Shoveling for the Colony Cats

We got a foot of snow dumped on us this week. We shoveled out the cat paths so they have easier access to their shelters and food bowls. Here’s Dash acting coy and enjoying the easy route. Temperatures have also dropped dramatically and the outdoor cats are not eating as much wet food. They don’t show up on schedule anymore for meals. Dash even seems to prefer dry food only for now, so I just keep the outdoor dry food bowls stocked. Hopefully they’re hunkered down in their heated cat houses and don’t want to venture out unless they absolutely have to.

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The Rockstar Colony Gets Another Upgrade

This made my day! I jogged by the Rockstar Colony today and saw they now have an outdoor heated water bowl.

Cats need to stay hydrated and it is hard for them to find fresh water to drink outside. The outdoor heated water bowl is a fantastic solution for the winter. I’ve used one for a few years now for my colony cats. You can also use it to keep wet food from freezing.

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

The Rockstar Colony lost their home a month ago, and the feeder moved away. Another neighbor a few doors away stepped up and is feeding the cats daily and caring for them. They told me that right now only one of the cats is sticking around and using the outdoor cat shelter I gave them, but we think it’s probably because of all the new construction on that street. They also told me they’ve asked the “woman who feeds the birds” to keep an eye out for the cats. I figured out they were talking about the Jose and the Pussycats Colony the next block over. Hopefully the cats will come back once the construction activity dies down.

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When a Colony Cat Gets Adopted from Another Colony

This year I’ve had several cats visit other colony caregivers for food and shelter. Sometimes they stay to establish new colonies, and sometimes they get adopted, like Babalu and Star.

Robert F. Cattedy first showed up in my yard this past June. He was a bold and beautiful tabby, and looked a lot like my cat Mowpa. Mowpa died this past winter and I miss him terribly. I thought for sure I was going to adopted Robbie into my home because he seemed friendly.

Robert F. Cattedy takes over my yard and pays no attention to Dice.

I trapped Robbie right away in a humane Tru-catch trap. He acted fierce and feral and wouldn’t look at me, so I took him for his TNR spa treatment at the clinic.

He never seemed to calm down during his recovery, so I decided to return him outside. He was not destined to be adopted into my home after all.

Robbie came back to visit a few times, but he never let me near him. The James’ Gang Colony cats in my yard did not seem willing to accept him. They had a few stand-offs.

Funny Face faces off with Robbie.

Eventually Robbie stopped visiting.

About a month ago I got an email from another neighbor who told me about a cat visiting her yard. It turns out it was Robert F. Cattedy! I was familiar with her block because I had seen orange cats over there and named her alley the Ginger Colony. She is feeding him, providing him with outdoor shelter, and named him Newt. He is also going in and out of her home. She said he is welcome to stay indoors permanently if he chooses to do so. I knew he was somewhat friendly, and am happy to see he found a home more fitting for him.

This also shows how important it is to network with other neighbors. The cats are fed in other people’s yards, and it’s great to know they are cared for by the whole community. That is part of a successful TNR program.

Dawn says:

April 10, 2014 at 5:09 pm

Can you get Feedburner or something so I can subscribe to get new updates in my email? I dont want to miss any posts, thank you : )

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Vanessa says:

April 11, 2014 at 4:06 pm

Currently we are updating our blog and will look into doing this as well. Thanks so much for your interest!

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Vanessa says:

April 16, 2014 at 9:39 am

We just added the Feedburner link! 🙂

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Thank You for Your Support & Donations to Help Colony Cats!

A feral cat colony caregiver surprised me this week by signing up for scheduled monthly donations for the cats through Paypal.

THANK YOU! If you are interested in donating, there is a Paypal link on the right hand side of this page.

All donations are used to trap-neuter-return and continue to care for the colony cats by providing them food, shelter and medical care when needed. My current project is trying to finish TNR for the Cell Phones Colony. I am hoping they will come out to the baited Tru-Catch traps more readily now that it’s getting colder outside. People tend to forget to feed cats outside during winter because they are staying out of the cold. And the cats are hungrier than ever during these months.

This is how I managed to TNR the Eleanor Rigby Colony. Even during a snowstorm, the cats came out immediately to check out the traps baited with canned fish in oil.

Barbs says:

October 31, 2013 at 11:11 pm

Even $10 a month, while it seems like a pittance, can go a long way. I’ve been looking at “frugal” ways to entice and maintain the ferals, and things like tuna in oil, or sardines, or even the salmon cat food from Aldi, at under $.40 a can, can go a long way, for either trapping or caretaking of TNR ferals. In a perfect world, ALL the kitties would have fresh fish every day! But if the cheap stuff isn’t perfect, it will keep them alive, and their tummies filled. We do the best we can…
If you “think globally, act locally”, you can see that supporting your local TNR folks is a good thing to do!

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The Rockstar Colony Has a New Home!

The caregiver for Kitty Farrell, the tripod cat, read about the Rockstar Colony losing their home. She came by yesterday and dropped off a cat food donation for them! Thank you!

I’m always blown away by how much people care and want to help. By the way, Kitty Farrell is pretty much healed from her hind leg amputation. Today the caregiver is going to start slowly releasing her from the dog crate to see how she will react to being in a bigger room.

The Rockstar Colony is doing well. Their new feeder is feeding about three cats at this point: Pepe, Mama Cass Cat and Cheezburger Cat.

: Pepe le Pew aka Lightning

: Mama Cass Cat

: cheezburger cat

There’s a lot of commotion on their block because of the construction work where their old home used to be. There are already three foundations for new homes put in the ground. I think the rest of the colony migrated permanently towards the Jose and the Pussycats Colony the next block over. We’re not sure where they sleep at night now that they lost their shelter, but I have outdoor cat houses all over the area so hopefully they will figure it out by the time it gets really cold.

The Rockstar Colony’s new feeder also told me all three cats are welcome to stay inside with her! Pepe, now named Lightning because of the white lightning bolt stripe on his front leg, is already taking her up on her offer. It remains to be seen about the other two cats. I’m very excited because I wanted to try to adopt out Pepe Lightning last year since he was so friendly, but the original feeders insisted on keeping all the cats, especially him. It worried me because he was just too friendly for his own good to be outside all the time.

Now Pepe Lightning and his friends gets fed all the time and there’s no confusion about where they belong.

I’ll have what he’s having.

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When an Outdoor Cat Colony Loses Their Home

So, the Rockstar Colony has lost their home. Literally. The owners sold off their three buildings and they’ve all been torn down. There’s just a huge hole in the ground for now.

Last year I finished TNR’ing all seven cats for them. Since then, other neighbors told me two cats have died.

I hope they took Fluffy, their indoor pet cat, with them.

Pepe Le Pew is a super friendly cat from that colony that they would let in and out of their homes but did not want me to adopt him out last year. That is strange, because it appears they left him behind.

Pepe is gorgeous – check out this video I made of him last year.

He came out to show off in front of a sweet ride. He is a true rockstar!

I met another neighbor there a few doors down who is now feeding the Rockstar Colony. She also lets Pepe in and out of her home so he’s in good hands. However, she is willing to adopt him out if anyone is interested in providing him a forever home where he won’t be left behind again.

This is the same woman who was also feeding Babalu, the cat that I brought inside earlier this year. Babalu is currently in Tree House Humane Society’s FIV+ room and is available for adoption.

Mama Cass Cat also came and peeked out at me from the same hosta plant that Babalu used to hang out in. I have no idea what happened to the outdoor cat shelters I made for this colony last year so I dropped a new one off to their new feeder. Pepe came to investigate immediately.

Their new feeder said she was going to make more shelters for them as well.

I’m glad that I don’t have to look into relocation for this colony. Relocation is very difficult and I don’t have the time or resources to attempt it. These cats know the area very well and deserve to continue living here. There are cats living everywhere in this city – it doesn’t make sense to move them from one place to another unless their lives are truly at stake. Relocation should only be done as a last resort.

I’ve had other colonies lose their homes and/or feeders. In those cases other neighbors also stepped up to feed and continue to care for them. People understand that the cats are here through no fault of their own, and appreciate the fact that TNR allows them to live out their lives as they know how, while humanely decreasing the outdoor cat population over all.

Rock on, Rockstar Colony!

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Trapping and Caring for a Colony Cat After Leg Amputation

Kitty Farrell is a TNR’d feral colony cat from the Sprockets Colony who showed up in her caretaker’s yard with her leg dragging behind her the other week. You could see the bone sticking out of her leg. The caretakers decided to use a drop trap ingeniously made out of a larger cage that they would also use for her recovery.

The drop trap went over their cat feeding station, and they drew a chalk line where it would fall. It was easier to see the chalk line from where they were hiding and waiting for the cat. Once Kitty Farrell was well within the chalk line, they pulled the string so that the trap would fall around her, not on her. I love that detail – I never thought about a chalk line before!

They waited and watched from their kitchen window for three hours before they were able to trap Kitty Farrell.

Once Kitty Farrell was trapped, they took her to the vet. Her back leg had an open compound fracture, nerve damage and muscle contracture. They determined the break was clean, as if something very heavy fell on her very fast. At least it did not look like foul play, just a freak accident of some sort. The vet recommended either amputation or euthanasia. The caretaker decided to have the leg amputated because Kitty is a healthy cat besides her injury, and they are bonded. There is a chance that Kitty can stay permanently inside if it works out.

Kitty is now recovering post-surgery in her recovery cage, with food, litter, bed, and a box to snuggle in.

I had the pleasure of visiting her for the first time yesterday. The stitches on her back leg are hard to look at, but they are clean and the surgery was successful. Kitty mostly hung out in her carrier. It is hard to see but she is here with an inflatable protective collar on to prevent her from taking out her stitches.

She will need to recover for at least a week before the stitches can come out, and may need additional care after that. Amputation sounds drastic, and of course it is a major surgery, but it has become more and more common and cats can adapt to living with three legs.

I have never recovered a colony cat like this myself and I have learned so much by meeting Kitty and her caretaker. Kitty Farrell is lucky to be a TNR’d colony cat with a caretaker who is willing to do whatever it takes for her to live out her life. I am so happy to have met them and share their story.

Please keep your fingers crossed for a full recovery and that Kitty can soon be a healthy tripod cat!

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Update on Babalu, the Friendly Cat from the Rockstar Colony

Babalu is now fully vetted and available for adoption. His paw is now bandage-free and almost healed thanks to all of you who shared his story, and the amazing donations from rescue friends Trudy, Mary, Eliya, Doug, Bonnie, Erica, Rob, Ella, Rhodri, Mari, Dorota, Colin and Dawn! Your generosity helped cover more than half of Babalu’s $900 vet bills.

Whenever I bring in a friendly cat from a colony to foster, I get them fixed, vaccinated, tested, and whatever else they need. Babalu was clearly comfortable as soon as I bought him inside. He just wanted me to stay and pet him.

He was also clearly hungry.

Normally the cost is around $80-200 per cat after a couple of visits at Tree House’s vet clinic. In Babalu’s case, though, I also brought him in because back paw looked injured. This photo is as close to his back paw as I could get. He did not want to touch it either. It looked infected and filthy.

At Tree House, Babalu tested FIV+, but other than his paw, he is a healthy cat. They referred him to Dr. Castillo over at North Center Animal Hospital. Dr. Castillo also volunteers his vet services over at Tree House.

Dr. Castillo determined that Babalu would need surgery for the paw. Since Babalu was going to be sedated, he also recommended getting his dental work done. Sedation can be difficult and complicated, so I really wanted to get it done for Babalu all at once to avoid putting him through that again. Your donations made this possible!

Babalu ended up losing just a claw, rather than a toe, thanks to Dr. Castillo’s expertise. His dental work also included getting a few teeth pulled. Regardless, he seemed just fine when I brought him home. He obviously was not pleased with the bandage, but at least he left it on.

In the meantime, Beth and Zac, my amazing, animal-loving, animal-rescuing friends, offered to foster Babalu until he can be adopted or admitted into a no-kill shelter!

Here is Babalu showing off his funny ears and enjoying the ride to Zac and Beth’s house. I’ve never seen a cat enjoy car rides so much, even though all of them so far have only been to the vet.