Update on Vito

Remember we were all worried about Vito the other day? It turns out he has made a full recovery because the mass on his jaw was actually an infection. Antibiotics took care of it.

Catnip makes him smile.

Vito won’t drop it like it’s hot anytime soon.

Vito is a former feral colony cat that was trapped-neutered-returned TNR’ed to the V Colony. Then he was adopted by my friends because he was so friendly. He shares this home with two other rescue cats: Sparkles was adopted from Chicago Animal Care and Control and Belial was adopted from the kitten room at PAWS Chicago.

Now Vito says to get off the computer and go enjoy the weekend!

Stop working!

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Careful! It’s a Tru-Catch Trap!

I have amazing, generous, wildly creative friends. Last month one of my bands, noise&light, played a Halloween show at Klas restuarant. My friend from my other band, The Columbines, is the mastermind behind this annual event. This year she organized performances from a dozen bands, delicious Czech food courtesy of Klas, a raffle for some amazing eclectic prizes, and a costume contest. Then she donated half of the proceeds to her charity of choice, Women for Women International, and the other half to help out the cats for TNR!

So far I used this donation to purchase four Tru-Catch traps. These small animal traps are preferred among feral cat trappers for Trap-Neuter-Return TNR projects. This humane trap seems to work best for me when trapping an outdoor feral cat colony, and I can fit four of these in my catty wagon when I take them to spay/neuter clinics.

Mooha approves.

If I can’t get in the box, at least I can sit on top of it.

Mooha is one of my senior indoor cats from La Casa de Vansassa. She is the first to get into everything.

Here’s a Tru-Catch trap in action with the Iron Works Colony.

Hey! He pushed me!

Here’s another look at the traps exposed and baited with food. This is the Eleanor Rigby Colony that I first TNR’ed in 2008. When the colony is hungry, the cats will go in safely without getting hurt.

Project TNR: One day they’re in, and the next day they’re out.

I already have some TNR projects scheduled next month to start using these traps and help get more community cats spayed and neutered.

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Get Well, Vito!

Vito is a former outdoor colony cat from the V Colony. When my friend from the Chicagoland Stray Cat Coalition was trapping there in 2011, she noticed how friendly Vito was right away. She TNReturn’ed him at first, but then he kept jumping into her car when she would come back to try and trap some more. I agreed to foster him.

Vito did not stay in my house long. As soon as my friends and band mates from The Columbines saw him, they pretty much took him into their home. Recently Vito has been acting funny, so they took him to the vet where they discovered a mass in his jaw. If you look closely you can kind of tell here. It’s on the right side.

Vito on his favorite cat ledge.

A mass can either be benign or cancer. Please keep your fingers crossed that the test results come back negative!

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It Takes a Feral Villa

I’ve actually kept up with my new running regime this year. This Chicago winter was probably the best winter ever to start. We have had nothing but great weather, and it is amazing to enjoy the spring now in full bloom. Even the sidewalks look pretty.

Thank you! You look pretty good yourself.

The hardest thing about running in my area is, um, staying on track, so to speak, because I keep getting sidetracked by cat sightings, and meeting other neighbors who are also trying to help the cats. A few weeks ago I actually saw a homemade feral villa on a neighbor’s front porch.


It’s perfect! Does this person TNR, or have feral cats in their yard? I found out yesterday when I ran by and she was sitting on her stoop reading to her kids. It turns out this neighbor used to have a feral kitten living on their block, but the kitten didn’t make it through the winter. Since then she has not seen many more cats but they kept the villa just in case. I’m so happy to have found one more neighbor that wants to help the cats in their yard.

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V Colony Sighting

Last year my friend and Master Trapper Meg from the Chicagoland Stray Cat Coalition TNR’ed a colony of cats just one alley over from my house and named the cats all “V” names after me: Vincennes, Varg, Voltaire, Vanna, Veum, Valiant, Vagabond, Vassily, and Velcro. I admire her creativity and commitment, and she moved on to other names, because asides from those nine cats, she trapped ELEVEN more from that alley.

Two weeks ago I discovered who was feeding and helping these cats. Kari, the TNR Trap-Neuter-Return Coordinator from Tree House Humane Society, and I got to see these cats in their yard.

Twins!

About half of these cats are eartipped. They are obviously well cared for, have shelter under the porch, and are very comfortable cats in their yard. Kari and I are going there tonight to trap the ones that still need their Feral Cat Complete Care Package of vaccinations, parasite treatment, cleaning, and spay/neuter surgery. It’ll probably take a few tries, but I want to make sure that ALL of the cats will be eartipped in the next group photo.

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Hail Caesar

This is Caesar.

Hey ladies, check out my eartip.

He’s from a colony of outdoor feral cats that a woman has been feeding in Humboldt Park for a decade. She used to live there, and then moved out of the neighborhood, but travels back a few times a week to feed. She calls shelters periodically to take the kittens and friendly cats. She called enough times that Tree House Humane Society realized that she was feeding without doing TNR, which would expedite breeding even more. The problem is being solved now. Over 15 cats have been TNR’ed now from that colony. This woman is no longer a feeder – she is now a caretaker of a cat colony managed properly through TNR.

Caesar is so friendly that when I came to pick him up at the clinic, I was able to drop him into a carrier immediately. I have terrible technique handling cats – if they don’t want to go into a carrier or a room or wherever, I don’t know how to make them. There are scruffing techniques, etc, but I usually leave that to other people.

Caesar is also FIV+. This is not surprising as he is an outdoor tom cat who fights for food and mates. FIV, feline immunodeficiency virus, can be transmitted from cat to cat through deep bite wounds, and fighting cats like to bite each other on their haunches. FIV is not a death sentence. FIV+ cats can live a long life, especially if they are well-cared for.

Caesar is now admitted to PAWS Chicago, which has an FIV+ feline adoption room. If you want to learn more on how to adopt out cats like Caesar, check out PAWS’ adoption page. The cats that are FIV+ or have other special needs are marked with a red heart. Chicago is lucky to have an organization like PAWS to adopt out these cats.

Carlin Reed says:
March 16, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Absolutely. Percy is FIV+ and has been with us for over 13 years now.

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Vanessa says:
March 17, 2012 at 4:50 pm

Percy is a great cat!

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Winter Care for Cats in MY Yard

Cats in my yard are well-fed, warm and TNR'ed.

We’ve had a mild winter, but last night the temperatures dropped along with a bit of snow. For the past year there are three cats in my yard that have formed a feral cat colony, which I call the James’ Gang Colony. Feral cats grow winter coats to help them withstand cold temperatures, and then caretakers can help them out more by providing food and shelter. Dice came right out to feed this morning. I TNR’ed Dice three years ago and he looks great. He used to roam alone, but now he’s part of the James’ Gang. Dice is feeding from the heated water bowl I use for their wet food. The low heat will eventually dry out wet food, but the cats usually don’t leave leftovers. Lamb is coming out of the cat hotel we built for them. This outdoor cat shelter is lined with foam insulation board and straw for bedding. The piece of plywood leaning against the house is their feeding station, where I keep bowls of dry food. It offers some protection from wind and snow.

Erica says:
April 5, 2012 at 4:08 pm

This is excellent caretaking!! Clever!

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Vanessa says:
April 6, 2012 at 7:29 am

Thanks for the kind words. The feral cats have it pretty good in my yard.

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Welcome to Cats In My Yard

Cats In My Yard promotes TNR: Trap-Neuter-Return, the most effective, humane way to control the feral and stray cat overpopulation. Outdoor cats are trapped in humane traps, brought into Chicago’s low-cost clinics for spay/neuter surgeries, and then the ear-tipped cats are returned back to where they are living in colonies that are fed and cared for.

Cats In My Yard has been TNR’ing cats since 2004, and is a registered Colony Caretaker in compliance with the 2007 Cook County Managed Care of Feral Cats Ordinance [07-O-72]. Cats In My Yard shows neighbors how to TNR and care for cats in their own yards.

TNR Cats

Our 2015 TNR Case Study

A total of 183 cats were TNR’d within one square mile since 2007. 51 of those cats remain outside here at 20 colony sites where they are fed and sheltered. Outdoor cat population decreased at all of the locations!

TNR Cats

Our 2014 TNR Case Study

A total of 177 cats were TNR’d within one square mile since 2007. 59 of those cats remain outside here at 20 colony sites where they are fed and sheltered. Outdoor cat population decreased at 18 of those locations.