Struggling to Keep Up
Beltsville Community Cats (BCC) has been serving Beltsville and the surrounding communities for over 5 years. During that time we have had a major impact on the community by: 1. Reducing the number of “community” (aka feral) cats in colonies through our trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release program; 2. Socializing hundreds of kittens born outside and facilitating their adoption into “forever” homes; 3. Taking in dozens of abandoned house cats and trying to find them more stable homes; 4. Providing medical care for dozens of injured and ill community cats; and 5. Providing education, training, and support for cat owners and lovers through monthly articles in the Beltsville News, public gatherings such as the Beltsville Festival, and other community events.
Unfortunately, BCC is OVER CAPACITY right now due to the increasing number of callers asking us to “rehome” their pet cats, to remove feral cats they are no longer able to feed, or to rescue the litters of kittens being “found” outside. Because of the flood of cats and kittens this spring, BCC will be halting intake of all cats and kittens until most of the 75+ kitties currently in care are vetted and adopted. We will also be limiting most of our TNVR efforts. Although it hurts to turn away any cat or caller in need, we must do this because we simply do not have enough HUMAN resources (foster homes and volunteers) to accept any more. We look forward to the day when we can resume our regular intake process. We will announce through our website and the Beltsville News when we reopen intake.
How can YOU help?
1 BCC desperately needs people willing to foster litters of kittens until they are old enough to be adopted into approved homes. Fosters provide food, litter, and love so that the kittens are well socialized and ready for their new family. BCC pays for all vet expenses (neutering, vaccinating, combo testing, deworming, microchipping, and treatment for sick kitties).
2 BCC needs people willing to assist with feeding our managed feral colonies. We feed about 170 cats every day. You volunteer to provide food and fresh water to one or two colonies one day a week. In return you get the satisfaction of knowing you are helping provide a group of healthy, neutered cats with the things they need to survive.
3 ADOPT, ADOPT, ADOPT an adult cat or a pair of kittens. BCC will be reducing our adoption fees for July to encourage responsible people to make room in their hearts and homes for these wonderful companions and friends. As mentioned above, ALL of our cats and kittens are fully vetted. If you need more information about what you would need to get set up to foster a cat or kittens, please email rescue@beltsvillecats.net. Keep your eyes out for more information about the summer adoption special.
BCC looks forward to returning to our full rescue and TNR status. The time line depends on the support of our COMMUNITY. Please consider getting involved. Contact us at hello@beltsvillecats.net or 240-444-8353. Thank you for your past, current, and future support as we work to make Beltsville and Calverton better places for people and cats alike.