Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Nania
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started trapping cats because I have a friend that lives in a neighborhood with a large community (feral) cat colony. He was feeding 3 of them and then one day 3 kittens showed up! At that time I decided I would learn how to humanely trap cats in order to get them spayed/neutered and any other care they needed. Salt Lake City has incredible resources for community action in trapping cats. Best Friends Animal Society has a whole community cat program where they offer everything for free: traps to rent, shelters, food, toys, etc. I have been watching trapping videos on instagram for fun (the main person I watched was @heidiwranglescats), so I had some idea what to do, but Autumn at Best Friends walked me through entirely how to use the traps and best practices. So far, I have trapped 5 cats at my friends house and 8 cats at a local Salt Lake business. I made an instagram @SamTrapsCats, in order for locals to find me and reach out for help. The Salt Lake County Shelter has an incredible community cat program, but they are overwhelmed with how many cats need to be trapped and I wanted to help impact. Once I trap a cat, Salt Lake County Animal Shelter picks them up and the cat will get: spayed/neutered, all of their vaccinations, dewormed and any other care they need (if they are sick, need dental work, etc) and then safely returned to the exact place they were trapped. Trapping for me is a way for me to impact the community and help cats. I feel like it is the small difference i can make and I get the opportunity to meet so many incredible people that want to provide care to feral cats. I feel that feral cats are very misunderstood; they can’t be pet and they can’t cuddle with us, but I feel that they deserve to be showed love in the way that best supports them.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road in trapping has been somewhat smooth. It took a ton of research to figure out Salt Lake resources in regarding to trapping and the TNR program (Trap, Neuter, Return). I created an instagram in order to help be a singular resource to people in Salt Lake if they needed help trapping or simply needing to know where they can find free shelters and cat food.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have an artistic background with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. I haven’t practiced my craft in some time, but I am a jeweler/ wood carver. I love making every spaces beautiful and bringing art into every aspect of my daily life. For paying my bills, I work in Operations in the beauty industry. I enjoy implementing organization and my job provides me with a lt of flexibility and work/life balance.
Any big plans?
I don’t have any future plans when it comes to cat trapping. I will always trap whenever anyone reaches out to me! This is a side thing I am doing for fun/love of cats so I don’t have many expectations of what it will become. I just want to do the best I can for any cat I encounter.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: SamTrapsCats
