Community Champion: Woman making a difference for stray cats in Central Florida
Updated: 6:33 pm EDT, June 20, 2024
IT BELIEVES THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST 60 TO 100 MILLION HOMELESS, STRAY AND FERAL CATS ACROSS THE NATION, WHICH CAN BE WORRYING FOR THE SPREAD OF DISEASES AND ALSO OTHER RISK FACTORS. YES, BUT THIS WEEK’S COMMUNITY CHAMPION IS DOING HER PART TO HELP THE SITUATION HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA BY ADOPTING CATS. KITTY KITTY KITTY CAT TRAPPING IS A VERY LONELY OPERATION. IT’S QUIET. IT’S SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ALONE, WHICH MADE IT THE PERFECT ACTIVITY FOR WEDNESDAY. WHAT HUGO DOES DURING THE PANDEMIC. FOUR YEARS AGO. AND HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED AND INVOLVED IN DOING THIS DURING COVID? SOME FRIENDS AND I SAW A NEED. WE SAW HOMELESS CATS OUTSIDE AND I THOUGHT, OH, I CAN CLEAN UP SOME CATS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FIXED. SO WE GOT TOGETHER AND THESE GRASSPATH EFFORTS GROWED FOR THE CATS AND KITTENS OF THE WEDNESDAY COMMUNITY. WE ARE A 100% VOLUNTEER GROUP THAT LOOKS FOR COMMUNITY CATS, WHICH ARE OWNERLESS CATS THAT USUALLY LIVE ON THE STREET. THEY MAY BE INDOOR OR OUTDOOR CATS, BUT NO ONE CLAIMS OWNERSHIP OF THEM SPAYED AND neutered. WE HAVE REDUCED ILLNESS AND THE OVERALL PET POPULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 90,000 COMMUNITY CATS HERE IN ORANGE COUNTY ALONE. QUARTA HAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH PET ALLIANCE, FOR EXAMPLE. I CAN SHOW YOU HERE HERE, THE FACILITY WEST OF DOWNTOWN ORLANDO HAS TAKEN IN SOME CATS AND TREATS THEM. THIS IS ONE OF OUR GROUPS THAT WAS ARRESTED IN THE PARAMOUR AREA. ALL OF THESE BABIES WILL BE CORRECTED, VACCINATED AND ADOPTED, WHICH HELPS THE GENERAL CAT POPULATION. WE WERE ABLE TO RESOLVE AND VACCINATE MORE THAN 6,000, APPROXIMATELY 6,000, 6,000. SO THIS IS AMAZING. BUT YOU THINK IN COMPARISON TO 90,000, IT’S STILL A SMALL DROP IN THE BUCKET. BUT THIS DROP CREATED A SPLASH. THIS DESIGNATED WEDNESDAY HAS A WESH 2 COMMUNITY CHAMPION. SHE IS A TOUR OF STRENGTH. SHE IS TAKING A COMMUNITY OF INDIVIDUAL CAT ADVOCATES AND HUNTERS AND BRINGING US TOGETHER AND REALLY SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MAKING THE WHOLE BEING GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ALL THE INDIVIDUAL PARTS. WHAT MAKES YOU COME BACK, YOU KNOW, DAY AFTER DAY TO DO THIS? I THINK WHEN YOU HEAR FROM PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED OR SEE A CAT THAT HAS BEEN HORRIBLY INJURED, THAT WE CAN PICK UP, RECEIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT AND NURSE BACK TO HEALTH, IT REMINDS YOU THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE BIGGER THAN YOURSELF OUT THERE, AND IT REALLY HELPS GIVING YOU A PURPOSE AND A SENSE OF WELL-BEING. AND WEDNESDAY, HUGO IS HERE IN THE STUDIO WITH US THIS MORNING, WEDNESDAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US. WE THANK. Um, you have a full-time job. YOU ARE DOING A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. HOW CAN YOU DO ALL THIS? I THINK IT TAKES A VILLAGE AND WE ARE REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE FOR US. ONE PERSON CANNOT DO THIS ALONE. SO I THINK WHAT WE REPRESENT IS A COMMUNITY SPIRIT THAT RESIDES IN ALL OF US IF WE WANT IT. OK. AND HOW DO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOUR SERVICES? BECAUSE, I MEAN, MY FIRST INSTINCT WOULD BE TO CALL 311 OR ANIMAL CONTROL, BUT, YEAH, HOW DO YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE MIX? THAT’S WHY WE ALSO HAVE A FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM THAT YOU CAN CONTACT. WE HAVE RESOURCES. WE ALSO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH PET ALLIANCE. SO, DEPENDING ON YOUR COUNTY OR AREA, WE MAY CONSULT TNR SERVICES. WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOW-COST SPAY AND NEUTRAL CLINICS SO THAT WE CAN REFER PEOPLE. SO COME AND FIND US AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO HELP YOU. OK. AND NEUTRAL RELEASE FROM THE TNR TRAP. RIGHT? CORRECT. THERE IS A SILENT V THERE BUT IT IS FOR VACCINATING. SO WE LIKE TO GET THEM BACK VACCINATED IF THEY’RE NOT, IF THEY’RE WILD, SO WE DON’T SPREAD DISEASES, OK. A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW ANYONE WATCHING RIGHT NOW CAN MAKE AN IMPACT IF WE HAVE A CAT AT HOME, WHAT WE CAN DO. And then I’ll ask a follow-up question about that. SO FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU FIND A CAT OUTSIDE, YOU THINK YOU’RE BEING KIND BY FEEDING IT. IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT, DON’T FEED IT. THEY CAN HAVE FOUR LITTERS A YEAR. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE AN ESTIMATED 90,000 COMMUNITY CATS IN ORANGE COUNTY ALONE. DO THE RIGHT THING AND FIX THE CAT. THERE ARE LOW COST OPTIONS AVAILABLE. ALSO, IF YOU HAVE KITTENS, PLEASE DON’T GIVE THEM FOR FREE. THIS ONLY PERPETUATES THE PROBLEM. AND THEN WE’LL END UP BACK IN THE SAME BOAT. WHEN THESE PEOPLE DON’T FIX AND VACCINATE THESE KITTENS. I mean, it’s something that people don’t really think about. THEY THINK THEY’RE HELPING, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF SOMEONE IS DONATING KITTENS. THEY’RE THINKING THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE THIS CAT OFF THE STREET, RIGHT? TAKING CARE OF IT. BUT IF YOU ARE NOT VACCINATED OR FIXED, THEN YOU ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM. CORRECT. AND ORANGE COUNTY HAS A GREAT LOW COST. IT’S A FREE PROGRAM CALLED WAIT UNTIL EIGHT. YOU CAN ENROLL THESE KITTENS THROUGH ORANGE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES, AND THEY WILL CATCH THEM, BOX THEM, AND ADOPT THEM. WITHOUT COST. OK. PERFECT. AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU, FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE CATS, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE’S ALWAYS THAT CAT THAT’S GOING THROUGH THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD OR IF THEY’RE IN THE PARK, THEY MAY BE TEMPTED TO GIVE THEM SOME FOOD. WE SHOULD NOT DO THIS. NO, NO, WE SAY DON’T BE A BREEDER FEEDER. THIS ONLY PERPETUATES THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU FEED THEM. YOU ARE NOW CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE FOR GROWTH AND BIRTH TO OCCUR. SO IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO GO OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND FIX THAT CAT, DON’T FEED IT BECAUSE IT JUST PERPETUATES OUR PROBLEM. OK, ALL THE GOOD THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND. WEDNESDAY. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO. IT’S AMAZING. I was shocked by the numbers 90,000 IN ORANGE COUNTY ALONE. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE OUR SURROUNDING COUNTIES, BUT IT IS CORRECT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. ALL GOOD. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE ON LIKE, WEDNESDAY WHO HAS A HISTORY OF DOING GREAT WORK HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, WESH TWO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THEM. PLEASE NOMINATE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HISTORY OF GIVING BACK TO A FEATURED WESH TWO COMMUNITY CHAMPION. YOU CAN EMAIL US DETAILS ABOUT YOUR WESH.COM COMMUNITY CHAMPION NOMINEE, AND THEY CAN BE FEATURED HERE ON US
Community Champion: Woman making a difference for stray cats in Central Florida
Updated: 6:33 pm EDT, June 20, 2024
Wednesday, Hugus is no stranger to the challenge of Central Florida’s heat and humidity in capturing and treating stray cats who don’t have an owner. Over the past four years, Hugus and other volunteers have trapped and treated about 6,000 cats in Orange County, which Hugus said is just a drop in the ocean. “There are approximately 90,000 community cats here in Orange County alone,” Hugus said. .Across the country, the numbers are even more surprising. Florida Fish & Wildlife estimates there are 60 to 100 million homeless, stray and feral cats nationwide. Hugus encourages cat owners to vaccinate and spay/neuter their pets. Even if you don’t have a cat, you can still help the general homeless population by not feeding a cat unless you are prepared to care for it. Hugus began capturing cats and taking them to be vaccinated and neutered in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s okay. It’s something you can do on your own,” Hugus said. But she eventually joined forces with other volunteer cat trappers and formed Hugus’ Community Cats & Kittens. She has partnered with the Pet Alliance facility on Central Boulevard just west of downtown Orlando and takes cats there for treatment before they are put up for adoption or released. “We are a 100% volunteer group that seeks out community cats, who are ownerless cats that live on the streets,” said Hugus. “They could be indoor and outdoor cats, but no one claims ownership of them spayed and neutered. This way we reduce disease and the overall pet population.”Rob White is a fellow volunteer hunter who has helped Hugus over the years.”She is a tour de force. She brought together a community of individual cat advocates and hunters and brought us together. It’s a good example that the whole is greater than some of its individual parts,” White said. Spending a day in the intense heat of Central Florida can certainly be exhausting, but Hugus’ determination to persevere to help these animals is what sets her apart as a WESH 2 Community Champion.”I think when you hear from people who you’ve adopted, or you “You see a cat that is terribly injured that we were able to capture and get medical treatment and nurse back to health, it reminds you that there are things bigger than you out there and it gives you a sense of purpose and well-being,” she said. Do you know someone like Wednesday Hugus, who has a track record of doing good in Central Florida? WESH 2 wants to know about them. Send us details about your Community Champion candidate to communitychampion@wesh.com.
Wednesday, Hugus is no stranger to the challenge of Central Florida’s heat and humidity in capturing and treating stray cats who don’t have an owner.
Over the past four years, Hugus and other volunteers have trapped and treated about 6,000 cats in Orange County, which Hugus said is just a drop in the bucket.
“There are approximately 90,000 community cats here in Orange County alone,” Hugus said.
Across the country, the numbers are even more surprising. Florida Fish & Wildlife estimates there are between 60 and 100 million homeless, stray and feral cats nationwide.
Hugus encourages cat owners to vaccinate and spay/neuter their pets. Even if you don’t have a cat, you can still help the general homeless population by not feeding a cat unless you are prepared to care for it.
Hugus began capturing cats and taking them to be vaccinated and neutered in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s okay. It’s something you can do on your own,” Hugus said.
But she eventually teamed up with other volunteer cat trappers and formed Hugus’ Community Cats & Kittens.
She has a partnership with Pet Alliance on Central Boulevard, west of downtown Orlando, and takes cats for treatment before they are released for adoption or released.
“We are a 100% volunteer group that looks for community cats, which are unowned cats that live on the streets,” said Hugus. “They could be indoor and outdoor cats, but no one claims ownership of them spayed and neutered. This way, we reduce disease and the overall pet population.”
Rob White is a fellow volunteer hunter who has helped Hugus over the years.
“She’s a tour de force. She brought together a community of individual cat advocates and hunters and brought us together. It’s a good example that the whole is greater than some of its individual parts,” White said.
Trapping grumpy or injured cats day after day in the intense Central Florida heat can certainly be tiring, but Hugus’ determination to persevere to help these animals is what distinguishes her as a WESH 2 Community Champion.
“I think when you hear about people that you’ve adopted, or you see a cat that’s terribly injured, that we were able to capture and get medical treatment and a nurse to bring back to health, it reminds you that there are things bigger than yourself. there and it gives you a sense of purpose and well-being,” she said.
Do you know someone like Wednesday Hugus who has a track record of doing good in Central Florida? WESH 2 wants to know about them. Send us details about your Community Champion candidate to communitychampion@wesh.com.
