And so we come to the end

I want to thank you for reading my blog and following my on my journey caring for feral cats.  Although my story isn't done, and I still have many cats to take care of, I've decided that this is the end of this blog, it had a beginning and now it has an ending, there is no more Cherry Street colony.  We stopped by yesterday and everything is gone, it's a construction site now, I'm profoundly grateful that the remaining five have found great retirement homes.  It was an intense ten years, we had 20+ cats at one point in the colony, I got involved in trapping and rescue and have probably helped close to 1000 cats.  So many people have helped and supported me and I thank you all!

Thanksgiving kittens!

With the Cherry St colony gone I wasn't sure if I would continue this blog.  I started it to show the lives of feral cats and my journey taking care of them along the way.  In the nine plus years at Cherry Street we did it all, spayed and neutered them, rescued the kittens, lost many of them, fed day in and day out on every holiday and in all weather.  Now the last five are safe inside, but there are still many homeless cats needing help.

My first blog entry was Thanksgiving Day 2009 when I was catching Tibb's kittens, so it seems fitting to be able to post on this Thanksgiving that I was out catching kittens again, this time at a backyard colony near Dufferin and the Allen.  We've been working on it since last year, but so far only got the kittens.  Today we got the latest kittens and the mom!  I am grateful that she won't have more litters and that these gorgeous kittens will get homes!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Some updates after a long break

I apologize for my lack of posts, the last month I've just been catsitting, I haven't had a day off since sometime in June!  Thankfully things are calming down now.  Susan went away for a week so I got to feed my buddies Pseudo and MC, they are both getting braver, Pseudo stayed out when I came in, he's enjoying his soft bed to lie on.

Sophie the tortie has been doing really well at Isabel's, she is so not feral, she is still shy with strangers but sleeps with Isabel!  How nice is that!  We are just about to do her bio to put her up for adoption.  So lots of cats won't be subject to the cold winter winds down by the lake, although after the summer we've had that sounds pretty refreshing LOL.  I'm actually happy it's September!

Happy inside

Our gang is all adjusting to being inside!  Pseudo and MC have made themselves at home, sleeping on cat trees and soft beds, enjoying not fighting for food and water with raccoons.  

 Stubby is with Vinyse and Derek, and although still shy with them, has a very active nighttime life playing with toys.

Verena set up a cat solarium for her two, so far Lily is monopolizing it, she gets to look out at the back garden but no longer has to dodge dumpsters and trucks.  I think as far as retirements go the cats are doing pretty darn well!  It feels odd just driving by and not stopping to feed but I will be catsitting this weekend at Susan's so I will get to feed MC and Pseudo!

No more cats on Cherry Street

It's been an emotional few days for me, on Friday we easily caught Pseudo, and with that, we have closed down the colony.  Of course I have other colonies I feed at, but I've been feeding the Cherry St gang for over nine years, multiple times a week, and I swore to them I would see them through to the end, it just isn't the end I expected.  Six of them are now safe inside after all these years.  I believe they will all adjust to varying degrees.  I will miss seeing them all excited for their meal when we arrive.  I always felt good about it, hard to imagine now that there was once dozens of cats running around the location.  I shed some tears for sure and the weekend was so strange just driving by.  I have to say that I am profoundly tired, but lots of catsitting to do, more kittens and cats to trap....

In luck!

Well thanks to the amazing box trap I was able to trap MC yesterday and Jet today!  Just Pseudo to catch hopefully tomorrow, I don't like that he's all alone there....

Locked and loaded - and out of luck

It's time for phase three, the trailer cats room is ready so I loaded up the car yesterday, I had set up the drop trap prior and optimistically hoped all three cats would go under.  Well no such luck, only Pseudo went under, and he is the easy one to get so I don't want to get him first.  MC and Jet wouldn't go near, sigh.  I thought this would be the easier group.  Back at it with the box trap...

MC desperately needs a shave, she has a mat hanging off her that is like an entire other appendage.

Stubby, Lily and Tibbs are adjusting in varying degrees to living inside.  They are more active at night, lots of videos of them playing with toys which is adorable.  You can follow Stubby on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/stubbytales/

Meet the floofs

Look at these two kittens that were rescued the other day from a yard in Scarborough!!!  One more to catch and a few adults.  Hard to believe they were born outside...

Marching on

I took Lily and Tibbs to their new home last week, they of course were scared but thanks to the webcam Verena can see what they are doing.  Lily looks pretty relaxed, poor Tibbs hides a lot but that was to be expected, it's a huge adjustment for them.  Josh is going to build them a catio so that will be amazing for them.  Three more cats to trap, it's so strange feeding there now, from a high of 21 cats just six years ago to this, and soon it will be none.  I know it had to happen eventually but it's all so sudden, and I still have the worry and responsibility of hoping they will be happy inside.  I swore to this group of cats that I would care for them to the end of their days.  I have other community cats I feed but it's different, these cats are like a first love.  Last weekend we kept walking back to the dumpster even though there aren't cats there any more but yesterday I decided it was time and packed up all the shelters.

We still managed to find time last week to do some TNR before the heat wave, finally caught two more females at Larry's and also got a few males from various locations too.

Phase two of the colony shutdown

This week I decided it was time to trap Lily and Minky, since the dumpster area is chaotic and they had a home to go to with Verena.  I tried Tuesday evening using my plexiglass and wood box trap.  It's been set up there for ages and since it isn't metal doesn't look or sound like a trap.  

Totally to my surprise Tibbs went in, but I didn't have a plan for her so I just let her eat.  No luck with Lily and Minky though, I wanted to trap them together or at least Minky first as I thought she would be tricky to get.

I returned on Wednesday with Michelle, and we set it up, and Tibbs went right in again sigh.  Then we moved our cars hoping the cats would think we had left and snuck back.  Next thing we knew Lily was going in and then Minky with her!  I pulled the string, the door came down and we had them!  Such an emotional moment.

 Off I drove to the vet with them.  The next day was a nail biter, waiting to hear about them.  Lily checked out just fine, she already had all her teeth removed previously.  Minky unfortunately wasn't the same, she had multiple health issues, I can't say I was surprised, she was looking very rough lately and we suspected she might be close to 14.  Heartbreakingly we decided it was best to let her cross the rainbow bridge.  RIP sweet Minky, I like to think she is running free in a meadow somewhere with her other BFFs, Socks and Clyde, who passed on before.  It is the harsh and sad reality of dealing with cats who have lived outdoors their entire lives.

When that door closed though one opened for Tibbs.  Verena had so kindly offered to take two cats so she agreed to open her heart and home to Lily and now Tibbs as well.  I quickly went down and within minutes Tibbs went in the box trap.  I thought I would never be able to catch her, she was only trapped in 2009 with her kittens, you can read about that in one my very first blog postings.  Tibbs is pretty feral so we are hoping she will adjust to being inside.  So far all looks good with her, most of her teeth have fall out, just waiting on bloodwork.

I've been kind of in shock the last day or two, it's all happening so fast, and now our colony has gone from seven to three, and I'm relieved but sad, so many emotions. In just a couple of weeks I will be getting the last three cats out of there and that will be the end of this colony.  I'm so profoundly grateful to Vinyse and Derek, Verena and Josh and Susan for agreeing to take these cats in!  I am awed by their generosity....

Lazy Sunday

We had a great day on Saturday with the sale, met lots of great people and raised lots of money to help cats!  I'm a bit tired today but this week I must refocus on trapping Lily and Minky, you will hearing a lot of that on the blog.  Most mornings now I wake up with a feeling of worry about the colony, over the last few days an entire building was taken down, it is really happening, after nine years of feeding at that spot.   It will be a tough transition for me - and for the cats!

Luckily further down the street at one of our offshoot colonies things are calmer, and Patches was just hanging out on a hot afternoon.

It's sale time!

It's time for our annual sale!  If you are in the east end of Toronto please join us at 1101 Queen Street East this Saturday June 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., we will have lots of great stuff for sale to raise money for the cats!  I have boxes and boxes in my basement and now spilling onto my porch, this year we will have plants, too, but no kittens LOL.  This is Frankie, one of the cuties from last year!  He had wounds on his legs when rescued, but recovered and found a fantastic home!  Hope to see you tomorrow! 

Stubby goes home (to a new one!)

It's been an emotional happy sad few days.  Vinyse and Derek fell in love with Stubby as we all have and agreed to adopt him.  We all said our goodbyes to him and on Tuesday Vinyse was able to scoop him up and get him into a carrier.

Kent says goodbye

Off we went to the vet, and thankfully all was good with our Stubb stubbs.  I tearfully delivered him to Derek and Vinyse's place last night.  They have a lovely room all set up for him.  I am so happy he will never be cold or wet again.  I was worried he would be terrified and hide (he doesn't do well at the vet) but they got a webcam and there is footage of him exploring his room, jumping on a cat tree, looking out the window.

Stubby on his way to the vet

So encouraging!  I know it will be a tough transition for him but I feel like he found the perfect home!  Now I have to work on Lily and Minky, I tried today, Lily wasn't around, and Minky only partway in, they will be way more challenging.

Up a ladder to save kittens and some sad news for the colony

It's an endless stream of requests for help with kittens.  An email came in about kittens in a garage, turned out it was a laneway we did a lot of work in last year.  Off we went to check it out and discovered the smart mama had stashed her kittens up on a shelf in a garage much to the homeowners dismay.  I climbed the ladder to set up the trap and we trapped mom then one kitten.  It took another day before we could get the last kitten but we did!  I kept thinking please don't let me fall off the ladder, I've just recovered from my bite.  Who knew cat rescue could be so dangerous?

Unfortunately we got some really distressing news this week, what I've always been afraid of has come to be, and everyone has to be out of the yard by October 1, so I'm frantically trying to find places for my seven cats there.  I'm beside myself with worry about their future, it's the end of an era, after nine years of feeding there.

Kitten imports

Thankfully my arm is healing up and I'm almost done my rabies shots, that was quite the week!  Time to get back to work, the kittens keep coming!  Tory, who used to feed at Cherry Street, is in the process to moving to an area outside Napanee, and of course her neighbour has a bunch of unfixed cats and kittens.  It's a bit out of range, so thankfully I found a local rescue to help fix the adults.  They have a ton of kittens there so we are doing some kitten transport, ten so far, they will find great homes here.

We still have local kittens to rescue too!  So far this year we have rescued more than 50 kittens and trapped/fixed/rescued more than 30 adults!

Cat bite!

Last evening Lesley and I went to a new west end colony that included a litter of kittens and an injured cat.  It all looked good when we arrived, kittens were contained, and mom and dad hanging around.  Mom was easily trapped but as I picked up the trap she started to cry out and next thing I knew her mate jumped on me I presume to protect her and bit me!  Cat bites are something I've always tried to avoid, they get infected so easily but this was something we never would have imagined.  We got kittens and mom, mopped up my blood, and decided that was enough for that location, the injured cat was nowhere in sight.

Of course we had another location to do near Bathurst and Sheppard so I slapped on some polysporin and a bunch of bandaids and we kept driving to another new colony.  We managed to trap 2 adults and 2 kittens but by the end my arm was throbbing so Lesley dropped me at the hospital.  Two horrible hours later I was sent home with huge doses of antibiotics and instructions not to do dishes or cook.  That part sounded ok.  My arm is swollen and sore (of course it's my right arm) so I've been chilling all day.  I really hope it heals up and I don't have to go back to the hospital!

My backyard friends

 I was hanging out in the yard this week, and I had many visitors.  Of course there is our only outdoor cat Charlie, and we also feed the squirrels and birds.  Thankfully Charlie leaves them alone!  And there were many bees on the redbud tree, I love seeing all the creatures getting sustenance.  There was even a skunk poking around!

As much as I like raccoons, I try not to feed them directly, but there is one that comes to our back door that I just can't resist.  She has the cutest face, and she looks really old, so she gets some kibble when she shows up.  

A banner night for trapping

Lesley and I responded to an email about a mom and kittens in a backyard in the Annex.  We went over last night to assess but of course we brought traps just in case.  We saw the mom but no kittens, chatted with some residents, and thought we would have to return to try again.  We put out food for mom, and next thing we knew kittens had emerged from the garage.  I ran and got a kitten trap and boom we got two kittens.  We set up again, got another kitten, set up again and got the last two kittens.  We were amazed!  Three black and whites, an orange and a grey and white, between six - seven weeks of age.  By then we thought we would have no chance of getting the mom since she had seen the kittens trapped but we setup a trap again anyway and lo and behold ten minutes later we had her too.  Rarely does it go this well!

Even better news, we discovered mom has a home, she escaped from the apartment building next door more than a year ago, so she will be spayed and returned and hopefully will stay inside.  Of course these kittens will find loving homes!

Another little orphan

Last week, on a much nicer day, we went trapping again to our Scarborough locations.  After a number of hours we finally ended up with six cats.  Alas it turned out five of those six were males, still a good thing, but it means we have females to trap that are being difficult.

We also picked up the last two kittens from one location and were giving the last two a few more days when Larry called to say that one couldn't use its back legs.  Sadly the little orange kitten had suffered a spinal injury, hard to know what happened, maybe he fell, and had to be euthanized.  It is always heartbreaking to lose a tiny kitten.  His sister is doing well though with Susan, and we hope that if she gets the all clear she can be with Aggie, our cute little black kitten who is also alone.

Nobody said cat rescue was easy but we win more than we lose, and already we have rescued 17 kittens who won't grow up to be feral cats, but instead will have loving homes.  Now to get those moms so we don't have 17 more to rescue in a few months!

Batmom is at it again

The untrappable Batmom has struck again, last week this little kitten was spotted, seems she only had one or it's the only one that survived our cold weather.  Although the kitten looks just like Pappy (the tabby beside), Pappy is neutered so some other cat is the daddy.  Currently the kitten is in a yard the owner won't let us access, so frustrating!

Lesley and I did more trapping on Monday, after a long day we ended up with six cats from three locations, but only one was female, the males generally are much easier to trap, we still have way too many females out there.  Oh well, what can you do?  Keep trying!

Our latest crop of kittens

Last week Lesley and I drove to Dufferin and Lawrence and picked up nine kittens!  Yes we were actually able to pick them up thankfully.  The moms are feral but the kittens were born in a garage so are a bit used to people.  Michelle had all of them in her bathroom overnight then off they went to other fosters, Joanne got 4 cuties.  That's 14 kittens rescued in just over 2 weeks!  Now we need to get all those females fixed so we don't have to do it all over again in a few months!

Rainy day trapping

What miserable weather we have been having!  We were planning on a mass trapping today, but the weather was not cooperating.  We trudged out in the rain anyway, and managed to get three cats, and we also picked up the cutest little kitten!

Happy Anniversary Floppy!

Floppy (now named Bear) is celebrating his one year anniversary of living inside.  He showed up at the colony a few years ago, fought with everyone until we got him neutered.  Then slowly he got friendlier and joined the trailer gang.  Every day he would greet us and want to be patted so last year we decided it was time for him to have a home.  I reached out to my friend Carol who I know likes older cats and is willing to work with shy cats and she said yes!  Floppy is also FIV+ but she didn't care.  He now lives happily in her condo and as you can see from the pictures (he's the black cat) has made lots of cat friends.  He's a very lucky cat!

My dumpster cats

Thankfully things have been stable down at the yard, and Lily and Minky always pop out of their shelters when we come to feed.  We still have no idea how long it will be before development starts but at least these two have a new home to go to, thanks to Verena.  Of course when the time comes the hardest part will be trapping them.  We had to remove the shelters at my other colony and it was heartbreaking but I have to remember that these cats are resilient.

Lesley and I are off again to Scarborough this afternoon, a new colony of nine or 10 cats.  The cats don't seem to know that it's a cold spring, we already have six litters of kittens that we need to rescue when they are old enough!