William Smith
The Burlington Beacon
After seven years of trapping, neutering, vaccinating, and releasing stray cats around Burlington, the charity and feline advocate organization A Street Cat With No Desire has dissolved.
The three remaining core members of the group – Nathalie Girod, Robin Schneiderman, and Janine Walsh – said they just don’t have the volunteers needed to trap enough cats. The final cat was taken to the veterinarian Thursday, June 30.
“I’m sad about it. I think we’re all remorseful,” Walsh said.
The organization has trapped and neutered at least 600 cats over the past seven years, and it’s a lot more work than most realize. Communicating with cat caretakers, planning and following through with trapping, maintaining a limited vet schedule, and coordinating volunteers to transport to and from the vet – all played a factor in the decision to dissolve.
Girod, who lives in Des Moines now, said roughly 200 cats were neutered, spayed, and vaccinated last year.
“We felt so happy to have done something good for this planet and these animals,” Girod said.
Humble Beginnings
Girod founded the organization with Lanie Fritz, and at first, they weren’t sure what the mission of the group was – they just knew they wanted to help cats.
Their mission started with a single cat colony. A Burlington woman had posted on Facebook about a cat colony that was getting out of control, and she needed help.
Girod and Fritz took the job.
“We just couldn’t help ourselves. Animals suffering is not something I could support,” Girod said. “We knew something had to be done.”
They started out taking half a dozen cats to the Noah’s Ark Animal Foundation in Fairfield.
“We were clueless. We didn’t even know how to work a live trap. We were just two ladies concerned with the welfare of these cats,” Girod said.
Scientific studies demonstrate that trapping, neutering, and returning the felines improves the health and lives of feral cats and their relationships with the people who live near them. It also lowers the cat population, preventing cruelty, starvation, homelessness, and the spread of disease.
Regular trapping, neutering, vaccinating, and releasing decreases the size of colonies over time, which doesn’t happen if a cat is caught and euthanized. Girod said killing a cat creates a vacuum effect, allowing another cat to simply take its place in the colony and start breeding. Nothing is solved.
A cat that has been neutered and returned, however, will defend that territory against possible replacements, and there’s no risk of breeding. The cat’s ear is tipped (a corner is cut out of the top), indicating to animal control officers that the cat is spayed or neutered and should be left alone.
Evolving Street Cat
Walsh joined the organization in 2017, and Schneiderman started a year later in 2018. Girod credits both ladies for pushing the group forward – Walsh for organizing the group into a 501(c) 3, and Schneiderman for developing the much-needed traps. The organization was funded strictly by donations.
“We had a big meeting and a lot of people came to that, but that was the end of a lot of people coming,” Walsh said.
Walsh said there has always been a lot of interest in the group, but finding volunteers who have the time to trap feral cats is nearly impossible. Schneiderman has been bitten several times and recalls spending four or five hours trapping one cat – only for the cat to never show up.
“We have a permit from the city to do live captures,” Schneiderman said.
But she can’t just leave the trap and go home. She has to be around the trap the entire time, often hiding behind a house or some greenery so they won’t see her. Since the organization utilizes out-of-town veterinarians, the lack of a facility to house the cats as they recover is a big hindrance.
“When you trap a cat, you can’t keep it. It’s a wild cat,” Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman had been using her garage but doesn’t believe that is humane enough. She said it’s not fair to the cat.
“You’re traumatizing them in some way,” she said. “This year, we had not to do that. So we have been trapping around their homes, or we can have them pick up the strays if they aren’t too feral.”
Hoping for the Future
Running the organization became increasingly difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Girod has since moved to Des Moines. She has still been working with Street Cat on vet appointments and other organizational details, but only Schneiderman and Walsh are around for trapping.
At this point, they’re overwhelmed. But they hope they’ve made a difference. Both Schneiderman and Walsh have several feline additions to their family thanks to the organization.
Now they would love to see another group of volunteers make a difference by creating a similar group.
“It’s sad when anything comes to an end. We’re not saying it’s the end of trap, neuter, and release in Burlington,” Schneiderman said.
