Kittens at an adoption event From Saving Sampson
Cat trapped to be vaccinated and neutered
An adult cat that was trapped and later released thanks to the local rescue, Saving Sampson
As the stray cat population grows and people complain about the number of animals in shelters, or left abandoned, one Sampson County resident has taken on the fight head-on, spearheading a rescue group.
“It starts with responsible pet ownership,” said Kristy Denning, founder of Saving Sampson, a 501c3 non-profit that has been serving the Sampson County area since 2021.
Denning started the rescue after moving back to the Sampson County area and discovering a cat colony being cared for by a neighbor. She was worried, she said, about the ever-growing number of cats in the colony.
“I was not a cat person, but I could not leave animals that I knew needed help to fend for themselves, and that’s how I got my start in rescue work, trapping those cats and getting them fixed.” Denning explained during a recent interview.
Save Sampson functions as a trap, vaccinate, neuter, and release rescue, also known as a TNR.
”We are the only rescue in the Sampson area, that I know, that does this; it’s not as popular as other forms of rescue,” Denning explained.
“Most places have the goal of re-homing their cats, but for some of these cats, it’s more stressful to re-home than to release if a cat has never been around humans. We typically release cats, but if I find kittens or friendly cats I will re-home them.”
Denning, who runs the group predominantly by herself with the help of a few fosters and her daughter, explained that though it can be stressful to run a rescue, it all pays off when you know you’ve done the best by an animal possible and see the animal thriving. It’s rewarding to know, she said, that she able to at least make a small impact on lowering the population of stray cats in the area.
Studies show that one female cat can have up to 500 kittens in her lifespan, and if only half of her kittens make it to breeding age, and 100 are females, each of those cats has the same number of kittens — that’s 5,000 kittens going back to one common female ancestor.
With an unknown number of cats and dogs who have not been spayed or neutered in Sampson County, it’s difficult to gain any concrete data on the rate animals repopulate over any given period of time, but many people have a distrust about pet health, even though it is important for not only keeping the number of strays low, but also the life of the pet, rescue organizers have said.
“For some reason, there is a negative stigma behind having animals fixed,” stressed Denning, noting that a large part of what she does is try to share with people the benefits of having their animals spayed or neutered, including a longer life span and better health.
Denning has also found herself helping stray dogs as well as cats.” It all started with a pack of feral dogs,” she explained.
As she was on her way home from dinner one night, she said, she came across a female dog and a litter of puppies. She reached out to ask for help with identifying the owner and found that the animals were feral. A gentleman from the area, she said, began to trap them.
“That’s how I ended up with two ex-feral dogs as pets,” Denning said, laughing. “Those dogs are too far gone, and I don’t think they could ever be re-homed as they are not very trusting of most, and they are very skittish when it comes to them being out of their normal routine.”
Denning also shared that one thing that many forget is that she can’t help every animal.
”I would love to help everyone that calls, but I am mainly self-funded and have very little outside help as I only have two foster homes at this moment,”
While she said she would be grateful for any additional funding, she would be most happy to see a change in legislation and better education for the public.