Friend of Ferals Award Badge - Apply Here

Kulekhatt

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Hi, took in a 3-4 year old feral yesterday. We caught her and had her spayed about a year ago, she had a kitten with her that we had spayed too. Anyway, the kitten went missing so the Mama seemed lonely. She very gradually warmed up to me, so I decided to bring her inside. Hoping to get her acclimated to our home. I love this site it’s been so helpful!

She’s very scared today! Poor thing...
 

4theloveofcats

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Been helping ferals for 20 years or so. Have created winter shelters and fed them and (tried to) educate neighbors on their value. It is an uphill battle and I'm always hard on myself, but dang nabbit, I really am a friend of ferals because I would feed them over buying stuff for myself!
Badge please.
 

margecat

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Do buzzards count? I'd like a Buzzard Badge, please. :lol:

I started caring for a colony of about 20 feral CATS (had to say that!) over a month ago. They are also being cared for by 2 other people, but they only can afford to feed them dry food. I always add lots of canned food to the dish, and usually cook them meat to mix in with it, and bring them water (and hot water in very cold weather, to melt the ice in their bowl). I feed them nearly every day, and a couple of them know my car when I pull into the parking lot, and have started letting me pet them. I love what I do, even though I wish I had no need to do so...

And yes, the team knows about the buzzards that I also feed with the cats. They eat together! :biggrin:
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
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margecat margecat Badge awarded!

The buzzards must really appreciate the food, too. There are a lot of crows, ravens, and magpies that congregate outside the shelter every morning and evening to mooch a meal. We joke that at least the donated Whiskas canned food doesn't go to waste. The cats aren't crazy about it, but the birds love it.
 

ultranerdcat

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There are unfortunately many ferals in the woods where I live. I go out daily before work and fill up 30 feeding stations with fresh food and water. I have several housing options for them littered throughout the woods behind my house. I've learned who is older and who is younger and attempt to cater to their individual needs (and example is there's this really old boy who absolutely hates soft bedding so I have a special little house with hard but weather friendly flooring that I had my stepfather build and it sits where he hangs out most of the time. So far I've only ever seen him in it.

I trap them and get them vetted and spay/neutered when I have the money. My area is not friendly to cats and the vets don't offer any sort of discount for strays/ferals so I have to save before taking them in.

They don't let me anywhere near them but I love watching how happy they are once they realize they aren't going to starve or freeze to death.

The possums and foxes have even learned exactly what time I feed the cats and come steal food as I am filling stations. Lol. The cats don't seem to mind so I let them be.
 

Ladysnuggable

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I have been rescuing, socializing and homing feral kittens for about a year. One had to have a whole leg amputation due to being hit by a car. Right now we're trying to tame an older kitten about 3-4 months old. hes been the most difficult hasn't left the carrier yet sept when were not around. but with time he'll become a good house kitten!
 

houseofnine

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If you help feral cats on a regular basis, whether by managing a colony, involvement in TNR operations or advocating for feral cats in your community, we'd like to award you this badge -


To get your badge, please post to this thread and let us know how you help feral cats! The badge links back to this page, so you'll be helping us spread the word about helping feral cats.

Not sure what this is all about? Please check out these resources and see how you can help us help ferals!
Hi Anne, Not totally sure if I qualify, but I have taken in 10 ferals since 2013, raised and socialized 7 feral-born kittens, and do my very best to give good advice on this blog and promote the cause of TNR (often not recommending the "R" part). Also help to promote the causes of a couple of small rescues that good friends operate. I hope I qualify. Thank you so much.
 

Norachan

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Hi Anne, Not totally sure if I qualify, but I have taken in 10 ferals since 2013, raised and socialized 7 feral-born kittens, and do my very best to give good advice on this blog and promote the cause of TNR (often not recommending the "R" part). Also help to promote the causes of a couple of small rescues that good friends operate. I hope I qualify. Thank you so much.
You certainly do qualify!

:thumbsup:

Badge awarded.
 

kmbishop111

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I'm so glad I have found this site! I have 4 colonies of ferals totaling 40 lovely kitties! I have been managing the colonies for a minute now and practice TNR and advocate every chance of every day I get! Just settling into the site, their is SO much useful information I'm sure I will be binge reading for hours! Kris
 

Norachan

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I'm so glad I have found this site! I have 4 colonies of ferals totaling 40 lovely kitties! I have been managing the colonies for a minute now and practice TNR and advocate every chance of every day I get! Just settling into the site, their is SO much useful information I'm sure I will be binge reading for hours! Kris
I've just seen your thread with all the pictures in one of our other forums.

I Think I May Have Found My People....

Thank you for taking such good care of all those cats.

Badge awarded.
 

jcat

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Please note: If you wish to nominate another member for the Friends of Ferals badge, please do so by PMing a moderator, rather than posting in the thread.

It's crucial that feral cats be neutered in order not to contribute to the problem of overpopulation and the hardship these cats face. This article gives very important pointers on how to help:
9 Practical Ways For You To Help Feral Cats

TNR stands for trap-neuter-return. It's the only humane way to manage a colony of feral cats. As the name implies, it involves humanely trapping each cat, spaying or neutering, and then returning the cat to its original territory. TNR has many benefits and without it, generations of feral kittens perish in agony in each colony.
What you should do is take care of neutering any cat that you feed. Feeding and not neutering is nothing short of cruel. You mean well, but in this case, it is the proverbial road to hell that is paved with good intentions. The cats will breed. The cats will also get sick and injured due to mating-related catfights. Within a few months, you're going to be way out of your depth and you'll end up abandoning the cats as you won't be able to afford that many and they will likely die of disease and starvation.
 

kurocatlady

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I moved into a new housing estate 2 years ago that had many strays. I befriended them, playing and feeding them. Then neighbours on our facebook group complained about the large number of strays and even wanted to report them to the authorities. The cats would be captured and culled if there are many complaints about too many unsterilised cats around. Yikes! I can't believe there are people who want this to happen. Monsters.

Anyway. I assured them that I'd get in touch with our local animal support group to control the population. So I did that, and around the same period, I was also lucky to get to know some fellow cat lovers in the neighbourhood who also had the same mentality. We worked together to feed, lure and trap the cats and take them to the vet.


Once, this poor girl sustained a pretty bad injury which was filled with pus. We sent her to the vet too, and managed to raise money among our neighbours to pay for the vet and boarding fees. She has since made a full recovery.

I've just started a topic in the pictures board on here but haven't posted many yet.

Caring for strays really is a lot of work. It costs money and time to feed them. Worst is once in awhile, some unkind person comes along and chastises me for feeding them and dirtying the place, although I place all food on paper plates and containers and clean up any mess that has been made. Neutering cats is subsidised, but boarding and transporting the cats to the vet are costly. I lead a simple life and have a job that sustains me fine, but sometimes I wish I had more income for the cats. The worst however, is probably the emotional toil. I worry about the welfare of the cats all the time, especially when they don't turn up for food.

Nevertheless, I take heart from the fact that I'm improving the lives of the strays and making them feel loved and well-fed. Their affectionate rubs and belly rolls are the best rewards for me. My parents love the cats too, and they help me out with the feeding, so I'm really glad. I think cat feeding has helped encourage them to exercise, and helped us bond in more ways.

I hope I can qualify as Friend of Ferals, which I consider to be an honour. I look up to all the other cat caregivers, many who are so inspiring with all the work they have done for their cats!
 
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FriendofFerals

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I'm super brand new to this site but I just saw this thread....I care for one feral in my neighborhood who I've been feeding/watering for 6 years. He is an older kitty with many battle scars and he used to have very sad eyes but they are happier now. He waits for me in the morning and at night to feed him, and has only let me touch his head once while eating. I also care for 6 ferals at a horse farm. Two are Human Society barn cat transplants (Orange Julius and Tidbit), then there is a random brown tabby feral Mickey who showed up one day, and three grey tabby kittens from the same litter who were dumped there a year ago. All are neutered and I feed dry/wet food and water every day. They all come running to the sound of my truck, and over the last 2 years I have been able to pet (while eating) all of them except Tidbit, who is a hard core feral. Even Julius will allow a light pet on the back while I sit with them while they eat. Mickey went from running when you look at him to allowing me to scratch him on the head while eating, and the three kittens have responded even more.

Bingo is the lead kitten and he has been so brave that now a year later I have been able to pet, scratch, and even pick him up...and rub his belly.

Leelah, his sister, has allowed me to pet her, scratch her on the head and under the chin, but not pick her up at all.

Punkin, the runt, missed out on a lot of meals in the beginning because he was to scared to approach the group even with me not here. Now, he comes with the others and within the last month I've been able to pet him, scratch him on the head, but eye contact still makes him run.

I just love these kitties, and can't wait to spend some time with them every day. Julius is the leader and watches while everyone else eats, and always eats last. The kittens come to him and head butt and he licks them like the Daddy Cat. He always watches when I'm trying to handle the kittens to make sure they are OK. All of them seem to know their names, even Julius and Tidbit.

I had to go our of town on company training for the longest time ever (2 weeks) and I paid 3 people to take care of them to make sure they had food for the 14 days, including Squeak, the feral back at my house.

I have one big fat 20# Maine Coon (not feral) I adopted from Pet Supermarket in 2012 named Romeo who is an indoor cat (came declawed) and "Church" a tame cat who was abandoned and brought to the farm after a horse owner saw someone throw him out of a car in a cat carrier at night in the rain. He was called that by someone because he had neurological problems from starvation and acted crazy like the cat named Church in the Pet Semetary movie. He weighed around 1 LB and they brought him to the farm not knowing what else to do. It took 2 years to get him healthy enough to neuter him. He has a broken jaw from being thrown from the car and it impinged on his nasal cavity so he can only smell out one nostril so only stinky food works. He has cataracts from being starved as a kitten and is a bit cross-eyed, but we discovered after his hair grew back in that he's actually a Nebelung, most likely Angora and Russian Blue from the length and texture of his fur. He evacuated with me and Romeo during the hurricane last year and when the storm passed he never went back to the farm because Romeo loved him so much.

So I help adopted cats, abandoned tame cats and ferals too. I de-worm when able, feed the best I can afford and in return *some* of them have blessed me with a pet, a scratch, a head butt, a finger chew, or just a slow blink but it's all worth it. ;)
 
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