May 9, 2025 • 42 mins
Ready to step up and make a real difference for the cats in your neighborhood? This Episode of dives into an inspiring conversation with Rebecca Bourgeois of JP Helping Paws about her impactful TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) class. Discover practical strategies and compassionate techniques to humanely manage feral cat colonies and build a more harmonious community for both people and our feline friends. Tune in to learn how you can become a champion for your local cats!
#TNR
#TrapNeuterReturn
#FeralCats
#CommunityCats
#NeighborhoodCats
#AnimalAdvocacy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dixie (00:02):
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
people and rescues making adifference in the lives of animals.
Thank you Rebecca for joining me today.
Rebecca (00:11):
You're welcome.
I'm so excited to be here with you.
Dixie (00:14):
You do TNR
Rebecca (00:15):
I do.
Dixie (00:16):
And what group do you do that for?
Rebecca (00:18):
I do it with the Jefferson SPCA.
Dixie (00:21):
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and
how you became involved in TNR?
Rebecca (00:26):
Yes.
So I've always been an animal loversince day one, since I was little.
My mom had probably 15, 20 cats inand around our house growing up.
Huge animal family.
I started working with Jefferson ParishParks and Recreation in 2014, and so
after 10 years at the same job, it'slike, what can I do to make coming
(00:48):
to work something that I love to do?
So how can I incorporateanimals into my job?
So I've always wanted to volunteer,but volunteering with different
organizations is so stressful becausethere's so many requirements and.
Applications you have to fill out andyou have to schedule appointments.
So I never really did that'cause that freaked me out.
But I was like, okay, with my platform Ican do this, and then I'll open it up to
(01:12):
volunteers and people will come to me tovolunteer and I'll do all the scheduling.
So now I'm not alone going to volunteer,and that makes it easier for me.
I found Rachel because my mother she hascommunity cats and she had reached out to
Rachel and Rachel did some TNR for her.
So my mom was like, you shouldreach out to Rachel with the
Jefferson SPCA and maybe y'all canvolunteer there with your new group.
(01:36):
So the group is called JP HelpingPaws, and this is probably
our second or third ish year.
So I met Rachel doing all that.
And if Rachel, she's very.
Loud and outgoing and tothe point, and I love that.
So just volunteering there.
I started hearing about trappingcats and something about it always
freaked me out a little bit.
(01:56):
Just the unknown of it, my fiance worksat Game On Social Hub and the owners,
there are big cat people, which welove, but she had some cats in the
back that she wanted help trapping.
So Rachel was like, I'm gonna go, I'llbring the van, come with me and learn.
I was like, okay.
So we got the big van,loaded it up with traps.
Rachel's showing me how to do it,setting 'em, and then you just hear
(02:18):
'em, clicking and setting off andshe's like, oh, go see what we got.
And I'm like okay.
And then it's like, ohlook, it's a little one.
And so it was just like thethrill of like, what did we get?
That kind of like pulled me in.
Once I saw how easy it was, I waslike, okay like this takes no effort.
You literally set a metal box and theywalk into it and then you're done.
So I was like, I can do this.
(02:39):
I can totally do this.
So I still hadn't had like a neighborhoodto trap in or anything like that.
But where I work, I drive throughairline park neighborhood to get to
my job sometimes, and I saw a littleblack kitten crossing the street.
So immediately, my first instinctis let me try and grab him.
(03:00):
And I saw him run into their backyard.
So I tell Rachel and she'slike, come get a door hanger.
The door hanger says, we notice there'scommunity cats in the neighborhood.
We wanna trap them, do t and r.
Here's my name and number.
Contact me.
So I put them out on some doors andthen the next day I got a text message.
Hey we saw your door hanger and wewould love for you to come trap our cat.
(03:21):
And I was like, this is it.
Like this is it.
I've been trapping therefor over a year now.
At the same houses, the people who livethere are like my best friends now.
They're probably fiftiesand up, but they're the
sweetest people ever, but they areyour typical feeders, not fixers.
So it's easy for me because it'sright around the corner from my job,
(03:42):
so I can drop traps in the morning.
They'll keep an eye on 'em.
I can pick 'em up after workand go drop 'em off at the J.
It was just so exciting, once youstart setting those traps and grabbing
things and then you really feelit like, I am making a difference.
Like I literally took maybe an hour outof my day and I truly made a difference.
I can see that I made a difference.
(04:03):
Like these cats willnever get pregnant again.
They will never impregnate anyone.
I just put a dent even in, thishouse, this block community, I
myself have put a dent in it.
So I, once I saw that, Iwas like, this is so cool.
I love this.
It's so easy and like.
Being an animal lover does not save lives.
(04:24):
Unfortunately.
Just being an animal lover does nothing.
How many people do we all know?
Like I'm an animal lover.
It's like, but what do you do?
Like, what are you doing for that?
So it's like I just love thefact that like, no, like I
actually am making a difference.
I am.
Dixie (04:41):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And you're right about all the animallovers, like especially on social media.
Rebecca (04:46):
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Dixie (04:46):
That is like my biggest pet peeve ever.
When they're like, oh, I needsomebody to come help this kitten.
I love animals, but somebody else
come do the work.
Rebecca (04:54):
That's one of my pet peeves too, because once you and your community
know that you're a doer, anytimethere's a social media post, you get
tagged by everyone and it's like, wait.
You're just as capable as I am.
Like, are you scared?
You have a vehicle, you have free time.
Why are you tagging meto come save the day?
(05:14):
Like.
I think it's amazing that y'all are,and I love that y'all think of me like
that, but like you are capable too.
I love being the person thatpeople go to solve the problems
and I love being able to help.
But we all need to be helping.
Like the problem is big enough.
We all need to be helping Stoptagging me, tag me to say, Hey
(05:35):
Rebecca, I did this myself.
Aren't you proud of me?
Yes.
Absolutely.
Dixie (05:40):
Now you said your group, JP Helping Paws is different.
So can you explain how it isdifferent from the other groups?
Rebecca (05:49):
So we're a volunteer group.
I set everything up and Ibasically just let people know.
We meet up once a month at a differentorganization, wherever, and I'll
let them know like, Hey, this monthwe're going to help A Tail in Need,
do their adoption day at PetSmart.
I need you to be here atthis time, this place.
(06:10):
This is how long it's gonna be lasting.
This is what you're gonna be doing.
You let me know if you're coming.
And then I'll reach out to thatrescue and I tell them, I've
got five volunteers coming.
Whatever the case may be.
But there is no legwork forthe people in the group.
They literally read the emailand tell me I'll be there or
I won't, and then that's it.
It's so low commitment.
It's no work on their part,and that's what I love, like.
(06:34):
It's trouble for me 'cause I'm theone planning all of it the whole year.
But I signed up for it and it's my job.
I do that now.
But it's just so easy for them.
There's just no commitment,with everything going on.
Everyone is so busy.
And to just see an email andbe like, yeah, that's cool.
I'll be there.
Or I'll catch you next month.
Like, that's it.
They just show up.
When we get to the differentorganizations and everything, I am
(06:58):
the one advocating for our groupsaying, Hey, we're JP Helping Paws.
What can, what do y'all need today?
Are we walking dogs?
Are we cleaning cat cages?
Do you need your bathrooms cleaned?
Are their laundry, doyou need anything folded?
What you need?
And I'll, I introduce allthe volunteers together.
Like I make sure that everyone feelslike safe and included and no one feels
shy or uncomfortable with anything.
(07:18):
'cause like I know how thatis and I don't like that.
I don't like awkwardness, so I try tomake sure that everyone feels included.
If someone doesn't want abig dog, like I'll take it.
What do you want?
What would you feel comfortable doing?
If they need the bathrooms cleanedand no one's interested, I'll clean
your bathrooms, we, and then I'mlike, okay, we got, 10 minutes left.
Do y'all need anything else?
(07:39):
We're gonna wrap up.
Like, it's really just easy.
It makes it so easy for thesepeople to volunteer with us.
And I encourage everyone while we'rethere, take all the photos and videos.
You can send them to me and then I'llpost them and tag the organization so that
they can reshare it or just so that morepeople can get eyes on their adoptables.
'cause that's the name of the game, Ifeel like it's so important for us to.
(08:03):
Relieve the volunteers or the workersof these organizations who literally
dedicate their lives to this.
If they can sit down for an hourwhile we're cleaning their bathrooms
and sweeping their floors and walkingtheir dogs, that's all that matters.
It's just so important to justhelp with that kind of stuff.
We've been told we got abunch of trash in the back.
If y'all could helpbring it to the dumpster.
(08:24):
It's been back there a while, and I'mlike, yeah, like we can throw trash away.
Absolutely.
Like, what do you need?
Come on, tell me, what do you need?
I love that.
I don't know.
To my knowledge, I don't know of anyother volunteer groups like that.
And to me it's very special.
I love our little group.
And I hope that it grows and flourishes.
Dixie (08:43):
And how many people are in your group?
Rebecca (08:44):
So it varies.
The first year we did it, weprobably had about 50 people in it.
'cause it was new and peopledidn't know what to expect of it.
Right now I probably havearound 20 out of those 20 I.
Definitely have about five diehards thatare there next to me every single time.
Some of our volunteers have childrenand because of their children's
obligations, they might not be ableto come out as often as they'd like.
(09:07):
And then some of them ask for their kidsbeing able to volunteer, which is another
threshold challenge in volunteer work.
Because you need to be 18and older for everywhere.
There's liability withanimals and all of that.
So there's not a lot of opportunity forchildren, but there absolutely are at
least two rescues that I know of that doallow children to come help and interact
(09:32):
with the animals, which is importantfor them to learn at an early age.
They grow up to be, beautiful,intelligent cat women like the rest of us.
It's important.
Dixie (09:41):
It's very important.
I agree with that.
Definitely.
I did wanna have you on the showtoday because you teach TNR classes.
So how long have you beenteaching TNR classes and what
inspired you to start that?
Rebecca (09:54):
So we started in January.
It is Jefferson Parish is 200th year.
So Jefferson Parish has had a hugepush for bicentennial advertisement,
branding and all that jazz.
Of course, helping animalsis always first on my mind.
How can I wrap my job intohelping animals somehow some way.
(10:17):
So being someone who does TNRIknow the challenges of it,
and I know the need for it.
So if it's like, let me makethis a initiative and try to
teach 200 people to TNR, even if.
Five people end up actually doing it.
That's a success.
If one person ends up actuallydoing it, that's a success.
(10:39):
Just people sitting and listeningto the class and hearing about it.
Is a success in my book becausenow they know a little bit
more than when they walked in.
Not everyone's a cat person andthat's fine, but just knowing the
facts about community cats is huge.
Like you don't have tolike cats to do TNR.
You don't.
You have to.
Be compassionate andwanna make a difference.
(11:01):
So I teach that in the class.
We started, January was our first class.
We do one every singlemonth for this year.
And I think I'm gonnacontinue it after 2025.
Maybe I'll do two a year or maybejust a handful of them a year.
Right now we started, I wanted todo a balance between the East Bank
and West Bank of Jefferson Parish.
(11:22):
'cause there's a need onboth sides of the river.
It doesn't matter whereyou are, there's a need.
So we do back to back.
Each month we do one in the EastBank for two months and then
the West Bank for two months.
So I've been bouncing back and forth.
We haven't reached my goal of200 yet, but I'm not discouraged.
I'm still gonna keep tryinguntil December of 2025.
(11:43):
But a lot of the people whohave been attending, they all
obviously have seen communitycats, which is why they signed up.
They wanna make adifference, they wanna help.
And they have a lot ofgood questions in class.
Like they're not just sittingthere like they are interested.
I don't know if some of them are goingto do TNR, but I feel confident that
if they wanted to, they would know how.
(12:03):
I had one woman who I think she livedon the West Bank, but she attended
an East Bank class and her husbandis in the military, so she's gonna be
moving outta state, and she was like,I'm really excited to find a rescue
where we move to and do TNR with them.
I was likes Amazing.
Dixie (12:19):
That is awesome.
Rebecca (12:21):
I know.
I was like, I love that for you.
She was like, I hope theyhave a program like y'all do.
I was like, Ugh, me too.
But I told her, no matter whereyou go, you're gonna find cats.
So it's a good skill to have.
Dixie (12:33):
Definitely.
What topics do you cover in the TNR class?
Rebecca (12:37):
I feel like I really cover the beginning to end what to
do when you see a community cat.
How to rent the trap.
Once you have the trap,how do you prep the trap?
What do you do with it?
What do you do with the catbefore and after surgery?
How do you make the appointments?
Where do you make the appointments?
All of the things After the cat isreleased, what do you do with the trap?
(13:01):
There is so many steps to TNR.
As easy as it is, the prepand the after is so much work.
It's rewarding and it's easy work.
Like loading and unloading the dishwasher,like my God, who wants to do that?
But it has to be done and it's not hard.
It's just annoying.
(13:21):
So all of that's in there.
I go over all of the things.
If there's, babies, what to doif you get two cats in one trap,
if it's pregnant you know how tolook for an ear tip, all of that.
I've only been trapping for a littleover a year, so I've learned a lot
in a short amount of time, and Iknow I have so much more to learn.
(13:44):
But every trap trapper traps differently.
That's not a good thing or a bad thing.
We all have our own little nuances,our own little things that we do.
A couple classes I'll haveanother TNR Trapper come to the
class to share their experience.
If I don't have anyonecoming, no big deal.
I can do it myself.
I can answer almost all the questionsmyself, but if someone wants to
(14:05):
come and help me with the class,they're more than welcome to.
It's just, everyone's got their, sometrappers mix up all their food beforehand
and bring it prepared in a Tupperware.
I'm cracking cans in the streetwith a spoon in a bag for my trash.
It's just, everyone's got their ownlittle things, and I don't think
anyone's are better and worse.
It's all, we are alllearning from each other,
Dixie (14:25):
The target audience, would that be anybody?
Rebecca (14:28):
Literally anybody, I say 18 and up just because.
I'm not gonna say I've putmyself in dangerous situations.
I'm gonna say interesting situations,so I wouldn't open it to children.
Now, if a parent wants to come with theirchild and teach them, come on, it's free.
I would love for them to learn.
I just want them to be at least18 to start trapping on their own.
(14:52):
I was in a very interestingsituation yesterday.
I ended up leaving
cat less
but I had the cats and traps.
But that might be a story for another day.
Dixie (15:01):
Maybe we'll get to
that one afterwards.
Rebecca (15:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dixie (15:05):
We'll go through the class first.
Yes.
And then you can tell us the story.
Rebecca (15:08):
Yes.
Dixie (15:10):
Does
the class include hands-on training?
Rebecca (15:13):
So I tell everyone if they're interested in doing what I call a ride
along, they're welcome to send me an emailand if I'm not trapping on that day,
we'll find you a trapper that you canmeet up with and you can see it hands on.
I do bring my trap bag withme and all of the things that
come with it, I bring traps.
(15:33):
Regular traps.
I brought a fat cap trap and Ibrought a kitten trap just to
show them this is what it is.
I show them how it works, howit's triggered, how you set
it, how you clean it, how youcover it, line it, all of that.
So I bring all of the things andI show them I have a trap fork.
I show 'em how all of that's done.
But if they wanna go like in thefield and learn on the job experience,
(15:55):
they just need to send us an email.
Say, Hey, I'm interested in coming out.
I've had one person comeout with me and he learned.
It's so much to absorb your first time.
It's almost overwhelming,but I promise you it's really
not that, it's not that hard.
Once you come out a couple times,you're like, oh, okay, this, the
main thing is setting the trapand get in the cat, and that's it,
Dixie (16:17):
I find a lot of people are actually scared of the traps.
Rebecca (16:20):
Really
, Dixie (16:20):
and they don't know how to operate the trap.
Rebecca (16:23):
Yeah.
Dixie (16:24):
And once you show them how easy it is to just set the trap
Rebecca (16:28):
so easy.
Dixie (16:29):
It's super easy.
And pretty much there's a coupleof different traps out there,
Rebecca (16:32):
yeah
there are,
Dixie (16:33):
people use the like the brown traps.
I like the brown traps.
But then there's the typical,humane trap that they have, right?
With the kind of slide up doors?
Yeah, with the hinge.
Rebecca (16:43):
Yeah.
No, not
a fan.
Not a fan.
Dixie (16:45):
Yeah.
I'm not either, but all of them,they all operate on the same premise.
So if you learn on one
Rebecca (16:50):
Yeah, you can figure it out.
Dixie (16:51):
You can figure it out on all of
' em.
Rebecca (16:52):
Absolutely.
That's how the kitten traps are withthe strange littlemouth pinching
front door the first time I sawthat I was like, what is this?
It's like, it's gotta open some way.
There's only a couple ways itcan do it, you figure it out.
But they're so easy
Dixie (17:07):
Uhhuh.
Rebecca (17:08):
I know.
I think Rachel keeps a nail file withher so that like, if her trapped doors
close into sensitively or something,she'll just grind that little piece.
Rough, rough it up a little bit.
So there's tips and trick you learnalong the way from everyone you know.
It's like a little hobby.
Dixie (17:22):
What about misconceptions with TNR?
How do you address those?
Rebecca (17:27):
So I really try when I am going out to a house for the first time
let's say there are several cats there.
So I'm going to meetthe feeder essentially.
I try my hardest to makethem feel so comfortable.
They cannot tell me no.
Because I know that it's scary tohave someone you don't know come
(17:47):
onto your property and say, I wannatake your babies and fix them.
I dealt with this yesterday, just theword trapper in itself sounds aggressive.
It doesn't sound helpful,it doesn't sound good.
So I do think there'sa huge stigma with it.
I think people think of the shelter fromyears ago, and it's like, absolutely not.
(18:10):
I want nothing to do with y'all.
And it's like, no, we're here to help.
Like we are all crazy cat women.
We are here to help.
So there's a huge stigmaand how do we break that?
Is it not referring toourselves as trappers?
Is there another way that wecould address it to where it
isn't as scary and aggressive?
That's something I'm navigating throughbecause my situation yesterday, all of
(18:33):
that came up and I was like, you're right.
Like.
I do understand that there is a hugestigma, but we are just here to help.
Truly, it has nothing to do with you whereyou live, what you don't care about you.
I just wanna help the cats.
Dixie (18:47):
What advice would you give somebody who is fearful
of feral cats during trapping?
, Rebecca (18:52):
it's interesting because I know a couple people who really
aren't cat people who do trap and.
If you're around cats long enough,they're gonna turn you, but once
they're covered, you're fine.
They calm down.
That's it.
You're never handling the cat.
You never have to pick the cat up.
The cats pretty much run from you.
When you go to trap, you set your trap,you walk away, you come back, they're
(19:14):
in it, you cover it, and that's it.
They don't get out of the traps.
They're good in there.
Once you cover 'em, they're quiet.
There.
I don't think there's anythingto be scared of, honestly.
Now I've learned my lesson fromkitten snatching, as I call it.
I don't suggest anyone snatch kittensby their hand from the garden, but
listen, we all have to learn on our ownsometimes, and that's what's happened.
(19:36):
And I, lessons we're learned butif you don't have a tendency to
grab cats, barehanded, you're fine.
Dixie (19:44):
Yeah.
Rebecca (19:44):
Yeah.
Dixie (19:47):
What are the biggest challenges people face when starting TNR and how do
you help them overcome those challenges?
Rebecca (19:53):
I think a huge challenge is talking to the feeders, honestly.
Like that can be a scary part, even still.
'cause you don't know who'sfront door you're knocking on.
You don't know if it's, an80-year-old grandma who really wants
the help and loves these kitties.
It's someone who's just ignorant tothe whole idea of fixing animals and
who's gonna be aggressive with you.
(20:14):
So that right there can be scary.
And I go over that in the class.
I say, if you feel uncomfortablein a neighborhood, have someone
go with you or don't go.
I don't want anyone to be puttingthemselves in an unsafe situation to help
cats get a group of us to go with you.
And I always tell people, if youever feel unsafe, call the police.
(20:36):
Just call the police.
I don't know why people areso afraid to call the police.
I'm like, girl, I'll call the policeat least once a month on somebody.
Call the police.
That's what they're there for.
You know the people who threaten you,I'll call the police if you take my
cats, first of all, they're not your cats.
They might be on your property,but they're community cats.
They're not collared, they'renot chipped, they're not tipped.
So they're fair game.
(20:57):
You can call the police first ifyou're trapping on the sidewalk.
They can't come after you.
But again, if you feeluncomfortable, I wouldn't want
to put anyone in that situation.
I would just say leave, communicate withwhatever rescue you're communicating
with and let 'em know, like, I trulydon't feel safe trapping at that house.
Maybe there's another trapper who does,or maybe we can go out as a group.
(21:18):
A lot of the rescues are friends witha lot of Kenner police and j Jefferson
Parish police officers, and we can give'em a heads up, Hey, we're trapping here.
If y'all could do somedrive-bys, check on us.
I'm sure they would bemore than happy to do that.
It's just, to me that is like thescariest part of it is the unknown
(21:41):
of the people, not the cats.
Not the cats.
Dixie (21:44):
Have you ever had the police called on you?
Rebecca (21:46):
Not yet.
I haven't, and I haven't had to callthe police while I was trapping either.
But again, I wouldn't hesitateto if I felt like I needed to.
I think trapping cats falls under the seesomething, say something kind of thing.
Cats that need help, say somethingor help them yourself, be
equipped and help them yourself.
If I see something that's not right whileI'm trapping, I'm gonna say something.
(22:11):
I just don't want that to sit with me.
I need to pass that on towhomever can handle it.
Dixie (22:15):
How do you address concerns about catching wildlife in the traps.
Rebecca (22:21):
So I haven't caught wildlife yet.
Dixie (22:24):
Really?
Rebecca (22:26):
I know.
I know.
I envy those who haveMy day will come though.
I think because where Itrap it's so heavily catted.
There is no room for any wildlife.
But again, you can easily open a trapwithout the creature inside getting you,
unless it's like a raccoon, they do havetiny hands that can fit through the holes.
(22:49):
So in my trap bag, I carry thick, like.
Bird gloves that go into like my elbows,
Dixie (22:56):
uhhuh,
Rebecca (22:56):
so I could absolutely successfully open my trap and
release whatever it is if needed.
Never been in that situation.
But again, you just open the trapand you can, lean the door forward
so that you can back up enough.
I haven't heard of a trapper beingreard by a raccoon or possum upon
release, but maybe that's me.
Dixie (23:19):
I'm jealous though, 'cause it seems like every time I'm trying
to catch a cat, I get a possum.
Rebecca (23:23):
Oh
man.
Dixie (23:24):
And so I have to go let the possum go and then sometimes the same
possum will go back in the trap again.
Rebecca (23:29):
Bless his heart yeah.
Dixie (23:30):
So yeah.
That's pretty good.
You've
never caught wildlife.
Rebecca (23:32):
I don't know.
I feel like maybe that's whatmakes you like an official trapper.
Like you have to bechristened with a possum.
Dixie (23:39):
I know one time I got a raccoon and he wasn't in the trap for long.
But that sucker startedlike dismantling the trap.
Rebecca (23:47):
That's what I've heard.
That's what Rachel says.
Dixie (23:49):
He's just started working at it.
Rebecca (23:50):
Yeah.
She said they'll burn through 'em.
Uhhuh, he was big.
Dixie (23:53):
Yeah, he was a big boy, so how do you measure the
success of your TNR classes?
Rebecca (24:00):
If one person comes, it's successful because even one person
just learning about it, I don'tneed everyone to go back and trap.
And so my goal is to teach 200 people.
I don't need 200 people trapping,but if 200 people just come and
sit in this class and listen to me,it's about an hour and a half, give
or take, depending on questions.
(24:20):
Just to leave with the knowledgethat I can share with them about it.
And now they know like if youhave community cats that are tnr
in your neighborhood, they'regoing to protect your neighborhood
from other cats coming in.
They're gonna be territorial andthey're going to prevent other groups
from coming into your neighborhood.
(24:41):
I'm such a cat person, I justdon't see the negative in it, but.
It's just so much knowledge,I know people who that cat has
three legs, it should be put down.
I'm like, he has three legs.
He's perfectly fine.
Like legs are a luxury.
He's fine.
So just sharing all ofthe things about it.
(25:02):
I think as eyeopening tosome people, I love to learn.
I love to find out new things.
And so to me, it's a lot ofinformation and knowledge that I
think everyone should just know,again, whether you have intentions
of doing it or not, no big deal.
But so that if someone comes up toyou and says like, that cat has no
home, it should be put to sleep.
You now have the knowledge to say no.
Look, he's got an ear tip.
(25:22):
He's a community cat likehe is being cared for.
He's fine.
Dixie (25:27):
Yeah.
Education is a big part of it andI think it is reaching more people.
Because people don't realizehow fast they can reproduce.
Rebecca (25:35):
I know
Dixie (25:36):
when you tell 'em four months old that their baby's having babies.
Yes.
It just like blows their mind.
Rebecca (25:42):
I know.
Teen moms.
Yeah, absolutely.
Dixie (25:44):
Do you have any plans of trying to maybe to reach, say, high schools
about the effect of pet overpopulation?
Rebecca (25:51):
So my journey.
As a human is to help animalsin any way, shape or form.
And to me, this is justthe beginning of my path.
I don't, like I said, I think myTNR classes will continue past
2025 in some way, shape or form.
I would love to continue teachingpeople and informing people, and I think
(26:13):
my platform with Jefferson Parish isamazing for me to continue to do that.
I have a lot of ideas in the future.
So this isn't like a oneand done type of thing.
Like I have to incorporateanimals into my job.
That's my purpose
Dixie (26:30):
Do you have any other success stories from students?
Rebecca (26:34):
So one girl, she's actually in JP Helping Paw.
So she came to the classto learn how to trap.
She's one of our like day ones,she's a really loyal volunteer.
She came to the class, shelearned a bunch of stuff.
She trapped a cat that had beenshowing up at her house that she
had been feeding for a little while.
So trapped that cat thatcat got fixed, was pregnant.
(26:58):
It was a, I think itwas a stoic pregnancy.
The babies were likehardened solidified like,
Dixie (27:04):
oh wow,
Rebecca (27:05):
weren't alive.
Like, it would've killed herif she hadn't have been fixed.
100% would've killed her.
So once she found out aboutthis, she was like, I cannot put
this cat back out on the street.
So that cat lives in her house now.
Dixie (27:17):
Oh really?
That's amazing.
Rebecca (27:19):
I know.
She is the one who fed it every day andthe cat's best friends with her husband.
So that's typically how gets,
Dixie (27:24):
oh, that's Cat.
So that's typical cats.
Rebecca (27:26):
So like that one story, I'm good.
Like That's amazing.
I love that.
Dixie (27:30):
Yeah,
that definitely makes itworthwhile right there.
Rebecca (27:33):
Absolutely.
Where I do my TNR over a yearnow, I try to teach the feeder,
look, this is how the trap works.
This is how you do it.
It's real easy.
So I'm teaching them too, like.
To where if I leave the trapwith them, they can help.
. So I had caught one of their cats thathad been tipped, and he goes, I open the
trap and I let it out, and I reset it.
(27:53):
And I was like, oh yeah, we're learning.
Oh yeah, step one, right?
Dixie (27:59):
With feeders, do you ever encounter feeders that when you tell
them, "Hey, I am coming to trap,the cats don't feed the cats", and
they're putting the food out anyway.
Do you run across that andhow do you handle that?
Rebecca (28:12):
So I think it's happened a few times where I trap regularly.
And I just try to reiterateto them, cats can go, I think
it's 72 hours without food.
They need water every day, but they can goa very long time without food and be okay.
They're not going to starve.
And that's another huge struggleis these are their children.
(28:35):
These feeders are veryattached to their cats.
So when all their cats are lookinginside, like, mom, it's been days we're
starving out here, they can't handle it.
A little bit of food won't hurt.
And I'm like, I need them to be starvingso that they'll get into the traps, as
soon as I'm done, you can feed everybody.
So it is a little bit of a struggle.
(28:55):
I'm always like.
Look, if I'm coming on Tuesday,Sunday night, maybe don't put
much of anything out Monday.
Nothing.
I've been trapping here so long though.
These cats, they know me, they know theroutine, they know when she leaves, we
get fed and that's a whole other issue.
So here and there again, I've beentrapping at the same place for so long.
(29:19):
When I go to new places or like emergencysituations, they get right in the trap.
hit or miss,
Dixie (29:25):
so I would love to hear more about the story from yesterday.
Rebecca (29:28):
Okay.
So once I learned how to TNR, myfavorite thing is people who are on
Facebook, like, this cat is hangingfrom a fence that needs help.
I'm like, I'm getting my trapand I'm going to get that cat.
I've gotten a lot of cats that endup at the J from like emergency
Facebook situations , but I love that.
I love being able to help.
(29:50):
So someone posts on Facebook apicture of a cat on the sidewalk
with two kittens, just like nursing.
Dixie (29:57):
Yep
Rebecca (29:57):
you saw it?
Dixie (29:58):
I saw that one, yes.
Rebecca (29:59):
All right, so it's got, hundreds of comments at this point
and I went to Jefferson Feed yesterdayand we helped take kitten pictures
because, they have 200 kittens.
And I was like, I'm gonna gotry and trap that cat after.
So I go after.
I pull up at the house and the peopleare on the porch and I was like,
Hey, I saw on Facebook , y'all havesome cats, and I see the kittens
(30:23):
climbing up the side of the fence.
And I'm like, oh.
And she was like, we don'tneed help with our cats.
I was like, no.
Are they fixed?
Like, I'm just coming to help.
She said, no, we don't need help.
I said, okay.
So I get back in my car and I callRachel, and then someone walks up
to my window and they were like,Hey can you come out and talk to us?
I was like, okay.
(30:43):
And I'm like, Rachel,just stay on the phone.
I don't know what's happening.
And the lady comes out and she was like,we do have cats and we do want them fixed.
And I was like, oh, great.
I'm gonna go grab my trap.
So I grabbed two traps and the littlekid, she was probably like eight years
old, just picks up the kittens and startswalking, puts 'em right in my trap.
Grabs a mama cat puts her in thetrap and I'm like, this is the
(31:04):
easiest thing I've ever done.
And I said, how many kittens are there?
There's six.
And I was like, alright,we'll go get the other one.
So these kittens were probablylike, I don't know, six weeks
old and they're running aroundin a very busy, dangerous area.
So the kid like grabs the cat by thetail and I'm like, oh, let's be gentle.
(31:26):
So I've got, four kittens or something?
I'm missing two.
They're inside.
We're gonna go get 'em.
And I was like, okay.
So they go get the kittens and thencome out, and then the woman says, mama
said you can't take any of the cats.
I was like I just wanna fix 'em.
Like, can I at least take the mom andthen I'll come back for the kittens?
(31:46):
Mama said, you have torelease all of them.
And I said what if I go run to my car?
What's mama gonna do?
And they were like, shegonna come after you?
And I was like, okay,I'm not doing that then.
I said, I just wanna fix 'em.
I don't want your cats.
I promise you I do not want them.
I'm just gonna fix 'em and bring 'em back.
No, finally mom comes out and talks to me.
(32:07):
She was very nice.
But they're not from that neighborhood.
They recently moved there andapparently they brought Mama Cat
with them, that she was a stray.
From the neighborhood that theypreviously lived in and she had
these babies at their new address.
They're indoor, outdoor.
None of them are fixed.
None of them are vaccinated.
(32:27):
I don't see any foodand water bowls outside.
We bring some of them inside atnight and I'm just pleading with this
woman like, what is it gonna take?
I don't want your cats.
This is the process I will.
Bring them to go get fixed.
They get fixed.
I bring them to my house for the night.
I will come back the nextmorning and release them.
I send you pictures and textupdates the entire time so that
(32:49):
you know your kitties are safe.
Like this is how it works.
And she's like, no Ifeel attacked right now.
I don't know who put that on Facebook.
I don't know these people.
Why would someone see cats and assumethat they're not being taken care of?
They look healthy.
And I said I'm positive.
It was just someone doinggood who sees cats with.
Babies on the sidewalk of a busystreet and they just want help for the
(33:13):
cats 'cause they're not ear tipped.
So that's a giveaway.
Maybe we're lost, maybewe're not taken care of.
She wouldn't have it.
So she made me release them.
I gave her my card with my phone numberand I said, please, if you change your
mind today, tomorrow, whenever, pleasetext me I'll just go get 'em fixed myself.
I said, we will do it for free.
(33:34):
For free.
We will fix them.
I plan on putting a letter in hermailbox, just like reintroducing myself,
letting her know the process of it.
The mama cat, when I releasedher, she just slowly walked out.
She let me pet her.
They were the sweetest.
So the positive was thesepeople are handling these cats.
So if I do go back, I, it'snot a trapping situation.
(33:58):
It's a picking up situation and I Iinformed them just to let you know if your
neighbors do call, I can trap on theirproperty and I can trap on the sidewalk.
Even if you say no, she saidthat's fine, we'll keep them in.
It's like, we'll keep 'em in.
That's fine.
But they were covered in fleas and.
The mama, you can see in thepictures her hair was thinning.
(34:20):
From the fleas.
She's a light cat.
She'll probably end up getting skincancer from being out in the sun.
It's like, just let me fix your cats, man.
Dixie (34:28):
Yeah.
Because we don't need any more babies.
Rebecca (34:30):
We really don't.
No.
And I told her that, Isaid, you've got six now.
They can all reproduce at four months old.
Let's handle it.
Dixie (34:39):
Do the math.
Rebecca (34:40):
I told her that, let's handle it now.
Before I said the vet bills, thespay and neuter bills, the food.
She was like, I know.
And it's like, oh my God.
But I haven't given up hope on them yet.
But then, you go on Facebook to update,Hey guys, this is what happened.
And I'm, just giving themthe highlights of it,
Dixie (34:57):
right
Rebecca (34:57):
I'm still working with them and all these people are
coming at me and I'm like no.
Dixie (35:01):
Yeah,
Rebecca (35:01):
we're
not doing that.
I understand you're frustrated, as am I.
But guess what?
I went out.
If you wanna go try, go ahead.
Dixie (35:08):
Yeah.
See
that's what I hate when the people alwayscriticize the person actually helping.
Anybody can go help too.
And that just drives me
nuts.
Rebecca (35:16):
It gives me strong secondhand embarrassment for them.
Like.
You're welcome to go grab them.
You saw 'em.
When I see an animal, my firstthing is if it's a cat ear
tip, and will you come to me?
'cause I'll pick you up rightnow and call Rachel and get an
appointment to have you fixed.
I'm not going on Facebook saying,oh my god guys, I need help.
Like, I'm a problem solver.
Let's fix it.
(35:37):
I guess I'm lucky enough to know whomy people are to solve things before
having to go to Facebook for it.
But.
The person who came at me, it was likeyou can go back and pick 'em up yourself.
I said, they told me that mamawas gonna come out and chase me.
And like that wasn't onyesterday's agenda, that's on you.
I did my best.
(35:59):
It's a work in progress.
Like either it will happen or it won't,but I'm sure I'll find six more cats
that need to be TNR someplace else.
Like we're all doing our best.
Dixie (36:09):
Yeah, and it's educating people.
I know a couple of weeks ago.
I found a very friendly, intact male cat.
And so I found the girlimmediately through the lost
and found found pet groups.
And it's the funniest thing too,because she lives almost right
around the corner from me, but Ifound the cat like six blocks away.
Rebecca (36:29):
Of course you do.
Okay.
He was intact,
Dixie (36:31):
so Yeah.
, he was intact.
So I got the cat back to her and I Isaid I've never seen him in the area.
Do you keep him inside?
And she's like, yeah he ran out.
And I said, he's gonna keep runningout you don't have him neutered?
And so she told me, she goes, yeah, shehad planned on getting him neutered.
And I really don't blame her for this.
(36:51):
She said she had just moved to theneighborhood, she wasn't aware of
the low cost programs that we have.
But when she had tried to get himneutered wherever she came from.
First they told her heneeded to be six months old.
Rebecca (37:03):
Oh my God.
Dixie (37:03):
Okay.
So then after that itwas $500 to neuter him.
Rebecca (37:09):
Wow.
Dixie (37:10):
So I told her, , look,
I can get 'em neutered tomorrow.
Rebecca (37:13):
Yeah.
Dixie (37:14):
She gave me the cat, I was able to go pick him up.
Rebecca (37:17):
That's amazing.
Dixie (37:17):
And I told her, look, , if you see any stray cats in the
the area.
I'm like, let me know.
And I will just come putup a trap on your property.
Rebecca (37:26):
Yeah.
Dixie (37:27):
And so she's like, oh yeah that's fine.
Rebecca (37:29):
So that's awesome.
Dixie (37:30):
Yeah.
So it's a little bit of a win because. A lot of people aren't open to that.
When you tell 'em that, they justlook at you like you're nuts you
know.
Rebecca (37:37):
I know.
Absolutely.
The amount of doors I've knocked on, like,hi, do y'all know who feeds these cats?
You're like, no.
Never seen them.
Like, okay.
Thank you.
That's awesome though.
Dixie (37:50):
Yeah.
It was a win.
Yeah, a win for sure.
Rebecca (37:52):
My 2020 year plan is that when I retire, I would love to run for council
and change all of those laws and makesure everyone really knows about TNR
because like, hello, we can't all complainas a parish and do nothing about it.
And that's what we're doing.
We're complaining and we're doing nothing.
(38:14):
If you have problems, cometo me with a solution.
Y'all aren't doing that.
Y'all are complaining and doing nothing.
I could talk about that all day.
Dixie (38:23):
So before we end the episode, is there anything else you would like to add?
Rebecca (38:27):
I think we covered everything.
I just, I wish.
Like you said, people would knowmore about TNR, that it's available
to every single Jefferson Parishresident and that people are capable.
It doesn't matter how old youare, you're capable to trap.
I know a lot of the TNR people areolder and they're gonna be retiring
(38:49):
from trapping soon, we can start,there should be a younger generation
of people out there trapping.
I tell people, it's like Pokemon Go inreal life like but they're all meowths.
It's still exciting.
We just need to like let peopleknow and like challenge each other.
So my goal my first year was totrap 20 cats and I think I trapped
(39:09):
like 30, but that for me was huge.
If you can compete with yourfriends, like I bet Jack can
trap more cats than you like.
It's so fun.
It really is.
Yeah.
And then you get to see 'emall and it's just so much fun.
Like there's no reason whyeveryone isn't trapping at least
one cat a year, which is nothing.
There's just no reason.
Dixie (39:30):
Yeah.
And it's weird too when you saidsomething about all the older
people that are doing the trapping.
And why isn't the youngergeneration involved?
Because, I remember from, my younger self.
When I was a teenager, I was doingthis stuff, we didn't have the
programs like we have now, if.
I saw an animal that needed help, Iwould automatically go and help it.
I got into trapping as soon as we startedhaving the low cost programs available.
(39:54):
And so it's weird.
I don't know.
Rebecca (39:55):
It is weird, my mom, when she was pregnant with me 30 something years ago.
She was always, an animal activist.
She was picketing, stealinganimals, knocking on doors.
She did all of those things.
So I know that's where I got it from, butI didn't start until I was in my thirties.
I don't know.
We definitely need to get 'emat a younger age and let them
know just how to handle animals.
(40:17):
That is a huge pet peeve of mine.
We run day camps and my staff.
Let's have a petting zoo come.
And I'm like, absolutely not.
I cannot let that poor lizard be pokedby 500 fingers in a day, not on my watch.
So like just training childrenand teaching them like this
is how we handle animals.
And giving them that knowledge thatthey grow into being that animal person.
(40:41):
And maybe they do starttrapping right when they're 18
or ride along with their mom.
Like I know for sure.
One day I'll have probably like.
An infant in my backseatand like a tortie in a trap.
Like it's probably gonna happen oneday and like it should, but Right.
We need to do a better job as a parishof just getting the information out to
people, getting it out and maybe somehowsome way incentivizing, trapping, maybe
(41:04):
if you trap a hundred cats a year inJefferson Parish, you receive like a
little pin or just something you know.
All of these trappers, we do itfrom the kindness of our heart.
We get zero back.
We spend our time, effort, money,and energy on this because we love it
and we don't get anything back, andwe don't need anything back either.
(41:24):
But the parish has a problem and we'rehere to solve it, and they should be
backing us up like wholeheartedly.
You know when you call the policebecause there's a dog tied up and
they're like, oh I don't care about that.
And it's like, no, it's against the law.
I don't care whether youpersonally care about it or not.
Do your job, follow through with it.
We should be backed every way, shape andform from our government so that, 2026.
Dixie (41:51):
I'm glad you are on the front lines there, helping all the cats,
and thank you so much for takingthe time to speak with me today.
Rebecca (41:57):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Dixie (41:59):
All right.
You're welcome.
And that's all the time wehave for today's episode.
If you are in animal rescue, or ifyou know someone that has a story that
should be told, please contact us.
We would love to haveyou or them on the show
. Thanks for listening, and pleasejoin us next week as we continue to
explore the world of animal rescue.
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
people and rescues making adifference in the lives of animals.
Thank you Rebecca for joining me today.
Rebecca (00:11):
You're welcome.
I'm so excited to be here with you.
Dixie (00:14):
You do TNR
Rebecca (00:15):
I do.
Dixie (00:16):
And what group do you do that for?
Rebecca (00:18):
I do it with the Jefferson SPCA.
Dixie (00:21):
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and
how you became involved in TNR?
Rebecca (00:26):
Yes.
So I've always been an animal loversince day one, since I was little.
My mom had probably 15, 20 cats inand around our house growing up.
Huge animal family.
I started working with Jefferson ParishParks and Recreation in 2014, and so
after 10 years at the same job, it'slike, what can I do to make coming
(00:48):
to work something that I love to do?
So how can I incorporateanimals into my job?
So I've always wanted to volunteer,but volunteering with different
organizations is so stressful becausethere's so many requirements and.
Applications you have to fill out andyou have to schedule appointments.
So I never really did that'cause that freaked me out.
But I was like, okay, with my platform Ican do this, and then I'll open it up to
(01:12):
volunteers and people will come to me tovolunteer and I'll do all the scheduling.
So now I'm not alone going to volunteer,and that makes it easier for me.
I found Rachel because my mother she hascommunity cats and she had reached out to
Rachel and Rachel did some TNR for her.
So my mom was like, you shouldreach out to Rachel with the
Jefferson SPCA and maybe y'all canvolunteer there with your new group.
(01:36):
So the group is called JP HelpingPaws, and this is probably
our second or third ish year.
So I met Rachel doing all that.
And if Rachel, she's very.
Loud and outgoing and tothe point, and I love that.
So just volunteering there.
I started hearing about trappingcats and something about it always
freaked me out a little bit.
(01:56):
Just the unknown of it, my fiance worksat Game On Social Hub and the owners,
there are big cat people, which welove, but she had some cats in the
back that she wanted help trapping.
So Rachel was like, I'm gonna go, I'llbring the van, come with me and learn.
I was like, okay.
So we got the big van,loaded it up with traps.
Rachel's showing me how to do it,setting 'em, and then you just hear
(02:18):
'em, clicking and setting off andshe's like, oh, go see what we got.
And I'm like okay.
And then it's like, ohlook, it's a little one.
And so it was just like thethrill of like, what did we get?
That kind of like pulled me in.
Once I saw how easy it was, I waslike, okay like this takes no effort.
You literally set a metal box and theywalk into it and then you're done.
So I was like, I can do this.
(02:39):
I can totally do this.
So I still hadn't had like a neighborhoodto trap in or anything like that.
But where I work, I drive throughairline park neighborhood to get to
my job sometimes, and I saw a littleblack kitten crossing the street.
So immediately, my first instinctis let me try and grab him.
(03:00):
And I saw him run into their backyard.
So I tell Rachel and she'slike, come get a door hanger.
The door hanger says, we notice there'scommunity cats in the neighborhood.
We wanna trap them, do t and r.
Here's my name and number.
Contact me.
So I put them out on some doors andthen the next day I got a text message.
Hey we saw your door hanger and wewould love for you to come trap our cat.
(03:21):
And I was like, this is it.
Like this is it.
I've been trapping therefor over a year now.
At the same houses, the people who livethere are like my best friends now.
They're probably fiftiesand up, but they're the
sweetest people ever, but they areyour typical feeders, not fixers.
So it's easy for me because it'sright around the corner from my job,
(03:42):
so I can drop traps in the morning.
They'll keep an eye on 'em.
I can pick 'em up after workand go drop 'em off at the J.
It was just so exciting, once youstart setting those traps and grabbing
things and then you really feelit like, I am making a difference.
Like I literally took maybe an hour outof my day and I truly made a difference.
I can see that I made a difference.
(04:03):
Like these cats willnever get pregnant again.
They will never impregnate anyone.
I just put a dent even in, thishouse, this block community, I
myself have put a dent in it.
So I, once I saw that, Iwas like, this is so cool.
I love this.
It's so easy and like.
Being an animal lover does not save lives.
(04:24):
Unfortunately.
Just being an animal lover does nothing.
How many people do we all know?
Like I'm an animal lover.
It's like, but what do you do?
Like, what are you doing for that?
So it's like I just love thefact that like, no, like I
actually am making a difference.
I am.
Dixie (04:41):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And you're right about all the animallovers, like especially on social media.
Rebecca (04:46):
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Dixie (04:46):
That is like my biggest pet peeve ever.
When they're like, oh, I needsomebody to come help this kitten.
I love animals, but somebody else
come do the work.
Rebecca (04:54):
That's one of my pet peeves too, because once you and your community
know that you're a doer, anytimethere's a social media post, you get
tagged by everyone and it's like, wait.
You're just as capable as I am.
Like, are you scared?
You have a vehicle, you have free time.
Why are you tagging meto come save the day?
(05:14):
Like.
I think it's amazing that y'all are,and I love that y'all think of me like
that, but like you are capable too.
I love being the person thatpeople go to solve the problems
and I love being able to help.
But we all need to be helping.
Like the problem is big enough.
We all need to be helping Stoptagging me, tag me to say, Hey
(05:35):
Rebecca, I did this myself.
Aren't you proud of me?
Yes.
Absolutely.
Dixie (05:40):
Now you said your group, JP Helping Paws is different.
So can you explain how it isdifferent from the other groups?
Rebecca (05:49):
So we're a volunteer group.
I set everything up and Ibasically just let people know.
We meet up once a month at a differentorganization, wherever, and I'll
let them know like, Hey, this monthwe're going to help A Tail in Need,
do their adoption day at PetSmart.
I need you to be here atthis time, this place.
(06:10):
This is how long it's gonna be lasting.
This is what you're gonna be doing.
You let me know if you're coming.
And then I'll reach out to thatrescue and I tell them, I've
got five volunteers coming.
Whatever the case may be.
But there is no legwork forthe people in the group.
They literally read the emailand tell me I'll be there or
I won't, and then that's it.
It's so low commitment.
It's no work on their part,and that's what I love, like.
(06:34):
It's trouble for me 'cause I'm theone planning all of it the whole year.
But I signed up for it and it's my job.
I do that now.
But it's just so easy for them.
There's just no commitment,with everything going on.
Everyone is so busy.
And to just see an email andbe like, yeah, that's cool.
I'll be there.
Or I'll catch you next month.
Like, that's it.
They just show up.
When we get to the differentorganizations and everything, I am
(06:58):
the one advocating for our groupsaying, Hey, we're JP Helping Paws.
What can, what do y'all need today?
Are we walking dogs?
Are we cleaning cat cages?
Do you need your bathrooms cleaned?
Are their laundry, doyou need anything folded?
What you need?
And I'll, I introduce allthe volunteers together.
Like I make sure that everyone feelslike safe and included and no one feels
shy or uncomfortable with anything.
(07:18):
'cause like I know how thatis and I don't like that.
I don't like awkwardness, so I try tomake sure that everyone feels included.
If someone doesn't want abig dog, like I'll take it.
What do you want?
What would you feel comfortable doing?
If they need the bathrooms cleanedand no one's interested, I'll clean
your bathrooms, we, and then I'mlike, okay, we got, 10 minutes left.
Do y'all need anything else?
(07:39):
We're gonna wrap up.
Like, it's really just easy.
It makes it so easy for thesepeople to volunteer with us.
And I encourage everyone while we'rethere, take all the photos and videos.
You can send them to me and then I'llpost them and tag the organization so that
they can reshare it or just so that morepeople can get eyes on their adoptables.
'cause that's the name of the game, Ifeel like it's so important for us to.
(08:03):
Relieve the volunteers or the workersof these organizations who literally
dedicate their lives to this.
If they can sit down for an hourwhile we're cleaning their bathrooms
and sweeping their floors and walkingtheir dogs, that's all that matters.
It's just so important to justhelp with that kind of stuff.
We've been told we got abunch of trash in the back.
If y'all could helpbring it to the dumpster.
(08:24):
It's been back there a while, and I'mlike, yeah, like we can throw trash away.
Absolutely.
Like, what do you need?
Come on, tell me, what do you need?
I love that.
I don't know.
To my knowledge, I don't know of anyother volunteer groups like that.
And to me it's very special.
I love our little group.
And I hope that it grows and flourishes.
Dixie (08:43):
And how many people are in your group?
Rebecca (08:44):
So it varies.
The first year we did it, weprobably had about 50 people in it.
'cause it was new and peopledidn't know what to expect of it.
Right now I probably havearound 20 out of those 20 I.
Definitely have about five diehards thatare there next to me every single time.
Some of our volunteers have childrenand because of their children's
obligations, they might not be ableto come out as often as they'd like.
(09:07):
And then some of them ask for their kidsbeing able to volunteer, which is another
threshold challenge in volunteer work.
Because you need to be 18and older for everywhere.
There's liability withanimals and all of that.
So there's not a lot of opportunity forchildren, but there absolutely are at
least two rescues that I know of that doallow children to come help and interact
(09:32):
with the animals, which is importantfor them to learn at an early age.
They grow up to be, beautiful,intelligent cat women like the rest of us.
It's important.
Dixie (09:41):
It's very important.
I agree with that.
Definitely.
I did wanna have you on the showtoday because you teach TNR classes.
So how long have you beenteaching TNR classes and what
inspired you to start that?
Rebecca (09:54):
So we started in January.
It is Jefferson Parish is 200th year.
So Jefferson Parish has had a hugepush for bicentennial advertisement,
branding and all that jazz.
Of course, helping animalsis always first on my mind.
How can I wrap my job intohelping animals somehow some way.
(10:17):
So being someone who does TNRIknow the challenges of it,
and I know the need for it.
So if it's like, let me makethis a initiative and try to
teach 200 people to TNR, even if.
Five people end up actually doing it.
That's a success.
If one person ends up actuallydoing it, that's a success.
(10:39):
Just people sitting and listeningto the class and hearing about it.
Is a success in my book becausenow they know a little bit
more than when they walked in.
Not everyone's a cat person andthat's fine, but just knowing the
facts about community cats is huge.
Like you don't have tolike cats to do TNR.
You don't.
You have to.
Be compassionate andwanna make a difference.
(11:01):
So I teach that in the class.
We started, January was our first class.
We do one every singlemonth for this year.
And I think I'm gonnacontinue it after 2025.
Maybe I'll do two a year or maybejust a handful of them a year.
Right now we started, I wanted todo a balance between the East Bank
and West Bank of Jefferson Parish.
(11:22):
'cause there's a need onboth sides of the river.
It doesn't matter whereyou are, there's a need.
So we do back to back.
Each month we do one in the EastBank for two months and then
the West Bank for two months.
So I've been bouncing back and forth.
We haven't reached my goal of200 yet, but I'm not discouraged.
I'm still gonna keep tryinguntil December of 2025.
(11:43):
But a lot of the people whohave been attending, they all
obviously have seen communitycats, which is why they signed up.
They wanna make adifference, they wanna help.
And they have a lot ofgood questions in class.
Like they're not just sittingthere like they are interested.
I don't know if some of them are goingto do TNR, but I feel confident that
if they wanted to, they would know how.
(12:03):
I had one woman who I think she livedon the West Bank, but she attended
an East Bank class and her husbandis in the military, so she's gonna be
moving outta state, and she was like,I'm really excited to find a rescue
where we move to and do TNR with them.
I was likes Amazing.
Dixie (12:19):
That is awesome.
Rebecca (12:21):
I know.
I was like, I love that for you.
She was like, I hope theyhave a program like y'all do.
I was like, Ugh, me too.
But I told her, no matter whereyou go, you're gonna find cats.
So it's a good skill to have.
Dixie (12:33):
Definitely.
What topics do you cover in the TNR class?
Rebecca (12:37):
I feel like I really cover the beginning to end what to
do when you see a community cat.
How to rent the trap.
Once you have the trap,how do you prep the trap?
What do you do with it?
What do you do with the catbefore and after surgery?
How do you make the appointments?
Where do you make the appointments?
All of the things After the cat isreleased, what do you do with the trap?
(13:01):
There is so many steps to TNR.
As easy as it is, the prepand the after is so much work.
It's rewarding and it's easy work.
Like loading and unloading the dishwasher,like my God, who wants to do that?
But it has to be done and it's not hard.
It's just annoying.
(13:21):
So all of that's in there.
I go over all of the things.
If there's, babies, what to doif you get two cats in one trap,
if it's pregnant you know how tolook for an ear tip, all of that.
I've only been trapping for a littleover a year, so I've learned a lot
in a short amount of time, and Iknow I have so much more to learn.
(13:44):
But every trap trapper traps differently.
That's not a good thing or a bad thing.
We all have our own little nuances,our own little things that we do.
A couple classes I'll haveanother TNR Trapper come to the
class to share their experience.
If I don't have anyonecoming, no big deal.
I can do it myself.
I can answer almost all the questionsmyself, but if someone wants to
(14:05):
come and help me with the class,they're more than welcome to.
It's just, everyone's got their, sometrappers mix up all their food beforehand
and bring it prepared in a Tupperware.
I'm cracking cans in the streetwith a spoon in a bag for my trash.
It's just, everyone's got their ownlittle things, and I don't think
anyone's are better and worse.
It's all, we are alllearning from each other,
Dixie (14:25):
The target audience, would that be anybody?
Rebecca (14:28):
Literally anybody, I say 18 and up just because.
I'm not gonna say I've putmyself in dangerous situations.
I'm gonna say interesting situations,so I wouldn't open it to children.
Now, if a parent wants to come with theirchild and teach them, come on, it's free.
I would love for them to learn.
I just want them to be at least18 to start trapping on their own.
(14:52):
I was in a very interestingsituation yesterday.
I ended up leaving
cat less
but I had the cats and traps.
But that might be a story for another day.
Dixie (15:01):
Maybe we'll get to
that one afterwards.
Rebecca (15:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dixie (15:05):
We'll go through the class first.
Yes.
And then you can tell us the story.
Rebecca (15:08):
Yes.
Dixie (15:10):
Does
the class include hands-on training?
Rebecca (15:13):
So I tell everyone if they're interested in doing what I call a ride
along, they're welcome to send me an emailand if I'm not trapping on that day,
we'll find you a trapper that you canmeet up with and you can see it hands on.
I do bring my trap bag withme and all of the things that
come with it, I bring traps.
(15:33):
Regular traps.
I brought a fat cap trap and Ibrought a kitten trap just to
show them this is what it is.
I show them how it works, howit's triggered, how you set
it, how you clean it, how youcover it, line it, all of that.
So I bring all of the things andI show them I have a trap fork.
I show 'em how all of that's done.
But if they wanna go like in thefield and learn on the job experience,
(15:55):
they just need to send us an email.
Say, Hey, I'm interested in coming out.
I've had one person comeout with me and he learned.
It's so much to absorb your first time.
It's almost overwhelming,but I promise you it's really
not that, it's not that hard.
Once you come out a couple times,you're like, oh, okay, this, the
main thing is setting the trapand get in the cat, and that's it,
Dixie (16:17):
I find a lot of people are actually scared of the traps.
Rebecca (16:20):
Really
, Dixie (16:20):
and they don't know how to operate the trap.
Rebecca (16:23):
Yeah.
Dixie (16:24):
And once you show them how easy it is to just set the trap
Rebecca (16:28):
so easy.
Dixie (16:29):
It's super easy.
And pretty much there's a coupleof different traps out there,
Rebecca (16:32):
yeah
there are,
Dixie (16:33):
people use the like the brown traps.
I like the brown traps.
But then there's the typical,humane trap that they have, right?
With the kind of slide up doors?
Yeah, with the hinge.
Rebecca (16:43):
Yeah.
No, not
a fan.
Not a fan.
Dixie (16:45):
Yeah.
I'm not either, but all of them,they all operate on the same premise.
So if you learn on one
Rebecca (16:50):
Yeah, you can figure it out.
Dixie (16:51):
You can figure it out on all of
' em.
Rebecca (16:52):
Absolutely.
That's how the kitten traps are withthe strange littlemouth pinching
front door the first time I sawthat I was like, what is this?
It's like, it's gotta open some way.
There's only a couple ways itcan do it, you figure it out.
But they're so easy
Dixie (17:07):
Uhhuh.
Rebecca (17:08):
I know.
I think Rachel keeps a nail file withher so that like, if her trapped doors
close into sensitively or something,she'll just grind that little piece.
Rough, rough it up a little bit.
So there's tips and trick you learnalong the way from everyone you know.
It's like a little hobby.
Dixie (17:22):
What about misconceptions with TNR?
How do you address those?
Rebecca (17:27):
So I really try when I am going out to a house for the first time
let's say there are several cats there.
So I'm going to meetthe feeder essentially.
I try my hardest to makethem feel so comfortable.
They cannot tell me no.
Because I know that it's scary tohave someone you don't know come
(17:47):
onto your property and say, I wannatake your babies and fix them.
I dealt with this yesterday, just theword trapper in itself sounds aggressive.
It doesn't sound helpful,it doesn't sound good.
So I do think there'sa huge stigma with it.
I think people think of the shelter fromyears ago, and it's like, absolutely not.
(18:10):
I want nothing to do with y'all.
And it's like, no, we're here to help.
Like we are all crazy cat women.
We are here to help.
So there's a huge stigmaand how do we break that?
Is it not referring toourselves as trappers?
Is there another way that wecould address it to where it
isn't as scary and aggressive?
That's something I'm navigating throughbecause my situation yesterday, all of
(18:33):
that came up and I was like, you're right.
Like.
I do understand that there is a hugestigma, but we are just here to help.
Truly, it has nothing to do with you whereyou live, what you don't care about you.
I just wanna help the cats.
Dixie (18:47):
What advice would you give somebody who is fearful
of feral cats during trapping?
, Rebecca (18:52):
it's interesting because I know a couple people who really
aren't cat people who do trap and.
If you're around cats long enough,they're gonna turn you, but once
they're covered, you're fine.
They calm down.
That's it.
You're never handling the cat.
You never have to pick the cat up.
The cats pretty much run from you.
When you go to trap, you set your trap,you walk away, you come back, they're
(19:14):
in it, you cover it, and that's it.
They don't get out of the traps.
They're good in there.
Once you cover 'em, they're quiet.
There.
I don't think there's anythingto be scared of, honestly.
Now I've learned my lesson fromkitten snatching, as I call it.
I don't suggest anyone snatch kittensby their hand from the garden, but
listen, we all have to learn on our ownsometimes, and that's what's happened.
(19:36):
And I, lessons we're learned butif you don't have a tendency to
grab cats, barehanded, you're fine.
Dixie (19:44):
Yeah.
Rebecca (19:44):
Yeah.
Dixie (19:47):
What are the biggest challenges people face when starting TNR and how do
you help them overcome those challenges?
Rebecca (19:53):
I think a huge challenge is talking to the feeders, honestly.
Like that can be a scary part, even still.
'cause you don't know who'sfront door you're knocking on.
You don't know if it's, an80-year-old grandma who really wants
the help and loves these kitties.
It's someone who's just ignorant tothe whole idea of fixing animals and
who's gonna be aggressive with you.
(20:14):
So that right there can be scary.
And I go over that in the class.
I say, if you feel uncomfortablein a neighborhood, have someone
go with you or don't go.
I don't want anyone to be puttingthemselves in an unsafe situation to help
cats get a group of us to go with you.
And I always tell people, if youever feel unsafe, call the police.
(20:36):
Just call the police.
I don't know why people areso afraid to call the police.
I'm like, girl, I'll call the policeat least once a month on somebody.
Call the police.
That's what they're there for.
You know the people who threaten you,I'll call the police if you take my
cats, first of all, they're not your cats.
They might be on your property,but they're community cats.
They're not collared, they'renot chipped, they're not tipped.
So they're fair game.
(20:57):
You can call the police first ifyou're trapping on the sidewalk.
They can't come after you.
But again, if you feeluncomfortable, I wouldn't want
to put anyone in that situation.
I would just say leave, communicate withwhatever rescue you're communicating
with and let 'em know, like, I trulydon't feel safe trapping at that house.
Maybe there's another trapper who does,or maybe we can go out as a group.
(21:18):
A lot of the rescues are friends witha lot of Kenner police and j Jefferson
Parish police officers, and we can give'em a heads up, Hey, we're trapping here.
If y'all could do somedrive-bys, check on us.
I'm sure they would bemore than happy to do that.
It's just, to me that is like thescariest part of it is the unknown
(21:41):
of the people, not the cats.
Not the cats.
Dixie (21:44):
Have you ever had the police called on you?
Rebecca (21:46):
Not yet.
I haven't, and I haven't had to callthe police while I was trapping either.
But again, I wouldn't hesitateto if I felt like I needed to.
I think trapping cats falls under the seesomething, say something kind of thing.
Cats that need help, say somethingor help them yourself, be
equipped and help them yourself.
If I see something that's not right whileI'm trapping, I'm gonna say something.
(22:11):
I just don't want that to sit with me.
I need to pass that on towhomever can handle it.
Dixie (22:15):
How do you address concerns about catching wildlife in the traps.
Rebecca (22:21):
So I haven't caught wildlife yet.
Dixie (22:24):
Really?
Rebecca (22:26):
I know.
I know.
I envy those who haveMy day will come though.
I think because where Itrap it's so heavily catted.
There is no room for any wildlife.
But again, you can easily open a trapwithout the creature inside getting you,
unless it's like a raccoon, they do havetiny hands that can fit through the holes.
(22:49):
So in my trap bag, I carry thick, like.
Bird gloves that go into like my elbows,
Dixie (22:56):
uhhuh,
Rebecca (22:56):
so I could absolutely successfully open my trap and
release whatever it is if needed.
Never been in that situation.
But again, you just open the trapand you can, lean the door forward
so that you can back up enough.
I haven't heard of a trapper beingreard by a raccoon or possum upon
release, but maybe that's me.
Dixie (23:19):
I'm jealous though, 'cause it seems like every time I'm trying
to catch a cat, I get a possum.
Rebecca (23:23):
Oh
man.
Dixie (23:24):
And so I have to go let the possum go and then sometimes the same
possum will go back in the trap again.
Rebecca (23:29):
Bless his heart yeah.
Dixie (23:30):
So yeah.
That's pretty good.
You've
never caught wildlife.
Rebecca (23:32):
I don't know.
I feel like maybe that's whatmakes you like an official trapper.
Like you have to bechristened with a possum.
Dixie (23:39):
I know one time I got a raccoon and he wasn't in the trap for long.
But that sucker startedlike dismantling the trap.
Rebecca (23:47):
That's what I've heard.
That's what Rachel says.
Dixie (23:49):
He's just started working at it.
Rebecca (23:50):
Yeah.
She said they'll burn through 'em.
Uhhuh, he was big.
Dixie (23:53):
Yeah, he was a big boy, so how do you measure the
success of your TNR classes?
Rebecca (24:00):
If one person comes, it's successful because even one person
just learning about it, I don'tneed everyone to go back and trap.
And so my goal is to teach 200 people.
I don't need 200 people trapping,but if 200 people just come and
sit in this class and listen to me,it's about an hour and a half, give
or take, depending on questions.
(24:20):
Just to leave with the knowledgethat I can share with them about it.
And now they know like if youhave community cats that are tnr
in your neighborhood, they'regoing to protect your neighborhood
from other cats coming in.
They're gonna be territorial andthey're going to prevent other groups
from coming into your neighborhood.
(24:41):
I'm such a cat person, I justdon't see the negative in it, but.
It's just so much knowledge,I know people who that cat has
three legs, it should be put down.
I'm like, he has three legs.
He's perfectly fine.
Like legs are a luxury.
He's fine.
So just sharing all ofthe things about it.
(25:02):
I think as eyeopening tosome people, I love to learn.
I love to find out new things.
And so to me, it's a lot ofinformation and knowledge that I
think everyone should just know,again, whether you have intentions
of doing it or not, no big deal.
But so that if someone comes up toyou and says like, that cat has no
home, it should be put to sleep.
You now have the knowledge to say no.
Look, he's got an ear tip.
(25:22):
He's a community cat likehe is being cared for.
He's fine.
Dixie (25:27):
Yeah.
Education is a big part of it andI think it is reaching more people.
Because people don't realizehow fast they can reproduce.
Rebecca (25:35):
I know
Dixie (25:36):
when you tell 'em four months old that their baby's having babies.
Yes.
It just like blows their mind.
Rebecca (25:42):
I know.
Teen moms.
Yeah, absolutely.
Dixie (25:44):
Do you have any plans of trying to maybe to reach, say, high schools
about the effect of pet overpopulation?
Rebecca (25:51):
So my journey.
As a human is to help animalsin any way, shape or form.
And to me, this is justthe beginning of my path.
I don't, like I said, I think myTNR classes will continue past
2025 in some way, shape or form.
I would love to continue teachingpeople and informing people, and I think
(26:13):
my platform with Jefferson Parish isamazing for me to continue to do that.
I have a lot of ideas in the future.
So this isn't like a oneand done type of thing.
Like I have to incorporateanimals into my job.
That's my purpose
Dixie (26:30):
Do you have any other success stories from students?
Rebecca (26:34):
So one girl, she's actually in JP Helping Paw.
So she came to the classto learn how to trap.
She's one of our like day ones,she's a really loyal volunteer.
She came to the class, shelearned a bunch of stuff.
She trapped a cat that had beenshowing up at her house that she
had been feeding for a little while.
So trapped that cat thatcat got fixed, was pregnant.
(26:58):
It was a, I think itwas a stoic pregnancy.
The babies were likehardened solidified like,
Dixie (27:04):
oh wow,
Rebecca (27:05):
weren't alive.
Like, it would've killed herif she hadn't have been fixed.
100% would've killed her.
So once she found out aboutthis, she was like, I cannot put
this cat back out on the street.
So that cat lives in her house now.
Dixie (27:17):
Oh really?
That's amazing.
Rebecca (27:19):
I know.
She is the one who fed it every day andthe cat's best friends with her husband.
So that's typically how gets,
Dixie (27:24):
oh, that's Cat.
So that's typical cats.
Rebecca (27:26):
So like that one story, I'm good.
Like That's amazing.
I love that.
Dixie (27:30):
Yeah,
that definitely makes itworthwhile right there.
Rebecca (27:33):
Absolutely.
Where I do my TNR over a yearnow, I try to teach the feeder,
look, this is how the trap works.
This is how you do it.
It's real easy.
So I'm teaching them too, like.
To where if I leave the trapwith them, they can help.
. So I had caught one of their cats thathad been tipped, and he goes, I open the
trap and I let it out, and I reset it.
(27:53):
And I was like, oh yeah, we're learning.
Oh yeah, step one, right?
Dixie (27:59):
With feeders, do you ever encounter feeders that when you tell
them, "Hey, I am coming to trap,the cats don't feed the cats", and
they're putting the food out anyway.
Do you run across that andhow do you handle that?
Rebecca (28:12):
So I think it's happened a few times where I trap regularly.
And I just try to reiterateto them, cats can go, I think
it's 72 hours without food.
They need water every day, but they can goa very long time without food and be okay.
They're not going to starve.
And that's another huge struggleis these are their children.
(28:35):
These feeders are veryattached to their cats.
So when all their cats are lookinginside, like, mom, it's been days we're
starving out here, they can't handle it.
A little bit of food won't hurt.
And I'm like, I need them to be starvingso that they'll get into the traps, as
soon as I'm done, you can feed everybody.
So it is a little bit of a struggle.
(28:55):
I'm always like.
Look, if I'm coming on Tuesday,Sunday night, maybe don't put
much of anything out Monday.
Nothing.
I've been trapping here so long though.
These cats, they know me, they know theroutine, they know when she leaves, we
get fed and that's a whole other issue.
So here and there again, I've beentrapping at the same place for so long.
(29:19):
When I go to new places or like emergencysituations, they get right in the trap.
hit or miss,
Dixie (29:25):
so I would love to hear more about the story from yesterday.
Rebecca (29:28):
Okay.
So once I learned how to TNR, myfavorite thing is people who are on
Facebook, like, this cat is hangingfrom a fence that needs help.
I'm like, I'm getting my trapand I'm going to get that cat.
I've gotten a lot of cats that endup at the J from like emergency
Facebook situations , but I love that.
I love being able to help.
(29:50):
So someone posts on Facebook apicture of a cat on the sidewalk
with two kittens, just like nursing.
Dixie (29:57):
Yep
Rebecca (29:57):
you saw it?
Dixie (29:58):
I saw that one, yes.
Rebecca (29:59):
All right, so it's got, hundreds of comments at this point
and I went to Jefferson Feed yesterdayand we helped take kitten pictures
because, they have 200 kittens.
And I was like, I'm gonna gotry and trap that cat after.
So I go after.
I pull up at the house and the peopleare on the porch and I was like,
Hey, I saw on Facebook , y'all havesome cats, and I see the kittens
(30:23):
climbing up the side of the fence.
And I'm like, oh.
And she was like, we don'tneed help with our cats.
I was like, no.
Are they fixed?
Like, I'm just coming to help.
She said, no, we don't need help.
I said, okay.
So I get back in my car and I callRachel, and then someone walks up
to my window and they were like,Hey can you come out and talk to us?
I was like, okay.
(30:43):
And I'm like, Rachel,just stay on the phone.
I don't know what's happening.
And the lady comes out and she was like,we do have cats and we do want them fixed.
And I was like, oh, great.
I'm gonna go grab my trap.
So I grabbed two traps and the littlekid, she was probably like eight years
old, just picks up the kittens and startswalking, puts 'em right in my trap.
Grabs a mama cat puts her in thetrap and I'm like, this is the
(31:04):
easiest thing I've ever done.
And I said, how many kittens are there?
There's six.
And I was like, alright,we'll go get the other one.
So these kittens were probablylike, I don't know, six weeks
old and they're running aroundin a very busy, dangerous area.
So the kid like grabs the cat by thetail and I'm like, oh, let's be gentle.
(31:26):
So I've got, four kittens or something?
I'm missing two.
They're inside.
We're gonna go get 'em.
And I was like, okay.
So they go get the kittens and thencome out, and then the woman says, mama
said you can't take any of the cats.
I was like I just wanna fix 'em.
Like, can I at least take the mom andthen I'll come back for the kittens?
(31:46):
Mama said, you have torelease all of them.
And I said what if I go run to my car?
What's mama gonna do?
And they were like, shegonna come after you?
And I was like, okay,I'm not doing that then.
I said, I just wanna fix 'em.
I don't want your cats.
I promise you I do not want them.
I'm just gonna fix 'em and bring 'em back.
No, finally mom comes out and talks to me.
(32:07):
She was very nice.
But they're not from that neighborhood.
They recently moved there andapparently they brought Mama Cat
with them, that she was a stray.
From the neighborhood that theypreviously lived in and she had
these babies at their new address.
They're indoor, outdoor.
None of them are fixed.
None of them are vaccinated.
(32:27):
I don't see any foodand water bowls outside.
We bring some of them inside atnight and I'm just pleading with this
woman like, what is it gonna take?
I don't want your cats.
This is the process I will.
Bring them to go get fixed.
They get fixed.
I bring them to my house for the night.
I will come back the nextmorning and release them.
I send you pictures and textupdates the entire time so that
(32:49):
you know your kitties are safe.
Like this is how it works.
And she's like, no Ifeel attacked right now.
I don't know who put that on Facebook.
I don't know these people.
Why would someone see cats and assumethat they're not being taken care of?
They look healthy.
And I said I'm positive.
It was just someone doinggood who sees cats with.
Babies on the sidewalk of a busystreet and they just want help for the
(33:13):
cats 'cause they're not ear tipped.
So that's a giveaway.
Maybe we're lost, maybewe're not taken care of.
She wouldn't have it.
So she made me release them.
I gave her my card with my phone numberand I said, please, if you change your
mind today, tomorrow, whenever, pleasetext me I'll just go get 'em fixed myself.
I said, we will do it for free.
(33:34):
For free.
We will fix them.
I plan on putting a letter in hermailbox, just like reintroducing myself,
letting her know the process of it.
The mama cat, when I releasedher, she just slowly walked out.
She let me pet her.
They were the sweetest.
So the positive was thesepeople are handling these cats.
So if I do go back, I, it'snot a trapping situation.
(33:58):
It's a picking up situation and I Iinformed them just to let you know if your
neighbors do call, I can trap on theirproperty and I can trap on the sidewalk.
Even if you say no, she saidthat's fine, we'll keep them in.
It's like, we'll keep 'em in.
That's fine.
But they were covered in fleas and.
The mama, you can see in thepictures her hair was thinning.
(34:20):
From the fleas.
She's a light cat.
She'll probably end up getting skincancer from being out in the sun.
It's like, just let me fix your cats, man.
Dixie (34:28):
Yeah.
Because we don't need any more babies.
Rebecca (34:30):
We really don't.
No.
And I told her that, Isaid, you've got six now.
They can all reproduce at four months old.
Let's handle it.
Dixie (34:39):
Do the math.
Rebecca (34:40):
I told her that, let's handle it now.
Before I said the vet bills, thespay and neuter bills, the food.
She was like, I know.
And it's like, oh my God.
But I haven't given up hope on them yet.
But then, you go on Facebook to update,Hey guys, this is what happened.
And I'm, just giving themthe highlights of it,
Dixie (34:57):
right
Rebecca (34:57):
I'm still working with them and all these people are
coming at me and I'm like no.
Dixie (35:01):
Yeah,
Rebecca (35:01):
we're
not doing that.
I understand you're frustrated, as am I.
But guess what?
I went out.
If you wanna go try, go ahead.
Dixie (35:08):
Yeah.
See
that's what I hate when the people alwayscriticize the person actually helping.
Anybody can go help too.
And that just drives me
nuts.
Rebecca (35:16):
It gives me strong secondhand embarrassment for them.
Like.
You're welcome to go grab them.
You saw 'em.
When I see an animal, my firstthing is if it's a cat ear
tip, and will you come to me?
'cause I'll pick you up rightnow and call Rachel and get an
appointment to have you fixed.
I'm not going on Facebook saying,oh my god guys, I need help.
Like, I'm a problem solver.
Let's fix it.
(35:37):
I guess I'm lucky enough to know whomy people are to solve things before
having to go to Facebook for it.
But.
The person who came at me, it was likeyou can go back and pick 'em up yourself.
I said, they told me that mamawas gonna come out and chase me.
And like that wasn't onyesterday's agenda, that's on you.
I did my best.
(35:59):
It's a work in progress.
Like either it will happen or it won't,but I'm sure I'll find six more cats
that need to be TNR someplace else.
Like we're all doing our best.
Dixie (36:09):
Yeah, and it's educating people.
I know a couple of weeks ago.
I found a very friendly, intact male cat.
And so I found the girlimmediately through the lost
and found found pet groups.
And it's the funniest thing too,because she lives almost right
around the corner from me, but Ifound the cat like six blocks away.
Rebecca (36:29):
Of course you do.
Okay.
He was intact,
Dixie (36:31):
so Yeah.
, he was intact.
So I got the cat back to her and I Isaid I've never seen him in the area.
Do you keep him inside?
And she's like, yeah he ran out.
And I said, he's gonna keep runningout you don't have him neutered?
And so she told me, she goes, yeah, shehad planned on getting him neutered.
And I really don't blame her for this.
(36:51):
She said she had just moved to theneighborhood, she wasn't aware of
the low cost programs that we have.
But when she had tried to get himneutered wherever she came from.
First they told her heneeded to be six months old.
Rebecca (37:03):
Oh my God.
Dixie (37:03):
Okay.
So then after that itwas $500 to neuter him.
Rebecca (37:09):
Wow.
Dixie (37:10):
So I told her, , look,
I can get 'em neutered tomorrow.
Rebecca (37:13):
Yeah.
Dixie (37:14):
She gave me the cat, I was able to go pick him up.
Rebecca (37:17):
That's amazing.
Dixie (37:17):
And I told her, look, , if you see any stray cats in the
the area.
I'm like, let me know.
And I will just come putup a trap on your property.
Rebecca (37:26):
Yeah.
Dixie (37:27):
And so she's like, oh yeah that's fine.
Rebecca (37:29):
So that's awesome.
Dixie (37:30):
Yeah.
So it's a little bit of a win because. A lot of people aren't open to that.
When you tell 'em that, they justlook at you like you're nuts you
know.
Rebecca (37:37):
I know.
Absolutely.
The amount of doors I've knocked on, like,hi, do y'all know who feeds these cats?
You're like, no.
Never seen them.
Like, okay.
Thank you.
That's awesome though.
Dixie (37:50):
Yeah.
It was a win.
Yeah, a win for sure.
Rebecca (37:52):
My 2020 year plan is that when I retire, I would love to run for council
and change all of those laws and makesure everyone really knows about TNR
because like, hello, we can't all complainas a parish and do nothing about it.
And that's what we're doing.
We're complaining and we're doing nothing.
(38:14):
If you have problems, cometo me with a solution.
Y'all aren't doing that.
Y'all are complaining and doing nothing.
I could talk about that all day.
Dixie (38:23):
So before we end the episode, is there anything else you would like to add?
Rebecca (38:27):
I think we covered everything.
I just, I wish.
Like you said, people would knowmore about TNR, that it's available
to every single Jefferson Parishresident and that people are capable.
It doesn't matter how old youare, you're capable to trap.
I know a lot of the TNR people areolder and they're gonna be retiring
(38:49):
from trapping soon, we can start,there should be a younger generation
of people out there trapping.
I tell people, it's like Pokemon Go inreal life like but they're all meowths.
It's still exciting.
We just need to like let peopleknow and like challenge each other.
So my goal my first year was totrap 20 cats and I think I trapped
(39:09):
like 30, but that for me was huge.
If you can compete with yourfriends, like I bet Jack can
trap more cats than you like.
It's so fun.
It really is.
Yeah.
And then you get to see 'emall and it's just so much fun.
Like there's no reason whyeveryone isn't trapping at least
one cat a year, which is nothing.
There's just no reason.
Dixie (39:30):
Yeah.
And it's weird too when you saidsomething about all the older
people that are doing the trapping.
And why isn't the youngergeneration involved?
Because, I remember from, my younger self.
When I was a teenager, I was doingthis stuff, we didn't have the
programs like we have now, if.
I saw an animal that needed help, Iwould automatically go and help it.
I got into trapping as soon as we startedhaving the low cost programs available.
(39:54):
And so it's weird.
I don't know.
Rebecca (39:55):
It is weird, my mom, when she was pregnant with me 30 something years ago.
She was always, an animal activist.
She was picketing, stealinganimals, knocking on doors.
She did all of those things.
So I know that's where I got it from, butI didn't start until I was in my thirties.
I don't know.
We definitely need to get 'emat a younger age and let them
know just how to handle animals.
(40:17):
That is a huge pet peeve of mine.
We run day camps and my staff.
Let's have a petting zoo come.
And I'm like, absolutely not.
I cannot let that poor lizard be pokedby 500 fingers in a day, not on my watch.
So like just training childrenand teaching them like this
is how we handle animals.
And giving them that knowledge thatthey grow into being that animal person.
(40:41):
And maybe they do starttrapping right when they're 18
or ride along with their mom.
Like I know for sure.
One day I'll have probably like.
An infant in my backseatand like a tortie in a trap.
Like it's probably gonna happen oneday and like it should, but Right.
We need to do a better job as a parishof just getting the information out to
people, getting it out and maybe somehowsome way incentivizing, trapping, maybe
(41:04):
if you trap a hundred cats a year inJefferson Parish, you receive like a
little pin or just something you know.
All of these trappers, we do itfrom the kindness of our heart.
We get zero back.
We spend our time, effort, money,and energy on this because we love it
and we don't get anything back, andwe don't need anything back either.
(41:24):
But the parish has a problem and we'rehere to solve it, and they should be
backing us up like wholeheartedly.
You know when you call the policebecause there's a dog tied up and
they're like, oh I don't care about that.
And it's like, no, it's against the law.
I don't care whether youpersonally care about it or not.
Do your job, follow through with it.
We should be backed every way, shape andform from our government so that, 2026.
Dixie (41:51):
I'm glad you are on the front lines there, helping all the cats,
and thank you so much for takingthe time to speak with me today.
Rebecca (41:57):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Dixie (41:59):
All right.
You're welcome.
And that's all the time wehave for today's episode.
If you are in animal rescue, or ifyou know someone that has a story that
should be told, please contact us.
We would love to haveyou or them on the show
. Thanks for listening, and pleasejoin us next week as we continue to
explore the world of animal rescue.
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