Friends Of Montgomery County Animals Inc

Though I am currently a board member, I am also a client served and a volunteer. I discovered this wonderful group in about 2004, when I adopted a cat from them. I was impressed with the dedication of the volunteers, and with the fact that cats were primarily kept in foster homes rather than in a shelter environment. Years later, when my schedule allowed, I joined this small but passionate group of volunteers, and taking a board position, came to fully understand and appreciate the scope of the work that they do. In addition to "cat rescue", they are also committed to TNR, and have worked diligently to educate the public about community cats.

I have volunteered with FMCA for 28 years. Although my age and health have limited my participation, I am still supportive of an organization that has contributed so much to the animal problems in Montgomery County and surrounding areas. Such a group of dedicated volunteers is difficult to find.

About four years ago I rescued a pregnant cat. Three days later she gave birth in the back seat of my 1963 Oldsmobile in my garage. When the kittens were old enough I tried unsuccessfully to find homes for them. I reached out to the FMCA for help. They were awesome. They took over the vet care and spay neutering. They became an excellent place for advice and support. I started showing the kittens at their open house and eventually found new homes for them. My experience was so positive that I joined the organization as a volunteer and help out wherever I can.

I personally I work with a person who diligently works with FMCA. Witnessing how committed she is to the mission of the organization has been well portrayed by the ways she cares and devotes her time and resources for the animals she rescues and fosters in collaboration with the organization. Once we rescued a cat with 5 newborns where we work and she took them to her home without any hesitation and cared and raised them to be placed in forever homes of their own with a close team-work with FMCA. The organization is very well organized and has a professional operational practice in partnership with community volunteers by providing a good platform for these venerable animals to be cared and loved by these wonderful committed members, and doing so, it truly benefits not only the animals they care for, but also promotes a bigger community of volunteers who truly care about the issue of animal well-being. I sincerely thank the organization for what the work they do.

FMCA has been unwavering and extremely generous in supporting Trap-Neuter-Return of community cats in Montgomery County, MD. I'm a long-time TNR volunteer and FMCA is always responsive when we need funding for TNR surgeries, placement of adoptable kittens or tame strays from colonies, or donations to the food bank that helps colony caretakers. FMCA has also dedicated considerable time, effort, and money to assist the county shelter in finding barn homes for unadoptable cats at the shelter, thus saving lives. It's a very well-run organization, which is especially impressive since it's all-volunteer, and they make a direct and positive difference for Montgomery County animals.

FMCA is run by 100% volunteers and their hard dedication to find loving, caring and appropriate homes for their rescues is 100% evident. They are very thorough in assuring that the adopters and cats are a great fit for each other.

I can't recommend FMCA enough! I have seen first-hand how much they contribute to the community. They are certainly a charity organization worth your consideration for financial support.
When our cat passed away in December 2017, we weren't sure how we would find another cat to join our family. Our son has allergies, but isn't allergic to all cats. I reached out to volunteer with FMCA by cleaning out cages and providing enrichment for some cats at our local pet supply store. After volunteering for a few weeks, I asked for advice on finding a couple of cats in need of a home that might work with our allergies. FMCA immediately recommended that we foster to adopt! We came to an Open house event and one of the volunteers had pulled a young cat ("Prince" aka Mango) from a shelter that she thought would be perfect for our family. She was so right! She took the time to learn about our family and work with us to ensure it was the right situation for all of us!
Not long after Mango's adoption was final, we received a call that there was a kitten in a shelter in danger of being euthanized because she needed to be bottle fed and the shelter wasn't able to provide the care she needed. FMCA reached out to us, hoping we could help for a few days until other fosters might become available. We drove to pick up the kitten (Mochi) and saw first hand how FMCA provided relief to a local shelter and saved a life that day. That tiny, sassy kitten very quickly had our family wrapped around her paws and we adopted her as soon as she was medically ready for an official adoption. Not only did they provide financial support for any care she needed, but their regular advice and guidance to me, a very nervous foster mom, was incredibly valuable and showed how they valued the foster families of FMCA. I never felt alone in raising Mochi during her most vulnerable stages.
Just a few months later, we were noticing a few stray cats coming around our home. After no response on our local Facebook groups, we determined the cats were feral, but likely not spayed/neutered. I reached out to FMCA to see if they had any advice. They put me in touch with a local TNR expert, who helped me trap two cats. FMCA supported the TNR of these cats financially. We still see them from time to time, and thankful there are no new kittens running around.
Just a few days later, I stumbled upon a young mother and litter of four kittens, just a few days old. It was well over 90 degrees that day and they would not have survived long. As I drove them to my house to get them out of the elements and a decent meal, I called FMCA to see what could be done. They had recently provided a great deal of relief to the local shelter and had no available fosters - except me. They didn't hesitate to offer their support in helping this beautiful family. They supported me, once again, as a foster mom, as I navigated the stages of a nursing mother and weaning her kittens to prepare them for adoption.
In the fall of 2018, our cat Mango slipped out of the house. He was missing for 2.5 weeks. FMCA reached out to all of their resources, provided ample advice, and even emotional support during that time. They recommended a K9 tracker, and ultimately that is what brought him back home to us. The network of supports and resources that FMCA has established is astounding. Their service to the community goes way beyond cat adoptions.
During the winter of 2019, FMCA was contacted about a farm with several cats. The situation was overwhelming. Almost immediately, FMCA worked to develop a plan. They reached out to their volunteers to get help with trapping, fostering, and feeding the many cats and kittens on the farm. Within just a few weeks, all of the cats had been TNR'd and we had a regular feeding schedule. As the cats became used to us, we were able to get them into foster care, and several have since been adopted out. One of the young cats (Silver Sky) had an accident on the farm and had to have his leg amputated. After his recovery from surgery, FMCA was concerned about putting him back out on the farm, but he wasn't totally convinced that the indoor life was for him. I agreed to foster him to try to "tame" him in our very busy household. Again, FMCA was there for me as a foster, providing advice and support every step of the way. I never felt alone. After several weeks, Sky started to look forward to his head pets and has grown to love his new life indoors. He was reunited with another farm kitten and they are best buddies, currently looking for their forever home.
As you can see my experiences in just over a year have shown a variety of ways that the organization has helped out the community. Their work extends much further than fostering and adopting animals, and the organization is an incredible resource to the area.

As a volunteer since 2010, I’ve served in several capacities at FMCA: foster mom, board of directors’ member and, most currently, vice president.

FMCA continues to amaze with its accomplishments as an all-volunteer organization. They have many effective, dedicated volunteers who really care about the animals in the program. They work together well and do an amazing job keeping the organization running each and every day. They also have the ability to scale up to assist in emergency cases, big and small. FMCA strives to collaborate with other humane organizations and agencies in order to maximize the ability to save as many animals as possible.

There is much to be said for organizations working together for the best positive outcomes for the animals, the humane movement, and the community and this all-volunteer group is very good at it.

FMCA is a wonderful charity that aims to support cats in Montgomery County, MD. They frequently help adopt out socialized community cats. ALSO, they help fund TNR for many community cats that cannot be adopted out. They also have volunteers that help TNR community cats. I can't begin to express my gratitude for all they do.

(They have helped fund TNR for my community cats. There are so many good things I can say just as a community member too.)

I began volunteering with FMCA because I read about their adoption process and thought it was very thorough. I have been doing trap, neuter, return (TNR) work for a decade but adopting out the friendly cats had always been difficult for me. I was looking for an organization that had a good infrastructure for this and I've had a really great experience with FMCA. It seems like a lot of groups do just TNR work or just adoptions, or only fundraising and advocacy, this is the first organization I've come across works across the spectrum of issues related to unwanted cats. They are currently providing funds for me to TNR several "community cats" in my area, this keeps cats out of the shelter, particularly cats that are not adoptable. They also support caretakers by helping them to resolve complaints about colonies. They have the most thorough vetting process for potential adopters that I have seen, this is really crucial for people like me who are great at trapping, caring for, and socializing cats, but would otherwise struggle with the adoption process. I love that FMCA works across the whole organism not just one piece.

I have been volunteering for FMCA for years and while they are not the first group I have experience working with, they are by far the best! Careful consideration is taken during the process of adopting the rescues to ensure that they are going to the best forever homes available. Bonded pairs are not split up and single animal households are carefully chosen for those animals who need that level of care. The volunteers at all levels are highly dedicated to their role, big or small, in helping every animal they meet. The TNR program supported by FMCA is amazing because the feral colonies are monitored for vetting needs and friendly stray individuals are nursed and then made available for adoption. The health and well-being of the animals comes first and I am proud to say I can be a part of the efforts.

I have been volunteering with Friends of Montgomery County Animals for over 10 years. I don't even live in Montgomery County anymore, but I like this organization so much, that I continue to volunteer. All of the fosters, other volunteers, and board members are so dedicated to finding good homes for our furry friends. All of the animals are lovingly cared for until they can be placed in their forever homes. I believe in the mission, and I am proud to support this wonderful group. These people enjoy the challenge, work hard, and make a difference.

This nonprofit has been helping animals for more than 40 years. They are an all volunteer group that among other projects, helps trap and neuter outdoor cats. I came across an individual in need that was overwhelmed with 40 feral cats indoor and outside his property in need of vet care and neutering. I called several places locally and none were able to help quickly except FMCA. With swift grace a volunteer met me on the site where the cats were and scooped up the most sick ones (kittens) and put them in carriers driving them directly to the vet for care. She spoke with the caregiver and arranged to come back for the rest. She was a godsend. I felt so relieved that FMCA cared so much to quickly solve the problem. All the cats are now fixed and the population is under control, many adopted out already. I will continue to donate to them as ALL the money goes directly to the animal care and vet bills. No paid employees.