My Feral And Rescued Cats

[Jcatbird]

M maggiedemi Ah! Demi - from the Latin demidius the Demi meaning half! That fits your ID! Your other half! I like it!

Tonight I give you Flowers!
My posts must be quick tonight. I have an early day tomorrow but I wanted to show everyone Flowers! Finally she held still and was close enough for me to get a good photo of her. I hope she will stay. She took cover under a tarp I have tied up off of the ground for a shelter. I have some plant benches on the ground underneath so she can be off the wet ground. Thrasher used to live there. There are hiding places below too. I don’t dare investigate under the tarp to hunt for babies. I have concerns that if she had kittens the high water may have caused problems. She was gone too long for my comfort level. Time will tell. For now I am just happy she is close and inside my fence. This is the closest I have ever been to her. I am pampering her as much as I can. This cat has endured more than any here, and survived, besides Thrasher. I would love to see her happy and safe. I will try. She has the most beautiful, clear gold eyes! Her first look contains some doubt but the second grabbed my heart and made me feel like she wants help. She looks so young. I don’t really know her age but judging by my first knowledge of her she is only a year and a half at most. I hope I will be able to give her some comfort and bring her to safety. She is a very wild one. She has already wounded me once when I simply put food in front of where she was hiding. Getting this close without having her strike out or hiss is huge. I won’t try to socialize her for adoption. I think she is too wild. I will provide a home with me if she will agree. Maybe I can win her heart in time. She already has mine. Sweet little baby face.

Tomorrow I have some new funny pics of Kelly and the babies. I think the babies may have given me their names too. Sometimes the names just kind of evolve on their own. We’ll see! I leave it to the kittens. Lol

 

[maggiedemi]

Thanks for the pictures of Flowers. I think I recognize the food on that plate! Demi's favorites-- Friskies Shreds and Cat Chow Complete? He is so picky, if I give him anything else he acts like his life is over and gives me the silent treatment and puts himself to bed.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Must have been a cat angel! I don’t know why else I would have brought Banjo home and doubled all the way back to the airport.

This would be the one:

If I ever end up moving down there with my brother, maybe you can come snake proof the house for me.

Easiest way? Put bowls of Original Pine-Sol at all openings. Pine-Sol is deadly to snakes, and they will avoid it at all costs. Or just mop it across doorways, window sills, and around any other opening (plumbing, etc) daily if having the bowls there bothers you. You learn these things growing up on the Florida panhande, 25 feet from a lagoon.

OH FLOWER! Oh, that face! Her eyes seem to say, "Can I trust you? I think I want to trust you. Can I trust you? Please?"

 

[Jcatbird]

Well M maggiedemi ! You know your kitty food well! Lol You nailed it! The other treat is just chicken. All my kitties eat the Shreds, Chow and also Fancy Feast. These just seem to work the best for them. They love the gravy. I like that because I want to make sure they stay hydrated.
Mamanyt1953 That must be the reason I brought Banjo home. She had already been through too much for a little kitty. As for Flower trusting, she wants to but is still afraid. She is so defensive I wonder if she has kittens but I don’t hear it see them yet. Of course, feral often equals silent. She was staying under the tarp but I just had to call her to eat. I wish she would stay put. Her survival instincts are moving her. The food will stay here so, hopefully, she will keep coming and bring any babies. I want her close.

 

[Jcatbird]

I just read a post from @ashade1
My heart is breaking. It was difficult for me to read. It is too like what I often see here and what I am trying to stop. The bills have often overwhelmed me so I can imagine they are overwhelmed too. I encourage everyone to check their latest post and pass it on. May they find the help the kitty needs and may that beautiful cat never feel pain or fear again. This leaves me with no more words.

 

[Jcatbird]

I think it might be time for a smile from the kitties. Kelly and the kittens will provide the pictures and I’ll put words in their mouths. Lol

This is my story and I’m sticking to it.

If a mother cat could whistle for her kids, this is Kelly calling the babies to eat.

Some children obey quickly when it’s time to eat.

Others arrive at their own pace.

But they do obey Mom

Then you have the kid that doesn’t listen

Mom knows that the straggler will miss out and calls again only to hear......
But Mom....I’m busy! I’m playing!

A good Mom patiently persists even when the others are finishing up.

The last one in May get fussed at a bit. “You’re late! You know you missed supper!”

There’s nothing left? Ah Mom!

I’m hungry!

Stop crying.

Maybe the human will help. Your sister wants more anyway.

Oh boy! Second helpings!
Thank you human!

How can a human resist these faces? They make me smile! I hope they make you smile too!

 

[surya]

My colony is shrinking away. My heart is hurting. The mean children here have chased away two of my colony cats. They throw bottles at them and poke at them with sticks. I hope they are not injured or dead. The other ones are still around, but afraid to come eat until night and the kids are gone. There is nothing I can do to keep them safe and it hurts. My other colony at a dumpster across the street is down to just two cats now. I found one dead and another one who I had hopes of taming because she was so sweet disappeared the next day. I worked so hard to get them fixed and take care of them.

It makes me feel better to know that there are still good people in the world like jcatbird who love the kitties and care for them.

 

[Norachan]

That's horrible! I'm so sorry surya How are people raising those kids, to let them think it's OK to do something like that!?

Jcatbird I'm glad to hear your wanderers are all back again. That family of calicos and gingers are so sweet. I want them all!

 

[Jcatbird]

surya I weep right along with you. I know how it feels because I lost so many here in the beginning. I am so sorry. When faced with that in town the IFCP (Islands Feral Cat Project) traps and relocated the cats. I know that is hard and you have to find a place willing to have them around but Church’s often welcome the rodent control, have people around a lot, have extra land and are usually open to it. They sometimes have members willing to put up catio enclosures to acclimatize kitties for a couple of weeks until they are used to the area. Warehouses sometimes as all. I can ask them about other options they use. Don’t give up. There is hope for the kitties there. A Church would be my first choice because children would be encouraged to kindness and be overseen by adult. I can only imagine how broken you feel but keep trying. There is hope. I have felt weak indeed lost as to a solution too. There was an answer. What about adults in the area? Do they know what you do there? Inform, educate, spread the word. Enlighten as to usefulness of the ferals and that tamed ones can be saved and removed. Tell them cats will kill mice, rats AND snakes. They protect us. Women will love that snake part. Call on the world for help! Please keep me informed.

 

[surya]

Unfortunately, when I tried to talk to the parents they got mad at me. The parents teach them to abuse animals. They poison them and throw kittens in the dumpster. Most of the people here are recent immigrants and don't speak much English. One neighbor has been harassing me, because I tried to get their kids to stop poking the cats with sticks. There is a cultural thing. I did try to find a safe place for the kitties, but I don't have a car, so I can't go check them out or transport the kitties. I have tried to find help with no luck. I am struggling to buy food for them. I have helped to save around 80 cats and kittens with the help of a rescue. I just did the trapping, they do the rest. Adoptions have really slowed down. One cat was adopted last weekend, which gives me hope.

 

[Jcatbird]

Hold hope close. I have ups and downs too. I was confronted by older “kids” , young adults really. If you want to pm me we can talk more about options. Keep trying. This has been a slow time for adoptions because of kitten season but that is slowing a bit.There will be another round of kittens. Little later but in between you can get some out. I advertise but then send the people who respond to the shelter where they are screened. ( if I get good vibes from them) with some creative thinking, many if we join ideas we can get things moving again. You can report the kids but you may put the cats at further risk. I don’t know the laws for ferals there but I can look them up if I know where you are. Or you can check County ordinances. Try to make a phone friend in the animal rescue system. Makes calls everywhere. My vision is bad so I am limited on driving too. There must be a way to work this. We just have to find it. Try to hold on. If I can help you, I will.

 

[maggiedemi]

Oh, I love the baby Calico with all the colors! I'm glad that you had second helpings for the kitty that was late for dinner.

surya --That is so sad! I wish there was some way to talk to the children. I'm so lucky that I have no neighbors on the woods side of my house and nobody hurts the ferals. The neighbors on the other side are cat lovers and have their own.

 

[Jcatbird]

surya I wonder if you can turn things around on the kids. How old are they? Could you get them to help instead of hurt? You might need to approach it from a different angle. If the parents are motivated the way many immigrants are, trying to make their way in a foreign land with different perspectives and different viewpoints on life, maybe a small job for the children? To guard the cats? There job would be to keep them safe. A small fee or some school supplies that would save the parents some trouble of expense? Appeal to what is proper in their culture. Where are they from? Sometimes communication lines are obstructed by cultural differences. Might be worth looking into. Just trying to think of all the possibilities. We have a wide audience here on thecatsite. World wide suggestions might give you a clue as to how best to approach these kids and their parents without them feeling defensive. Worth looking into even if it doen’t Work.

 

[surya]

There is about twenty kids out there right now of all different ages. Almost all these people in the complex have kids and with the exception of a few nice people they all treat cats like crap. Have you see The Lord of the Flies? The kids are like that, like a gang. Imagine trying to negotiate with the people who threw acid on your cat and kittens, but on top of being mean and sneaking around to hurt cats, they don't speak English, and there are many more of them. It's kind of like that. I don't think they are all bad kids (they don't know any better), I wish I had time to work with them and teach them, but I work full time and there's too many of them and only one of me.

 

[Norachan]

surya I wonder if trying to approach them through the school would help? The way people view and treat animals is often based on cultural differences. If the schools are helping the kids to integrate into Western society an assembly or humanities/science project on how we treat animals would be a valuable lesson for them.

Maybe you could get in touch with the school and offer to make a presentation for the kids on TNR and the benefits of having community cats? Or ask the rescue if they could help you make a presentation?

Volunteering at a shelter or rescue would be a good way for these kids to make more friends in the community, as well as picking up a bit more English.

 

[surya]

My rescue friend got some literature for kids, she said she was thinking about taking it to the local school. She asked me if I thought it would help. I said it was worth a try. I think it is worthwhile to try and teach them. At any rate I do not have time to do it and I know my rescue friend is already giving all she can to the cause as well. I do not believe a one time speaker will change the culture, but it might plant a seed in one child's mind. So worthwhile, yes, but not something I can take on.

 

[Jcatbird]

surya One mind changed can start a revolution. I know it feels hopeless but I was hopeless too. My earliest posts here don’t reflect my earliest battles. I was trying everything and nothing was working in the beginning. As you know I am very limited by vision, money, time, no physical help, limited driving, etc. etc. I just could not see a way to stop the torture and killings. I made dozens of calls, texts, emails and literally wept for help. I tried talking to the kids and even befriending them. Some kids were okay. Others were not. When I finally called the police the young people turned on me. I kept going anyway. I not only kept going , I did not hide it. I took precautions but I showed them that they could not stop me. I showed the neighborhood. With a few I gained a tolerance. Some tried to continue the killings. I stepped in their way. I grabbed cats and held them until the person left. I simply ran interference. I had buried 20 and could not stand it any more. My hopelessness turned to ander and then determination. I continued my calls and please for help. Finally I got one person to take two kittens. Then another. Then a woman at the local dollar store donated a few blankets. A man at the hardware store gave me a deal on some tarps to help hide the cats. Then someone left some cat food at my door. I don’t know who. Someone in the neighborhood wanted to help but did not want it known. Then another person living nearby told me they were glad I was helping the cats. I kept calling, placed ads and pleaded for the lives of the cats. I called all over three or four states. Another cat got adopted. I brought cats and kittens in with my cats a few here and there and tamed them. The kittens got homes. A feral rescue group responded finally to my calls and a lady fostered a mom and babies until they got old enough to adopt. Then as I struggled financially to get all the spays/neuter and vet stuff a man paid for a cat to get spayed. Then the vet gave me a small discount. The ones that had been vetted got adopted. The First Lady who took two kittens helped me find homes for two more. The food bill was several hundred a week. 105 cats and kittens were around and cats were mating. Even though some had been saved I felt I wan’t working fast enough. Spays and neuteres has to be done faster. I kept emailing and texting all the same rescue groups over and over but had always gotten the reply,” we ate full, can’t help.” I would hand up in tears. Then I sent out an email stating that I had gotten 24 adopted out but had more in need. I got a reply that there might be a grant that would help with the spay neuteres, to call a certain person. I got the grant money but could not drive that far. I had to hire a driver. I got the first cats there. The woman in charge was frustrated with her situation in the system. We became friendly. I tried to help her and she arranged for spays and neuteres done under the grant to be done at a vet I could drive to. The ball had started to roll. I only have 2 females and three babies left to catch now. The neighbors are behind me and watch the area. No more cats have been tortured. I was only one person in the beginning. I had very little to work with. I have done without everything but survival for myself but I got it started. You have already started it. Your rescue friend is in it too. Find more recruits. Get help. Send info to the schools. If one little girl loves a kitty then one little boy who likes her will be nice to kitties. Get someone to expose them to good things about cats. Get someone to teach them. Get a teacher to come with you to tend the ferals. Let them go back to the kids. Make calls, texts emails. Don’t lose hope. Maybe someone reading this will take a cat you can catch. Relocate them if they are not safe. Get them out. I appeal to anyone reading this who can help to do so. If you know someone near Surya who can help, ask them. This site could be a Kitty rescue force if just a few could help. You can do this Surya. I know you work but there are still ways to save your babies. Keep trying. Everyone here is behind you.

 

[Jcatbird]

I think a little smile is much needed. A little friend invited my into her house today. When she met me at the door I just could not resist the picture. Meet Bright!

Did someone knock?

Who’s there?

Oh! It’s you. Won’t you come in?

Lol Thank you for the smile little Bright!

 

[surya]

Maybe someday you will have your own rescue Jcatbird. I will come build a big catio on your land to keep the kitties safe and bring all my colony cats with me.

 

[Jcatbird]

surya the more the merrier! A great and loving catsite sanctuary!