Our first days at Touhy Mobile Home Park (TMHP), Des Plaines, Illinois

October 2006:  Update on Taz & "No Ears"

In the spring of 2006, two senior citizens sat PACT President Cherie Travis down to tell her about the problems they were having with stray cats where they live.  These two Touhy Mobile Home residents shared horror stories about animal abuse and dogfighting, as well as their frustration over what to do with the dozens of litters of kittens they kept finding. 

Cherie discussed the situation with co-Director Renea Burman and they came up with a plan to work with law enforcement regarding animal abuse and to provide aggressive spay-neuter efforts to combat the overpopulation situation.  "The only advice these folks were given by Cook County Animal Control was not to feed the cats," Cherie explained.  "That was not the solution."

Travis and Burman met with the owner of the park, who was quite pleased to have the resources of a humane society in his community.  Then PACT mobilized volunteers, created a flyer and began doing door-to-door talking with residents.

In general, people were very positive because they had been long frustrated with the cat problems in the mobile home park.  Even people who were initially hostile toward PACT's efforts came to realize that this solution is a good one.   The problem, however, was years in the making, and it's going to take a great amount of time and effort to solve.

PACT has no budget for this program.  Travis and Burman knew that if they waited until they had gathered funds, the problem would have gotten worse while they organized a perfect plan.  This situation called for immediate action -- they needed to jump in and start aggressively spaying/neutering, and worry about the funds later.  There is no grant money, tax dollars, or any other help coming in.  We are on our own.  We need volunteers and people who care to donate their time and/or money to help us with this effort.

(Click on photo for an enlargement.)

This is one of two holes in the side of a trailer where feral cats live.	This is "Bijou", an unspayed female who escaped home while in heat and refused to return. She has had many litters of kittens and is pregnant now.	This is Taz, left behind by his family. Now he's afraid of people. He's impregnating lots of females, and has a huge wound on his left side.	Taz having a sip of water.	A female about 5-6 months old (sitting on cinder block) waits to join Taz.
A hole under an uninhabited trailer provides shelter for several other cats, reportedly including a litter of kittens.	Look closely at the left side of Taz's neck -- this is the wound he's had for a while. His poor face looks like it's been through a blender.	Two of several cats rescued from a trailer with over 35 intact, breeding cats. The Calico was pregnant when brought in for spay surgery.

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See the update on Taz!

Estimate of Funds Needed:

Estimated number of stray cats in the mobile home park	300
Estimated number of owned cats to be sterilized & vaccinated (if 25% of the 400 homes have 2 cats each to be treated)	+  200
Number of cats	500
Cost to treat each cat (includes transportation, spay/neuter, vaccines, flea & ear mite treatment, and any additional medical assistance needed)	x    50
Cost:	$ 25,000

How You Can Help:

• Volunteer to help Taz, Bijou and all the other cats of Touhy Mobile Home Park. 
   
• Consider making a donation to help PACT pay for these cats' veterinary care.  Please put "Touhy MHP" in the Comments section.
   
• Animal shelters seeking to replicate this program, or to take adoptable TMHP cats for adoption placement, email our Directors.

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