03/04/2026
As posted in the Pickens Progress last week:
Be-Paws We Care (BPWC) is organizing a community-feral cat 'snip and tip' event aimed at controlling the local cat populations and supporting public health. This initiative is being funded by a generous grant from Fix Georgia Pets (FGP), and over four days, up to 200 community-feral cats will undergo trapping, spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations, and return to their community.
This is an incredible opportunity for our community and is expected to result in healthier cats and a safer environment for Pickens County residents. While BPWC currently has a program in place to assist Pickens County residents with their community-feral cats, we are currently identifying “hotspots” of community-feral cats in which the colony consists of more than five. Multiple “hot spots” have already been identified, but please email [email protected] to get your “colony” on the list to be addressed. Please respond by March 12th. The Event is to be initiated on April 11th.
Community-feral cats are unowned felines residing within the community rather than just in private households. While some are supported by caretakers, others survive entirely independently. The humane management of community cat populations relies on spaying and neutering, which reduces suffering and helps prevent disease transmission without resorting to euthanasia. FGP has coordinated with partners and volunteers to facilitate trapping
The "snip-n’-tip" event” is an integral component of a trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) program, wherein healthy, free-roaming cats are sterilized, ear-tipped for identification, and vaccinated. Upon recovery, these cats are returned to their original locations where they have established access to food and shelter.
This initiative underscores BPWC and FGP’s dedication to humane population control and community well-being. Through systematic vaccination and sterilization, residents will experience a decline in nuisance behaviors, a reduction in the prevalence of diseases such as rabies and feline leukemia, and fewer cases of untreated health conditions among community cats.
About Be-Paws We Care: BPWC is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. They are an Animal Advocacy Group that provides low cost spay and neuter assistance to Pickens County, GA residents and their pets as well as a TNVR program for community-feral cats and their caretakers. These programs were created to help reduce the unplanned, unwanted, and homeless pet population in the Pickens County community.
About Fix Georgia Pets: Fix Georgia Pets is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide spay/neuter grants for low-cost or no-cost spay/neuter programs to other non-profit organizations throughout Georgia to help end the overpopulation epidemic and the senseless euthanasia of companion animals. For more information about how you can get involved, visit www.fixgeorgiapets.org
