For eight years, No Feline Left Behind of McKean County has been quietly, tirelessly working to help feral cats and kittens. But without community support, they may be forced to close.

By trapping, neutering, vaccinating and returning (TNVR) feral cats, the all-volunteer nonprofit has helped 4,758 animals. More than 2,000 of them in the City of Bradford alone.

“We’ve grown so much that we need more help now,” said Lindsay Trojanowski, board member. “The community has proven that our organization is needed, and you can see the results.”

Board member Lori Burkhouse explained that TNVR is a three-day process. With property owner permission, humane traps are set in prearranged locations. These traps are monitored throughout the day. Trapped cats are sheltered overnight before being transported to the clinic the following morning. There, cats undergo surgery to be spayed or neutered. In addition, they receive a vet check-up, flea and tick treatment and vaccinations. The cats are sheltered overnight again, when they are fed, watered and monitored closely as the anesthesia wears off. The next day, they are returned to exactly where they were found.

“That is important because these cats have been surviving in that area so they know where to hide, where to find shelter and where to get food and water,” said Burkhouse. “If we remove them, another unfixed cat will just come to take its place because that is a location that has those key components.”

Before and after pictures of Whisper, a foster cat trapped and rehabilitated by members of No Feline Left Behind of McKean County. Whisper, healthy and spayed, is now in her fur-ever home.

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Many people believe that a large feral cat population means that a human must be feeding them. But Trojanowski explained that isn’t always the case. It isn’t as simple as telling community members to stop feeding the cats.

“People forget that these cats don’t need us to survive because they are hunters and gatherers,” said Trojanowski. “They can catch and kill mice and birds or forage out of garbage cans.”

Even in locations where people are feeding the cats, stopping abruptly is an inhumane and ineffective solution.

“These cats have learned to rely on this location for food so they will still stay there,” said Trojanowski. “They will just have a harder time because they have become dependent on that food source provided by humans.”

While returning animals to the same location is ideal, special circumstances sometimes require them to move a population.

“The only time we would not return an animal to the same place we found it, is if we know it is dangerous,” said Trojanowski. “For example, if we know someone is poisoning or shooting feral cats in that location.”

Burkhouse noted that one unspayed female, one intact male cat and one litter of their offspring can produce 4,200 cats.

“A female can get pregnant multiple times a year,” Burkhouse said. “By the time her litter is four months old, she is likely pregnant again and those offspring are also ready to reproduce.”

The all-volunteer group’s work is physically and emotionally demanding and time-consuming. Volunteers use their personal vehicles, pay for their own gas and use vacation days to help trap, transport and care for these cats.

“We don’t have a building, a phone or even a vehicle,” Trojanowski said. “When we store the cats overnight, they are placed into one of our board members’ garages.”

Each spay or neuter costs the group $100, not including the cost of food, litter or extra veterinary care for sick or injured animals.

Since its beginning, the group has taken in more than 400 foster animals and helped place them into loving homes. There are specific criteria to be accepted as a foster animal. They are animals who are sick and injured or too young to be spayed or neutered at the time of trapping. They have a handful of dedicated people who will foster cats at their own expense. Those kind individuals pay for worm medication, veterinary care, food and any other needs the cat may have.

NFLB has received some small grants, such as $300 donations from Walmart and another grant from the ARG Legacy Fund that covered the cost of 10 cats. The rest of their funding comes from fundraising and individual donations.

“When you do the math, you can see how much money our volunteers and donors have raised just to cover the cats we have already helped,” said Burkhouse. “We’ve done a lot with very little.”

The group comprises nine board members and two other volunteers. They cover 22 municipalities, but so far, only Kane Borough and Bradford City have donated municipal funds – Bradford’s $4,800 contribution was approved Tuesday. The group is now reaching out to other municipalities and the public, asking for further support.

“This isn’t just about cats,” Trojanowski said. “Unfixed cats mean more kittens, more diseases and more flea and tick infestations. Heaven forbid one of these unvaccinated cats contracts rabies, that puts the whole community at risk.”

Burkhouse added that without the work done by NFLB, the stray cat population will rebound almost immediately.

“If we have to stop, all the progress we have made will disappear,” said Burkhouse. “It isn’t the cats’ fault; they are just doing what they naturally do.”

While the focus remains on TNVR, NFLB sometimes fosters sick and injured cats who would otherwise have no help, or are too young to be spayed or neutered. Volunteers have seen kittens near death recover and thrive in adopted homes.

“It is emotionally stressful but so rewarding,” said Burkhouse. “It becomes a passion when you see these cats struggling to survive and you know you can make a difference.”

Still, the group remains dedicated to its mission.

“None of us feels that we can walk away yet,” said Burkhouse. “None of us feels like our work is done.”

Trojanowski said their goal is to make the program sustainable for years to come. She noted that McKean County is fortunate to have a program like NFLB.

“Other counties around don’t have a TNVR program and they have reached out to us for help,” said Trojanowski. “But of course, we have our hands full as it is.”

Donations can be made by mail to NFLB McKean County, P.O. Box 783 in Bradford, or via PayPal at paypal.me/nflbmckean and Venmo at @nflbmckean.

“Your money will not only help cats,” said Trojanowski. “It also helps the people in our community and makes McKean County a safer and better place.”