuperate. The colony caregiver is also prepared to release her to her garage for a few days.

October 29, 2018   The Buckeye Brigade 4-H group spent part of their weekend building some awesome cat shelters for our feral colony caregivers! 

If you are a caregiver and you'd like to shelter your cats from the cold weather, please contact SNACK at info@snackohio.org. We'd be happy to pass along these comfy shelters and your cats will love you for it. 

October 23, 2018   We held a small fix-it day today to take care of some spring and  summer kittens. We had nine clients and 17 cats in for surgery--9  females and 8 males.

The year is quickly coming to a close and our December holiday Fix-it day is about half full. The good news is we will continue our mission to reduce feline over-population and have scheduled three fix-it days for the first quarter of 2019. The dates are Tuesdays, January 8, February 12, and March 12. All will be held at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. We will continue to offer spay or neuter surgeries and a one-year rabies vaccination for $35/cat. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.

Thanks today to our morning volunteers: Toni, Sharon, Robb,  Chuck, and Rita, and to the afternoon volunteers of Marty and Carol. Our thanks too, to the hard-working professionals at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic and our supporters and fundraisers who make this all possible.

October 9, 2018   Today was our Autumn fix-it day at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. We had 29 cats (18 females and 11 males) in for spay or neuter surgery. Many of the patients were spring kittens and now their people don't have to worry about them having kittens or the health and behavior issues that can arise with unsterilized cats.

Thanks today to our dedicated volunteers--Toni, Marty, Judy, Heather, Taryn, and Rita--and the donors and fundraisers who support our efforts. Thanks too to the professionals at the clinic for their hard work.

Our next regularly scheduled fix-it day is on Tuesday, November 13 at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. Our last clinic of the year is planned for Tuesday, December 11. Please keep in mind, space is limited and clinics often fill quickly.

September 25, 2018   Awesome! Our day with the Humane Society of Morrow County and the Rascal Unit was just that. 54 cats had surgery today--32 females and 22 males! We had older cats, young adults, kittens and all ages in between.  If the cat was old enough, he or she also received a one-year rabies vaccination today.

Today was special to our organization also. We reached a milestone of 3,000 cats spayed or neutered with the group's support since we were founded in 2011. It's truly mind-boggling to realize how many more kittens could have been born without this effort.

Thanks today to Dr. G and the Rascal staff, our partners, the Humane Society of Morrow County and volunteers Jennifer and Deidre, and SNACK volunteers--Toni, Robb, Sharon, Gwen, and Rita. Also thank you to the Big Walnut Joint Fire District who hosted us today. It truly would not be possible to hold these clinics without the support of so many individuals.

September 12, 2018    Volunteers today worked on three different trapping projects and trapped six black, black and white, or tuxedo cats! Five of the cats were young kittens but we did trap one mom cat. They all were transported to the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic for surgery, ear-tipping, and a one-year rabies vaccination. They will return to their colonies later today or tomorrow morning. 

September 11, 2018    We're closing in on the big 3-0-0-0: 3,000 cats spayed or neutered and supported by the efforts of SNACK since 2011. 

So where do the cats come from? The clients are mostly from Knox County but we often have several from Richland and Morrow Counties and  occasionally from Delaware, Licking, and Franklin Counties. The cats range in age--some are very young kittens and sometimes we have cats over five years old. Most are domestic short hair cats. Occasionally, we will see a Siamese mix or Maine Coon or another breed. A common theme among the clients is that they are happy for the economic help in getting their cats fixed and happy to not worry about kittens or their tom cats roaming the countryside. 

Our special thanks today go to the volunteers who staffed the day--Judy, Laurie, Shana, Carol, Marty, and Rita and the doctors and staff at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. Also we are grateful to our donors who so generously support our work, our scrappers (can  collectors), and crafters.

Our next fix-it day on October 9 is full. If you are interested in registering for the November 13 Thanksgiving Fix-it day, please register now. Space is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

September 10, 2018  [See the photos for pictures of recycling.]  

Thanks to those who continue to recycle for SNACK, Inc. This morning, we recycled 63 pounds of aluminum beverage cans, aluminum sheet (cat food cans and pop tabs), and cast aluminum (a table). This is 63 pounds kept out of the landfill and the group benefits as well. If you are interested in recycling aluminum products, the recycling center is now requiring us to separate various aluminum products, i.e. beverage  cans, cat food cans, foil, and cast aluminum products. We are happy to schedule a pick-up or arrange a drop-off. Please call SNACK at 614-371-8996.

September 6, 2018    [See the photos for a picture of a trap fork.] This morning, volunteers returned to a trapping project and trapped two kittens in one trap. The older kitten was ear-tipped and we placed the trap fork between the two kittens to separate them safely and then released the cat who did not need surgery. The orange kitten was taken to the Animal Health Organization for surgery, an ear tip, and a rabies vaccination. He will be returned to his home this evening after he is released by the veterinary hospital.

August 16, 2018    We had a great turnout for crafting today! We made fleece catnip mice and catnip socks. Some of the items will be sold at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic and some will be merchandised at the  Humane Society of Richland County's event, Strutt Your Mutt, on Saturday, September 15 from 10 am to 3 pm (http://www.adoptourstrays.com/strutt-your-mutt.html). SNACK will have a booth there.

Many thanks to the volunteers who sewed this morning!

August 14, 2018    Our Back-to-School Fix-it day was huge! We thought it would be big but then had a couple of additional cats in for surgery. They were feral and often feral cats are difficult to trap twice. Fortunately for all, the clinic staff could work the cats in today for surgery. Our preliminary total is 17 females spayed and 17 males neutered. Many of the cats were young kittens.

Many, many thanks to the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic doctors and staff for their professionalism and skill. Thanks too to volunteers Toni, Sharon, Robb, Marty, Carol, and Rita and our generous donors and fundraisers.

Our next fix-it day is on Patriot Day, September 11. We are nearly full for female cats. After 9/11, the next scheduled fix-it day is the Autumn Fix-it Day, Tuesday, October 9.  Please remember the fix-it days are first come, first-served and we cannot hold a spot for you and your cat without a registration form and  pre-payment.

August 8, 2018     We had an excellent start at a new trapping project today. There are two mom cats and two sets of kittens. One set of kittens is about 14 weeks old and another set is about 7 weeks old. We were able to trap one mother cat, three older kittens, and three younger kittens. The mom and older kittens were taken to The Animal Health Organization for spay or neuter, a one-year rabies vaccination, and ear-tipping. They will be  returned to their colony late this afternoon or early evening and released then.

We transferred the little kittens to a large dog crate inside the client's home. The client is going to work to socialize them. When the kittens are a little older, the plan is to test them, vaccinate, and spay or neuter them, and find them good homes.

Sometimes we facetiously refer to female cats as "kitten factories"  and young mothers as "teen moms." We laugh but there is a lot of truth to these terms. In this situation, the mom cats had two litters of  kittens already this year. It's possible they could have another set of kittens before the end of the year. And, if there are female cats in the older set of kittens, it is possible they might have kittens before the new year as well.  A colony of two intact females with some neighborhood tom cats could easily grow to 20 cats over several months.  That's one reason we stress to clients to get the female cats spayed right away and not wait for a population explosion--and to spay all  female cats.

August 1, 2018     This morning we had a impressive trapping session--we trapped five kittens at one time, using the drop trap! The client set a plate of food in the center under the trap and one by one, the kittens came out from under a shed to eat. We watched closely and when all five were situated safely under the trap, we pulled the string, the trap dropped, and all kittens were trapped. We then hooked a box trap to the drop trap door and moved them one by one to the safe confines of a box trap. We were able to do all this in about one hour! 

These beauties were transported to the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic for spay or neuter surgery, ear-tipping, and a one-year rabies  vaccination (if they are old enough). They will recover overnight there and return to their home tomorrow and be released. The client is willing to work with the kittens to try and socialize them and she has found good homes for them once they recover from their surgery and become more used to people. 

July 27, 2019    Mark your calendars! SNACK has been invited by the Humane Society of Richland County to participate in the Strut Your Mutt festival on September 15. Although the Strut is billed as a canine festival, we have been invited to sell some simple crafts and get the word out about our fix-it days for cats and our organization. Hope to see you there!

July 19, 2018    We had an outstanding crafting day today and finished all 36 catnip  socks in a little over one hour! They'll be sold at the Fredericktown  Veterinary Clinic and upcoming holiday craft shows in Fredericktown and  Gambier. We're also working on holiday tree ornaments. Our thanks today  to Laurie, Sue, Gwen, Rita, Marty, Gail, Deb, and Sharon for lending  their talents to us.

Our next crafting day will be in mid-August. We'll announce the date when it's finalized.

July 14, 2018  We had a good turn out at SNACK-a-Palooza 2 today. Silent auction items ranged from a signed Cleveland Browns football to cat food from Mutts & Co. Lunch was a delicious menu of chicken and hot dogs. Perfect summer fare! We thank our generous donors and hard-working volunteers for such a fun event. We made about $1000 that will be used to help fund our programs.

July 10, 2018    We had an awesome fix-it day today. We are seeing the first wave of spring kittens coming in to be spayed or neutered. Hooray for clients who are opting to be hip and snip early! 

The preliminary count today is 29 surgeries--15 neuters and 14 spays. The cats and kittens also received a one-year rabies vaccination as part of their treatment. With a rabid bat found in Fredericktown recently, the rabies vaccination is vital protection for the cats (and humans).

Our thanks today to volunteers, Judy, Toni, Robin, Carol, Marty, and Rita and the skilled professionals at the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic. Today we had a couple of escapees and we witnessed the staff's excellent response.

Also, thanks to volunteer, Debi B! We are rocking a new beautiful  SNACK banner today, courtesy of Debi. It's a vast improvement on our  vinyl banner.

July 6, 2018    Today we returned to a trapping project/client from 2016. New cats have arrived--Mom, Dad, and a few kittens. Unfortunately, only one kitten remains. The others disappeared--perhaps they fell prey to raccoons or some other predator. Today, we trapped a laid back male (pictured  below) but the female and remaining kitten were suspicious of the traps. We'll try again in a couple of weeks and try a different strategy for trapping the two.

Dad cat was transported to the Fredericktown Veterinary Clinic for neutering and a one-year rabies vaccination. He'll return to the colony tomorrow.