The SaveKitty Foundation (Bellerose, New York 11426) is an all-volunteer, non-profit group of rescuers in Queens dedicated to helping animals in the five boroughs of New York City.
The SaveKitty Foundation’s mission is to spay/neuter stray and feral cats in the NYC area as the most humane solution to the stray cat problem; rescue and find homes for friendly stray cats and kittens; manage feral cat colonies and provide support for others to do the same; and assist rescuers and others who need help in implementing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return in their local neighborhoods by providing traps, education in TNR techniques, access to low or no-cost spay/neuter services available in NYC, and transportation to those facilities.
Like most rescuers SKF does TNR. Its volunteers will trap a stray/feral cat, and get the animal spayed/neutered with the Humane Society Feral Cat Program or the ASPCA Cares Mobile Spay/Neuter clinic. After the surgery, SKF holds the cats 3-5 days for recovery and then returns them to where they came from. A feral cat will have its left ear tipped for future identification.
Not all strays are feral. More often than not SKF finds friendly strays. Some of them might be lost or abandoned, or just naturally friendly.
SKF will never release a friendly cat back to the streets, nor does it ever release a kitten under 6 months old. Feral kittens 6 months or younger are capable of being socialized. After 6 months old they are pretty set in their feral ways. Some people believe any feral cat can be turned around eventually and SKF would love to save them all, but in reality, it cannot. So it saves the ones it can.
SKF is not a shelter. The cats available for adoption are cared for in foster homes.
All cats have been de-wormed, de-flea’d, tested for FIV/FELV, and have at least had their initial vaccinations. They are always spayed or neutered prior to adoption; even kittens as young as 8 weeks.
