Category of Service: Animal Welfare

Mission

To improve quality of life for homeless animals, provide humane treatment, and educate the community with the understanding that these animals are a victim of circumstances.

Programs and Services

• I. Objective: To obtain control over the rampant breeding and overpopulation of cats and kittens in certain areas of Washington County through a humane spay and neuter program, managed by Sonya’s Hope for Felines (“Sonya’s Hope”), a 501c3 non-profit corporation, in conjunction with other local animal rescue groups. Sonya’s Hope is an all-volunteer non-profit, totally funded by donations.
• II. Who We Are: Sonya’s Hope was founded in 2023 by Brenda Rupert, as a way to give back to the community and address a critical need for trapping, spay/neuter services (“TNR”) to control the overpopulation and suffering of cats. (IRS Letter attached). Since 2019, Ms. Rupert has been conducting mass TNR projects in Washington County.
• III. Why TNR and How Does it Help?: TNR is the only effective, humane way to manage stray/feral cat populations. The initial step is to identify the areas that are at critical mass and the most overrun. Calls from residents throughout the communities alert us to overwhelming numbers of stray/feral cats that have reached critical mass, meaning a likelihood of a minimum of 40 or more new kittens added to certain pockets of over-population in the communities every 6 months. In just the last year, we have conducted mass trap jobs on College Street, Pitt Street, Vine Street, Smithfield Street, Youngstown Street, Valley View Road in Canonsburg, Bruce Street in Washington, and areas surrounding Race Track Road in Washington. Each of these areas had no less than forty cats and up to sixty free roaming cats visible during the day. Experience has shown that twice as many are likely present, as true feral cats do not come out during the day[1]. While trapping in the evenings, we observed cats spraying properties, eating out of garbage, fighting, and mating. Without intervention, numbers can triple and quadrable in a very short period of time.
• A. TNR Controls Nuisance Behaviors: When the cats are trapped and vetted, the nuisance behaviors stop. The male cat urine no longer has a horrible, pungent odor. Male cats no longer spray territory, they do not roam, nor do they fight or mate. They do however, maintain an area, control rodents, (which is beneficial), and they prevent unaltered males from entering the territory. Spayed females no longer attract unaltered males to the area (an unaltered male will travel up to two miles for mating.), nor do they produce more offspring. The cats are also vaccinated and microchipped, which protects residents and complies with Pennsylvania statutes. The key is that the vetted cats will prevent new, unvetted cats from roaming into the area. If the cats were trapped and euthanized, new cats will simply move in, and the process will begin all over again. This is called the vacuum effect.
• B. TNR Helps Remove Friendly Cats: A TNR program also is needed to prevent breeding by abandoned, dumped pets. In the areas worked, we have found that many of the cats trapped are friendly. The friendly cats were not sterilized, and many of the females were already pregnant. It is a sad reality that in lower economic areas, residents are less likely to spay/neuter their animals and are more likely to leave those animals behind when they move. We return the feral cats back to the community after spay/neuter, and the friendly cats are placed in temporary foster homes for a period of a week, to provide time for an owner to come forward. If no owner comes forward, the cats are placed for permanent adoption. If an owner does come forward, the owner will be required to pay the vetting costs. Sonya’s Hope for Felines and Brenda Rupert has been able to successfully trap, sterilize, medically treat the sick and injured, and find homes for hundreds of cats over the years with a great track record of a minimal return of feral cats to the community.
• C. Hiring a Trapping Company Does Not Work: Hiring a trapping company to come in and trap/euthanize the cats does not work as it is cost prohibitive and the company will be unable to trap all of the cats. Local wildlife trapping companies contacted have stated that they will not touch cats. One stated that he used to trap cats, however now there is no place to take them after they are trapped as the humane society no longer accepts trapped cats. (Neither Washington Area Humane Society nor Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh will accept trapped cats). Also, once residents learn that the cats are being trapped and euthanized, one wildlife trapper reported that residents steal traps, smash traps, overfeed the cats, and that he received death threats. Identifying all of the cats in an area and trapping and vetting them is a time-consuming process. It involves going door to door to talk to residents that are feeding to gain their trust so that the cats can be identified and efficiently trapped and vetted. Cooperation is vital. Residents need to withhold food on trapping days so that the cats will be hungry enough to go into the traps. If any females are left behind unvetted, the problems will continue as they will continue to breed. We also keep in close contact with residents regarding the ongoing care of the colonies and ask them to notify us if an unaltered (non-ear tipped) cat appears in their community. We will then handle the matter appropriately. Unlike other trappers, we do not leave traps unattended. We actively monitor the traps for the safety of the cats. That means while trapping is occurring, including at night, someone will be physically present at all times. We also provide safe, sanitary, comfortable accommodations for the cats to recover after surgery. The cats are set up in individual 48” dog crates with litter box, hidey-cubby, blankets and food and water. The cats are fed and litter boxes are changed twice daily, or more if necessary. We also administer all necessary medications prescribed by veterinarians. We hold male feral cats for a minimum of three days and females a minimum of 7 days to ensure complete recovery with no complications before they are released.
• IV. What it Takes… : It takes significant time and effort to get an over-populated area under control. Already there is a significant reduction in the number of stray cats roaming, and the prevention of thousands of kittens added to the area.
• Sonya’s Hope for Felines utilizes several veterinary Clinics including Affordable Care Veterinary Clinic 724-348-0405, Paw Prints Veterinary Clinic 304-296-7387, Pleasant Valley Veterinary Clinic in McMurray 724-941-4366, and Animal Friends 412-847-7000, and Pittsburgh Premier Veterinary Clinic 412-795-1215, PVSEC 412-366-3400. The clinics require payment in full at the time of services, so we do not have a balance on those accounts but our credit card balance continues to grow.
• Sonya’s Hope also obtains a combo-test on each cat to ensure the cat is not carrying FeLV, feline leukemia, a deadly, easily transmissible cat disease. The test is necessary to ensure a healthy cat population. Any cats testing positive for felv will not be returned to the location under any circumstances.
• In addition, Sonya’s Hope often has to spend additional money to ensure that the feral cats that are being released are completely healthy, or to address additional health-related problems of friendly cats which can be substantial.
• Sonya’s Hope for Felines has made significant progress toward stopping the overpopulation of cats in areas of Washington County, particularly, Canonsburg, North Strabane, Houston, and some certain areas in the city of Washington.
• In closing, TNR is necessary to gain control over parts of the communities that are overrun with cats and at critical mass.

Primary Revenue Sources

Online fundraising activities Paypal Giving, Go Fund Me, GBU Gives Back, Venmo, Online wish lists through Chewy and Amazon

Primary Fundraising Event

Online - Go Fund Me or Facebook fundraising events.

2023 Financials

Contact