Ivy while living outdoors.
The organization Alley Cat Allies is sponsoring this day to honor and help feral cats. Without the information and kindness of this group all of my cats would not be healthy, alive and safe with me today.
Many of you have heard this story before so I will make a long story short - when we bought our farmhouse in the mountains of North Carolina ten years ago, we inherited a rag tag group of mostly black cats who lived in the woods on the back property line. Some neighbors put food out for them but they were not spayed nor given any medical care.
Joey as a young feral on the well house.
My local animal shelter felt that ferals should be euthanized since they did not have quality lives without humans to care for them and interact with them. Outraged at their mentality I went online to seek a better solution. I found Alley Cat Allies and called them. They were very helpful personally and emailed me much info on how to trap, neuter and release and even how to tame the ferals.
The veterinarian in the neighborhood did the spay/neuter for the local shelter but disagreed with their train of thought. Barbara was more than willing to help me spay all the cats and did it for as little as $20 per cat! Over the years I have neutered more than 25 cats - some released back out to live their lives, others came inside to live with us. When we moved out of the high mountains last year, we took all the remaining cats with us rather than leave them behind to fend for themselves. We asked our neighbors but no one wanted the responsibility of caring for them so it was up to us.
The new cat shelter in our new home.
They are my joy and actually keep me going on days when I might not be able to get up out of bed! They give so much back in love, silliness, comfort and just being able to share my home with such regal creatures!
Lily, mother of all the white cats (my second feral group) and one of her babies.
Please help out the ferals of our country by donating money, time or skills to this or any other organization that cares for ferals, offers TNR programs and teaches others to let these wonderful cats live out their lives in health and safety while living outdoors!
8 comments:
We know, and we hope you know, that you are an angel to those cats. And, we want you to know that our momma thinks you are a saint.
Fabulous post, Cheri! Thank you and your husband so much for taking care of all those kitties, and for the example you've set by doing so. Happy National Feral Cat Day!
Wonderful post! Happy National Feral Cat Day to you!!! Thank goodness for Alley Cat Allies!
You are so great to have relocated the colony to your new home. We just had to find homes for a colony of 12 that was abandoned when their caretakers moved out of the state, leaving them behind. All but 2 have been trapped and relocated to outdoor homes and barns.
You are a living angel!! What you have done for these kitties is priceless! We wish more people would understand that feral cats are not bad and through TNR, can live wonderful lives!!
What a fantastic post! And that CAT HOUSE! WOW! Looks furry luxurious!!! A B~I~G Kudos to you all!!!
It is so wonderful how you have helped those kitties. And that shelter looks fabulous!
Harley was borned to a feral mamacat who was spayed and released right after he was borned. We often wonder how she is doing.
Thanks for taking care of your kitties with so much love! And the new cat shelter looks great! Perhaps you could do a post on how you use the shelter - how you set it up inside and all.
http://homelesscatcare.blogspot.com/
Anyone else reading this - please visit my blog about a colony of abandoned/feral cats near my home. There will be stories there as time goes on that could inspire and inform anyone you know who is helping or plans to help homeless cats anywhere.
Thank you,
Debby
Talk to Your Angels
http://www.YourAngelSpeaks.com
Your depth of caring knows no bounds! Thanks heavens for people like you. Of course, it's hard for you to care for all these sweet animals without the help of some like-minded supporters. Kudos to them, as well.
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