SAFER (Seacoast Area Feline Education & Rescue)

To humanely trap, neuter and medically clear, release or place those cats that are deemed to be homeless, always improving the quality of life for the cats in our care. To develop and administer programs that will both educate the public and meet the needs of the homeless cats, thus helping to make the NH Seacoast cats SAFER.

SAFER continues to educate the public about the need for spay/neutering and the inhumanity of abandoning their pets. Until abandonment practices stop, SAFER’s services are essential for controlling and reducing the population of abandoned and wild cats/kittens in our area that would otherwise be left on their own to scrounge for food and shelter in their attempt to survive. Someday, SAFER hopes to one day be Out of Business!

SAFER was organized in 1998 by a group of caring residents and business owners. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, SAFER is funded solely through donations and fundraising efforts. Every penny received goes directly to the cats. We are entirely staffed with unpaid volunteers, all dedicated to the well being of the feral and homeless cats and kittens left abandoned in the New Hampshire seacoast area.

As of 2012, SAFER trapped, altered, and placed almost 2,500 cats and kittens. Our veterinary bills for one year alone can reach $44,000; therefore, donations are vital in order for us to continue helping the cats.

1. Feeding feral/abandoned cats: Ongoing need - Cats live in the Seacoast area that SAFER has trapped/neutered/returned. Volunteers feed these cats at various stations one day per week.

2. Vet Driving: Cats that have been trapped are taken from the shelter to the vet and then returned to the shelter once surgery is complete.

3. Trapping: When we receive reports of cats in need of trapping, this volunteer will set the safe-trap, monitor it for activity, and transport the trapped-cat to the shelter once caught.

4. Fundraising: applying for grants or working various events to earn money for SAFER.

5. Shelter cleaning: scooping litter, sweeping floors, washing dishes, cleaning cages, etc.

Feral and abandoned cats are a huge part of the NH Seacoast pet overpopulation problem. Feral cats are domestic cats that have not been socialized to humans. They were abandoned or lost by owners who failed to spay or neuter them.

Unwanted and cast off, these cats band together for support and warmth. Mother cats teach their kittens to be wary of humans in order to protect themselves from potential harm. It has been estimated that a single pair of breeding cats, and their offspring, can produce over 400,000 cats in 7 years.

They live anywhere they can find a safe haven; among rocks, on beaches, in parks, alleys, fields, and abandoned buildings. Our goal is to educate the public about responsible pet ownership and the importance of spaying and neutering.

Our immediate objective is to humanely trap, medically clear, spay or neuter and release these cats. When we come across a potentially adoptable cat or kitten, we place it in foster care to prepare it for adoption. If a cat is found to be feral and healthy after a veterinary check-up, it is neutered and re-released to its original home territory. We then continue to monitor and maintain all cats in these colonies, thereby stopping reproduction and needless disease.

SAFER's generous and caring volunteers devote time, energy, and some even give financial assistance to help maintain our feeding sites and our spay/neuter programs. They staff special events and fundraising efforts, and foster cats and kittens. They tell others about SAFER. Can you help?