Campus Cats Initiative
College campuses across Long Island, NY are filled with students, faculty, and stray/feral cats & kittens. You may not notice them at first, but they are there, hiding in the shadows, lurking by the dumpsters, and barely surviving. Very often these cats are a victim of circumstances when college students graduate and leave these poor companion animals to fend for themselves but moreover, the campus sustains life! These abandoned cats are often left unaltered and offspring will become feral if not taken in and socialized early. Cats can become fertile as early as 4 months of age, they have about a 2-month gestation and can give birth up to 3 times a year each time baring litters of up to 10 kittens! Population control is the key to ensuring we stop the cycle of suffering.
Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return programs have been successfully implemented on campuses across the nation to help combat this cycle of suffering. Now it is Long Island's turn to attempt to reverse the damage that has been done. Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, also referred to as TNVR, stabilizes colonies—no new kittens. It improves cats’ lives: they are healthier and do not experience the strains of mating, pregnancy, hunger due to lack of enough resources. Living alongside the many feral cats on campuses are many abandoned cats. Once living in a home, never having to worry about when they will have their next meal, to now living outside fighting to survive.
Tender Loving Cats, Inc. (TLC) is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), no-kill feline rescue, concentrating on reducing Long Island's community cat population through trap-neuter-return and rehabilitation of homeless cats and kittens for adoption. All cats and kittens adopted from Tender Loving Cats, Inc. are spayed/neutered prior to adoption as a part of our mission to reduce the numbers of homeless cats and kittens on Long Island. Tender Loving Cats, Inc. rescues the mistreated, saves the injured, and loves the abandoned. As part of this mission, TLC has implemented The Campus Cat Initiative to help these campus cats. TLC’s Campus Cat Initiative will rescue as many friendly and often abandoned cats and kittens from the campus, provide them with medical care including but not limited to, testing for FIV/FeLV, vaccines up to and including rabies, spay/neuter, microchip, deworm, deflea and place in loving foster homes until forever homes can be found in addition to organizing TNR for the feral cat/kitten(s) living on the grounds and ensuring proper feeding stations and feral cat housing is available to the Campuses feline residents. This program aims to educate students and faculty on proper colony management and how to work alongside our feral friends for a mutual benefit and why releasing a domestic cat into the “wild” is inhumane. The proactive approach of a TNVR program will end the cycle of kittens being born outdoors and drastically improve the quality of life for those who will live the remainder of their lives outdoors. In turn, these feral cat/kitten(s) will provide much needed natural rodent population control.
Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return programs have been successfully implemented on campuses across the nation to help combat this cycle of suffering. Now it is Long Island's turn to attempt to reverse the damage that has been done. Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, also referred to as TNVR, stabilizes colonies—no new kittens. It improves cats’ lives: they are healthier and do not experience the strains of mating, pregnancy, hunger due to lack of enough resources. Living alongside the many feral cats on campuses are many abandoned cats. Once living in a home, never having to worry about when they will have their next meal, to now living outside fighting to survive.
Tender Loving Cats, Inc. (TLC) is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), no-kill feline rescue, concentrating on reducing Long Island's community cat population through trap-neuter-return and rehabilitation of homeless cats and kittens for adoption. All cats and kittens adopted from Tender Loving Cats, Inc. are spayed/neutered prior to adoption as a part of our mission to reduce the numbers of homeless cats and kittens on Long Island. Tender Loving Cats, Inc. rescues the mistreated, saves the injured, and loves the abandoned. As part of this mission, TLC has implemented The Campus Cat Initiative to help these campus cats. TLC’s Campus Cat Initiative will rescue as many friendly and often abandoned cats and kittens from the campus, provide them with medical care including but not limited to, testing for FIV/FeLV, vaccines up to and including rabies, spay/neuter, microchip, deworm, deflea and place in loving foster homes until forever homes can be found in addition to organizing TNR for the feral cat/kitten(s) living on the grounds and ensuring proper feeding stations and feral cat housing is available to the Campuses feline residents. This program aims to educate students and faculty on proper colony management and how to work alongside our feral friends for a mutual benefit and why releasing a domestic cat into the “wild” is inhumane. The proactive approach of a TNVR program will end the cycle of kittens being born outdoors and drastically improve the quality of life for those who will live the remainder of their lives outdoors. In turn, these feral cat/kitten(s) will provide much needed natural rodent population control.
Campus Cat Initiative -
Hofstra University
Tender Loving Cats, Inc. is actively working at the Hofstra University Campus in Hempstead, NY where we estimate at 40-60 cat/kitten(s) are in need of TNVR and/or rescue. Over the last month volunteer trappers and the programs coordinator who is a volunteer & Hofstra student, Claudia Cannam, have rescued 4 kittens and 2 friendly adult cats and begun the huge task of TNVR for the 40+ feral cats/kittens. Prior to COVID19 the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter offered an incredible free spay/neuter program for feral cats residing within its borders. The program the offered allowed trappers to bring in up to 4 feral cats Tuesday - Thursday with no appointment needed to receive TNVR as well as recovery of those cats for 3 full days before residents picked the cats back up to be released. This program stood as model for other townships to aspire to but the local township has chosen to halt its TNVR program and now has been STOPPED!. Because of this, Claudia, a full-time law student and volunteer for TLC, has had no choice but to take on the enormous task of not only raising the thousands of dollars of funds to feed and alter these cats but we must also set up CCTV to monitor the routine dumping of friendly adult cats at this location. Monetary donations are greatly needed to help these poor cats but we also need help supplying food for this colony 365 days a year, a cost of over $5,000 a year. Visit our Campus Cats Amazon Wishlist to help supply desperately needed items.
We can not do this without your help! The Campus Cats Initiative is seeking volunteer foster parents, trappers, transporters, volunteers to feed & clean feral cats in recovery after spay/neuter & fundraising. We desperately need space to recover these cats after surgery feral cat in a garage or shed. If you are able to help us in any of these ways and are interested in joining the Campus Cat Initiative please apply to volunteer.
Contact: campuscats@tenderlovingcats.org for more information.
Join our Facebook Group - www.facebook.com/groups/tlccampuscatshofstra
Follow us on Instagram @tlccampuscats_initiative
Make a donation for Campus Cats Initiative here -
We can not do this without your help! The Campus Cats Initiative is seeking volunteer foster parents, trappers, transporters, volunteers to feed & clean feral cats in recovery after spay/neuter & fundraising. We desperately need space to recover these cats after surgery feral cat in a garage or shed. If you are able to help us in any of these ways and are interested in joining the Campus Cat Initiative please apply to volunteer.
Contact: campuscats@tenderlovingcats.org for more information.
Join our Facebook Group - www.facebook.com/groups/tlccampuscatshofstra
Follow us on Instagram @tlccampuscats_initiative
Make a donation for Campus Cats Initiative here -
Rescued Campus Cats - Hofstra
Harvey is a sweet black & white boy that was abandoned on Hofstra’s campus in July of 2020. Harvey went from living his life inside, with regular meals, and sheltered from the elements to fighting everyday to survive. Several security guards on campus have shared their version of Harvey’s first day on campus. Supposably his owner passed away from COVID-19 and this owners family didn’t want him. During this time shelters were not open or accepting surrenders, so the family, like so many others, resorted to dumping him at a location where they thought he might at least have food source but in reality they left him to fight for resources in an unfamiliar and dangerous area. Harvey is estimated to be between 8-10 years old. He loves being pet and snuggling in your lap. Harvey’s friendly personality and adorable face will cause you to fall so in love with him. On August 7th, 2020, Harvey approached a person looking for some love, little did he know he was approaching a Tender Loving Cats volunteer. Harvey led the volunteer to find the upwards for 60+ unaltered cats living on the campus. Harvey is now thriving in his foster home. He spends his days getting pets and loves from his foster mom. Harvey loves to look out windows and sleep in his new bed. He tested positive for FIV that he likely obtained from the unaltered feral cats fighting him off for their limited food resources. Harvey lives harmoniously with an FIV negative cat currently and can live a long, happy & healthy life. FIV is not to be feared as it is only transmitted via deep bite wounds that result in a saliva to bloodstream transfer. Learn here about FIV+ & FIV- cats cohabitating.
Big Papa is a gentle giant showed up one day to join Harvey and friends for their meals. At first glance one might not want to approach him, his torn up ears and matted fur might give you the wrong impression. It took a few weeks for Papa to trust the TLC volunteer who would later save him, but when he realized she was there to help him he blossomed into his loving self. We believe Papa was once someone’s pet, this sweet boy loves kisses and head scratches. He will serenade you will his unique voice and will greet you with a hello. Papa is estimated to be about 10 years old and sadly in renal failure. We believe he is partially deaf but that doesn’t stop him from loving on you. Big Papa is now safely in his foster home and loving every minute of it.
Adopted! Onyx & Greyson were born August, 2020. Both are shy but sweet and warm up quickly. They were 8wks when they were rescued and their mom was spayed and released. Just to think that another couple of weeks and these kittens would not have been able to lives the rest of their lives loved and in a home!
