FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2019
Contact: Dan Spehar, communitycatsohio@gmail.com, 440-212-1485
The Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats Announces Jackson Township Resident Laura Evans as the Winner of its 2019 Community Cat Champion Award
Cleveland, Ohio—The Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats is pleased to announce that Laura Evans of Jackson Township is the recipient of the second annual Community Cat Champion Award. The announcement was made at NE Ohio Feral Cat Summit V, the group’s annual conference, held in Strongsville on October 26.
The Community Cat Champion Award recognizes the person who has done the most significant work on behalf of Ohio’s stray and feral cats (a.k.a., community cats) through the use of the management practice known as trap-neuter-return (TNR). TNR is the most humane and effective method known for managing community cats and reducing their numbers. Under TNR, community cats are trapped and brought to a veterinary clinic to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and for removal of a small portion of the tip of the left ear (the universal indicator that an outdoor cat has been sterilized). After recovery from surgery, the cats are returned back to their original territory where a caretaker provides regular food and shelter. When foster or permanent homes are available, young kittens and friendly adults can be removed and placed for adoption.
Evans began practicing TNR after encountering community cats residing on the property of her employer. Since 2010, she has trapped, sterilized, and returned nearly 1,000 cats across NE Ohio. She has caught as many as 17 cats in a single day and transported them to One of a Kind Spay-Neuter Clinic in Akron. Evans has assisted countless local residents in managing community cats on their properties. “I feel passionate about helping people take better care of the cats they love but cannot catch,” said Evans. “Not only is it [TNR] necessary for the cats, but it is such a stress relief for the people as well.” Evans was selected for the award from a group of nominees put forth by Together Initiative network members.
The 2019 Community Cat Champion Award was sponsored by the Rascal Unit mobile veterinary hospitals based in Dublin, Ohio.
About the Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats: The mission of The Together Initiative for Ohio’s Community Cats is to promote and enable the effective and humane management of Ohio’s community cats via public education and by encouraging and facilitating collaborative TNR programs and corresponding partnerships between public and/or private stakeholders. The Together Initiative maintains a network of nearly 200 community cat stakeholders who have pledged their commitment to the humane management of Ohio’s community cats.