I called Rita a few weeks ago letting her know that I was coming with another cat food donation for her colony cats and indoor cats. Rita told me she was concerned that one of her colony cats was injured and had blood on her hind legs. She said she has been calling other rescue organizations for help but no one could come.

I brought a trap during her colony feeding time and saw Princess right away. Yes, she clearly had blood all over her hind legs.

It was impossible to tell what happened or speculate. Princess was limping, but still mobile. I set the trap and waited for awhile to no avail because Rita still had fed them anyways. I left the trap with Rita and told her to call me as soon as she got Princess.

Rita called me several days later and said she had coaxed Princess into her house. For some reason Rita waited a few days to call me with this news. At this point I was out of town again for work. My friend Erica was trapping another injured colony cat that we were vetting and I asked her to also get Rita’s cat if possible. In the meantime I told Rita to set up her cat carrier with a blanket and treats in a separate room for Princess to become comfortable with the carrier and create a safe place for her.

Rita did not do those things. When Erica showed up she had a hard time finding Princess in Rita’s apartment. She and her friend moved the furniture in the entire place looking for Princess. Rita was hysterical the whole time. Erica had to calm Rita while trying to get Princess. They finally found Princess hiding in a Rubbermaid cat shelter in the apartment. They lined the trap up to the shelter and somehow Princess went in.

Erica rushed her to our amazing vets at Elmhurst Animal Care Center because she could see something was very, very wrong with Princess’s stomach. It almost looked like her insides were coming out.

Warning, the following photos are graphic. 

The vet quickly determined that Princess had mammary cancer. The tumors were so infected and far gone that they had burst. That is the blood and fluids we saw leaking down on Princess’ legs. She was limping because she also had extreme muscle deterioration. We cannot imagine how long and how much she must have suffered with this. After this quick exam the vet recommended immediately euthanizing her. It was the only humane option.

I want to thank our vets for their expertise and compassion. A huge thank you to Erica for being able to trap Princess sooner than I could get there, and for dealing with such a hard situation in Rita’s house. Most of the time during animal rescue there is also a very real, very human component that is part of the story, as much as we try to focus on the cats. At the same time, I’d like to thank Rita for getting Princess into her house. I think cats know when they are in trouble, and this was Princess’ way of accepting help. Many times feral cats come to us in different ways when they are sick or injured.

I do know Princes had a few good years after her TNR before getting sick like this. She and her other three colony cat friends were bonded and ate every morning at Rita’s front door, with shelters to hide in under her front porch. In fact, Rita said one of the cats kept looking in her window the whole time Princess was in her apartment. I wish we could have gotten to Princess sooner had we known, but I’m glad her end was humane and in a safe environment, rather than dying alone on the street.

Mooksie showed up at his colony with a severely swollen and crumpled right ear a few weeks ago.

He is part of a group of feral cat colonies totaling 30-40 TNR’d cats that Jennie K. cares for in the West Humboldt Park area of Chicago. I bring cat and dog food to Jennie when I have it, because along with the colony cats, she also cares for 11 rescue cats and one dog in her home. Jennie lives on a fixed income and is on disability. She can hardly keep up with feeding, let alone vet care!

My rescue friend Erica was able to trap Mooksie with Jennie’s help, and rushed him to our amazing vets at Elmhurst Animal Care Center. There they determined he had an ear hematoma that required surgery.

Hematomas are extremely painful initially for the cat, and are caused by trauma to the ear. They quickly can become infected and require extensive surgery. They do not heal on their own.

Mooksie went under anesthesia and the vet drained his ear. They used dissolvable sutures with a small opening left in it so that the ear could continue to drain on its own. We asked for dissolvable sutures so that we would not have to re-trap him for removal later. Mooksie required a catheter during surgery, antibiotics (convenia) for the infection, full ear cleaning and oti-pack ear cleaning solution, and intravenous fluids. He was also required to be hospitalized in intensive care.

His total vet bill came out to $531.30 We did not realize how extensive and expensive ear hematomas can be! Ear problems are pretty common for colony cats. If you’d like to make a donation to help cover his care and to continue to feed his colony, you can do so at the donate link at the top of this page, or through PayPal at [email protected]

I returned Mooksie back to Jennie and his colony after a few days of observation and rest. His ear will be permanently folded over, but it looked really good and completely healed.

I took the opportunity to also bring more cat and dog food to Jennie. I made sure Mooksie helped!

He was VERY happy to be returned to his colony, and so was his bonded friend, Bootsie! She came right out to greet him at their feeding station. It was as if she was waiting for him! Jennie said she seemed to be frantic all week missing him. She thinks they are litter mates as they look exactly alike.

Then they started chasing each other.

The cats all live in this abandoned building and are fed by Jennie daily.

They easily access the building through this broken window.

See?

A big thanks to Erica and Jim for trapping and transporting Mooksie, to Jennie for caring for this colony, to our vets for healing these cats, and to all of you who continue to donate towards their care! This couldn’t be done without all of you.

Mama, a cat from Kristina’s colony, had an infection in her mouth this winter. She was eating only with one side of her mouth and had fluids coming out.

Kristina tried giving her antibiotics which seemed to help, but then last week Mama became lethargic and stopped eating.

She was so weak that Kristina was able to scoop her up into a cat carrier and took her straight to our amazing vets at Elmhurst Animal Care Center.

Mama was thin, dehydrated and anemic. They noted she had “severe dental disease, with near-universal root exposure. Large amount of foul-smelling exudate packed around teeth.” They also found a “pink, fleshy, moveable mass under right side of her tongue.”

They gave her a dental and pulled TEN teeth. She was given antibiotics, pain meds and fluids.

We are currently waiting for biopsy results for the mass under her tongue. Mama’s vet bill so far is $246.00 We are always committed to giving every colony cat full medical care as needed. If you’d like to make a donation towards Mama’s care, you can do so with your credit card at the PayPal donation link at the top right of this page to [email protected]

After her vet visit, Kristina took Mama home to recover from her dental. She is now inside and can roam in her basement, because she is used to waiting by Kristina’s basement door for food.

Mama continued to refuse to eat. I went to go visit with a variety of cat food to try, as well as Gerber chicken baby food. I couldn’t get a good photo of Mama because she is feral and ran from me, but after I left Kristina told me that Mama ate the baby food!

Kristina cares for about five TNR’d cats in her yard, and two other colonies a few blocks away. Mama was TNR’d nine years ago, so she’s led a good long life so far.

Mama and the other cats live in this amazing outdoor cat house in their yard, next to their garage. I gave Kristina a wood shelter years ago, and Kristina’s boyfriend Matt built it up into this much bigger space, encased with a tarp for warmth.

The inside of this shelter is insulated.

With heating lamps.

The black cat in these photos is Mama’s colony friend, Spot. He made sure to show me all around their yard.

We don’t know what to expect yet with Mama, but we are hoping for the best. She will get the best care we can provide. Please send healing thoughts her way!

Norman Edwards was trapped in a large TNR project in the Dunning area of Chicago in January. He was taken to a low cost clinic for the basic TNR services for a feral cat, but he’s friendly.

So Kim V. agreed to foster him in her home. He is quite the handsome long-haired black cat. Norman acted pretty friendly, but hesitant about his surroundings. We’re not sure if he ever was a fully indoor pet cat. PAWS Chicago agreed to take a look at him for admission into their adoption program.

During his exam there, it was noted that he had a possible wound and missing fur on his back, near his tail. And that he badly needed a dental. PAWS offered to do his dental at no charge to us, but there was a wait time of over a month because their shelter is currently backed up.

Kim decided not to wait because she didn’t want to keep Norman longer in a cage than was necessary, and it did seem like he was in pain. As I said, he was friendly, but wasn’t quite coming out of his shell.

Kim took him to our wonderful vets at Elmhurst Animal Care Center. They noted that he was missing several upper and lower incisors. His mouth must have really been bothering him! They gave him a full dental.

As for the wound on his back, they thought it may be from scratching from fleas, and possible infection. Norman went home with antibiotics to help clear it up.

Kim said that a day or two after this visit, Norman was acting like a new cat. He HATES being given Clavamox, but his energy level and activity is now through the roof. He plays with other cats and wants to be pet and handled. His new intake appointment at PAWS is now on March 17th after his antibiotic treatment is done.

His total vet bill was $105.40, which Kim took care of herself. If you’d like to make a donation towards his care for me to repay her, you can do so at the PayPal donation button at the top right of this page.

Felix was found sick in an alley by some kind volunteers on the near north side of Chicago last fall and brought to PAWS’ clinic to be neutered.

He was covered in itchy scabs from a flea allergy, dehydrated, and in need of a dental that was inflaming his gums and causing swollen glands and a fever. My TNR friend, Erica R., found a foster for him during his long recovery period and multiple vet visits.

He’s a super sweet, handsome orange tabby cat, just 1-2 years old.

The last vetting Felix needed was his dental, and we were happy to help. Erica took him to our vet, Elmhurst Animal Care Center. He stayed overnight on some antibiotics for infection. The next day he got his dental. The total cost was $88. We are forever grateful for Elmhurst’s fantastic care. We couldn’t do this without them, as well as all of our donors who continue to help us help more cats like Felix!

Felix is now available for adoption at the Petco on Belmont and Western in Chicago. His most recent foster described him as quiet, loving and sweet. He gets along with dogs and other cats. He’s inquisitive and playful. We know he will be adopted very soon!