It has been a long time since posting here, but I have been just a little busy!
After working now for 2 years at Walmart full time in order to feed and care for the colony, an un-neutered female joined the colony and had three consecutive litters without my realizing what was happening until the third litter showed up. To make matters worse two (and possibly more) of the first litter are pregnant!
I work the 10:00 p.m to 7:00 a.m. shift, so unless cats show up for the morning meal, I don't see them since it is dark when I feed the second meal.
I cannot continue to feed so many and need advice from all of you. My financial position is not even flexible enough to pay for the neutering of the two pregnant ones, although tomorrow I am going to contact both our local SPCA and County Health to see if they can help with that.
In the meantime, can you give me ideas to cut my costs? Right now I feed twice a day. Both meals consist of Friskies Wet and Dry along with Treats and 1 Large Bag of Iams Dry a month. My monthly cost for food is $1241. There are now about 50 cats in the colony. I have always determined the amount of food necessary for each one by the amount of food left in the feeding bowls after each meal. If the bowls are scraped clean I feed just a little more, until such time there is a little food left in most bowls, and then I feed a little more.
By the way, I also have always fed the cats in the little paper trays that most shelters use for food. That cost each month is about $60.00 so even ideas on how to cut that cost would be welcome.
I also have a $200 a month payment on a credit card I have used only for veterinary costs (including Euthanasia which has happened a lot this past year since I started caring for the colony in 1997.) I had one huge expense added to that card this past year when I rescued "Billy-Bob" who, as a kitten, had been hit by a car. As some of you know, I took him to the Vet thinking he was almost dead, when he made a miraculous recovery which resulted in a $2000 vet bill!
There is, of course, the horrible alternative of having some newly arrived cats put down, but that is such an awful alternative. And yet, I don't see how I can continue to pay for the food. Ownership of my home is already in jeopardy because I am behind on my taxes. I have a Reverse Mortgage which means I am free of monthly payments, but the taxes are about $220 a month.
For the past two years I have lived as frugally as possible. I live on Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches, no eating out, no cell phone, no clothes, no other costs except PGE, Water, Sewer, Garbage, etc. I live alone, but I am renting out one room in my house to a fellow employee. Because my job is stocking freight at Walmart (done mostly by people half my age) I am 74 and just too tired to try and manage a second job.
So, in a nutshell that is the story. Any and all of your ideas are needed and welcomed. I am at my wits end trying to figure out what to do. I had already planned to spend any extra time in January and February trapping all of the new arrivals, never anticipating that any of them could or would get pregnant in late fall (which has never happened before...even in the years I spent getting the whole colony fixed).
When I was just beginning to feel I would have some years without having to care for cats (although I have loved caring for them) it feels as if I am back at the beginning again.I do worry that any changes I make might really upset the older members of the colony who have been fed the same way for 17 years. I look forward to hearing any and all advice you can give.
After working now for 2 years at Walmart full time in order to feed and care for the colony, an un-neutered female joined the colony and had three consecutive litters without my realizing what was happening until the third litter showed up. To make matters worse two (and possibly more) of the first litter are pregnant!
I work the 10:00 p.m to 7:00 a.m. shift, so unless cats show up for the morning meal, I don't see them since it is dark when I feed the second meal.
I cannot continue to feed so many and need advice from all of you. My financial position is not even flexible enough to pay for the neutering of the two pregnant ones, although tomorrow I am going to contact both our local SPCA and County Health to see if they can help with that.
In the meantime, can you give me ideas to cut my costs? Right now I feed twice a day. Both meals consist of Friskies Wet and Dry along with Treats and 1 Large Bag of Iams Dry a month. My monthly cost for food is $1241. There are now about 50 cats in the colony. I have always determined the amount of food necessary for each one by the amount of food left in the feeding bowls after each meal. If the bowls are scraped clean I feed just a little more, until such time there is a little food left in most bowls, and then I feed a little more.
By the way, I also have always fed the cats in the little paper trays that most shelters use for food. That cost each month is about $60.00 so even ideas on how to cut that cost would be welcome.
I also have a $200 a month payment on a credit card I have used only for veterinary costs (including Euthanasia which has happened a lot this past year since I started caring for the colony in 1997.) I had one huge expense added to that card this past year when I rescued "Billy-Bob" who, as a kitten, had been hit by a car. As some of you know, I took him to the Vet thinking he was almost dead, when he made a miraculous recovery which resulted in a $2000 vet bill!
There is, of course, the horrible alternative of having some newly arrived cats put down, but that is such an awful alternative. And yet, I don't see how I can continue to pay for the food. Ownership of my home is already in jeopardy because I am behind on my taxes. I have a Reverse Mortgage which means I am free of monthly payments, but the taxes are about $220 a month.
For the past two years I have lived as frugally as possible. I live on Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches, no eating out, no cell phone, no clothes, no other costs except PGE, Water, Sewer, Garbage, etc. I live alone, but I am renting out one room in my house to a fellow employee. Because my job is stocking freight at Walmart (done mostly by people half my age) I am 74 and just too tired to try and manage a second job.
So, in a nutshell that is the story. Any and all of your ideas are needed and welcomed. I am at my wits end trying to figure out what to do. I had already planned to spend any extra time in January and February trapping all of the new arrivals, never anticipating that any of them could or would get pregnant in late fall (which has never happened before...even in the years I spent getting the whole colony fixed).
When I was just beginning to feel I would have some years without having to care for cats (although I have loved caring for them) it feels as if I am back at the beginning again.I do worry that any changes I make might really upset the older members of the colony who have been fed the same way for 17 years. I look forward to hearing any and all advice you can give.
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