Tip Me Frederick Awarded $23,000 Grant from Maryland Department of Agriculture

Support from State Spay-Neuter Grant Program Will Help Tip Me Frederick’s Lifesaving Work for Community Cats Tip Me Frederick (TMF) is pleased to have received a grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to help residents in Thurmont and other areas of northern Frederick County humanely manage the area’s community cats. The MDA’s two-year old program is designed to reduce the number of unwanted cats and dogs euthanized in shelters across the state by providing competitive grants to local governments and animal welfare organizations that promote and provide spay and neuter services and educational outreach, with an emphasis on low income communities and populations. “Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) is a humane alternative to the ‘trap and kill’ policies that historically have been used to address the overpopulation of stray and feral/semi-feral cats,” explains TMF founder and president, Barbara Wratten. Trap and kill, however, has been repeatedly proven ineffective, cost-prohibitive, and is considered inhumane by many citizens. In contrast to trap and kill, trap/neuter/return methods, like the ones used by TMF, capture homeless, free-roaming cats to sterilize, vaccinate, and then return them to their ‘outdoor homes’ to live out their natural lives without reproducing. It is the widely accepted, humane method of controlling the number of free-roaming cats. TMF is honored and very grateful to receive the award. “This grant will allow us to provide free sterilization and vaccination services to our community cat caregivers in Thurmont and northern Fredrick County,” says Wratten. “In collaboration with our grant partners, Spa Spay and Neuter Nook (www.spayspa.org) in Davidsonville, Maryland, and Cuddles Cat Rescue (www.cuddlescatrescue.com) in Thurmont, we will perform six hundred free spay/neuter surgeries over the next twelve months.” Tip Me Frederick (TMF) (www.tipmefrederick.org) is the only all-volunteer, non-profit dedicated Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) resource serving Frederick County, Maryland, and surrounding areas. TMF helps people who care about feral cats by providing them with the experience, expertise, and access to services to help them humanely manage cat colonies in their neighborhoods and on their properties. TMF’s services include: education and training in best practices for managing feral cats; loaning traps and assisting with trapping when needed; assisting with transport to low-cost veterinary clinics; and working with local veterinarians to provide access to low-cost or no-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services. TMF also works closely with Frederick County Animal Control (FCAC) to return feral cats to their colonies or place them into new colonies or safe barn homes. Become a fan of Tip Me Frederick on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TipMeFrederick.