Everybody loves Nobody’s Cats
Nonprofit uses trap-neuter-release approach to help control stray-cat population

By Lillian Blocher
Knightly News Reporter
lillian.blocher@mymail.centralpenn.edu
The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, a trap-neuter-release nonprofit organization in the Mechanicsburg area, needs more volunteers to assist with running fundraising programs and helping locals control the stray cat population.

Christine Arnold founded The Nobody’s Cat’s Foundation in 2012 after working closely with shelters and other groups involved with the trap-neuter-release strategy since 2004. She was inspired to act while working with a shelter to spay and neuter a large cat colony at the former Bethlehem Steel plant, in Steelton.
“That’s when it became clear to me just how big this situation is,” Arnold said.
No cats adopted
The Nobody’s Cats Foundation, headquartered in Camp Hill, focuses on trap-neuter-release rather than adoption. This is because a majority of shelters have to put stray cats down due to the high volume of cats coming in. Nobody’s Cats’ mission is to reduce and stabilize free-roaming cat populations in South Central Pennsylvania by implementing and teaching the trap-neuter-release strategy.
This strategy involves trapping a cat in a humane box-style trap – the appropriate size for a cat – and bringing the cat to the clinic for spay-and-neuter services, and then holding it for 24 hours before re-releasing it where it was found. These cats are also given life-improving vaccines during the procedure, including rabies vaccines.
Since the organization’s founding, Arnold estimates that Nobody’s Cats’ efforts have kept over 1 million cats from being born outside in rough and often fatal living conditions.

Photo by Lillian Blocher
Nobody’s Cats is composed mainly of volunteers, including Arnold. Some of the veterinarians and vet techs are paid, while others volunteer in their free time. These cost-saving measures allow Nobody’s Cats to charge only $40 per cat despite rising costs.
Volunteers needed
The organization’s current goal is to bring in more of these volunteers, as Arnold says there are not enough volunteers to come up with and organize the fundraisers that Nobody’s Cats needs to function. There are only 25 – Arnold included.
The second Saturday of every month is volunteer day for the organization, when volunteers spend a few hours opening syringes and cutting puppy pads in preparation for surgeries. Arnold said this was a good opportunity for newcomers to get a feel for the organization.
“We want to attract everybody to this strategy – it’s such an effective strategy, and it makes such a difference in preventing suffering,” Arnold said. “So, anybody with an ounce of compassion can really feel good about the results when you factor in how much suffering is prevented even by focusing on a neighborhood.”
People interested in volunteering can email Nobody’s Cats at contact@nobodyscats.org or call at 1-855-867-4228 to inquire about opportunities.
Anyone who needs the organization’s services can find information here – Nobody’s Cats.
Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.
Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.