Feline Family from the Hoarder Drug House
The hoarder drug house has been evicted and boarded up for almost two months now. TNR is still needed to be done there.
A top floor attic window has been left open the entire time, but it’s impossible to know if all of the cats can get in and out of it, or if there are any cats left inside. A neighbor said she saw an emaciated cat crawl out the other day. Another neighbor found an unknown cat in her home in the middle of the night. I’ve trapped two new cats in other locations nearby since the eviction. I believe these cats scattered throughout our neighborhood. This is how the outdoor cat colony population gets outs of control fast, and TNR, Trap-Neuter-Return, with continuing care, is the only humane solution for the unsocialized cats. We’ve worked very hard for years to stabilize the outdoor cat population here – we are not going to let it get out of control again. Currently in Chicago there is little help for these cats, other than the community and neighbors coming together and getting it done themselves.
Last week a rescue neighbor, Ellen, trapped a mama cat outside there and her three kittens with the help of other neighbors on the block. They first trapped the mama cat, Dollie. Dollie was taken to the clinic and during her TNR surgery, the clinic told Ellen she was lactating. Neighbors told her they heard kittens screaming in the alley, so Ellen obviously knew Dollie was the mother and they had to go back for the kittens.
She trapped one kitten right away and reunited her with Dollie. These are all photos that Ellen took of this feline family.
Ellen came back the next two days to get the other kittens who were now screaming from a garage. With the help of neighbors, they contacted the owner of the garage who opened it up. There were actually two kittens there. They managed to corner the kittens and scooped them up with towels. One kitten was cold, and the garage owner rushed him to the emergency room, but the kitten died.
The two other kittens, Tammy and Parson, are about 4-5 weeks old. This means that Dollie was pregnant when the house was evicted, and had her litter in the garage, which she probably thought was a safe place. She probably could not have gone in and out of that attic window while pregnant. Dollie is very friendly, and the kittens are young enough that they are already socialized. They are all crated safely inside Ellen’s home, and the entire family will be admitted to Felines & Canines soon.
