It helps to have friends

When you're a feral cat, it's better to be part of a colony. I feel sorry for the ones who are alone. These three (Pebbles, Lionel and Socks) are clearly good buddies.

A new episode of Cat Trappers

I answered a plea for help from a woman Lesley met at work who has been feeding a dozen cats in her laneway for over a year, none of them have been fixed, and with spring coming hard and fast, the colony could double in size by the end of year if nothing was done. I always think I'm too busy to help, but I know that if I don't, more cats will end up living the unenviable feral life so I loaded up the car yesterday morning at 7 a.m. and drove across the city.

We trapped two of the cats (it's a start) a cute little grey female and this guy, who had a wire wrapped around his hips. The wonderful vets at the THS clinic cleaned up his wound and gave him an antibiotic shot. With a bit of recovery, he should be fine. I'll keep trapping more until I get them all.
Sometimes I think I could be cleaning out my closets or doing my taxes or having lunch with a friend or even paying more attention to my own cats instead of this, but then I save a cat from suffering from injuries, and stop another from having litters to live in a dilapidated shed, and the day that starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m. , driving all over the city, with cats in traps in the car, is all worthwhile.

Oh my aching paw

On the weekend I noticed one of the UBs at Hank's limping. We call him Pseudo-Maggie because he looks just like our Maggie.

When I got a closer look it appeared to be a nail problem. Since he wasn't putting any weight on it, I pulled out the trap and amazingly, after a bit of following him around, he went in. Off the vet he went. Poor Pseudo had an overgrown nail that had become infected. They flushed the wound, and stitched it up, plus pulled out a loose tooth and treated an ear infection.
He's staying in for a week to heal up but he is eating well. That really must have hurt.

On another note, from March 1 - 31, Global Pet Foods and Hill's Science Diet are inviting Canadians to nominate outstanding animal shelter and rescue volunteers for the first Heroic Heart Pet Service Award. The award will recognize four volunteers across Canada who have demonstrated outstanding care and compassion to homeless pets. Nominations can be made at local Global Pet Foods stores and on-line through Facebook.com/GlobalPetFoods

My glamorous life

I spend an inordinate amount of time now around dumpsters, not to dump garbage but to feed cats. In fact, I take any garbage and recycling home as I don't want to abuse the hospitality of my hosts.

This is Tibbs, it's been over 2 years since her last litter of kittens thankfully.
And then there is Pebbles, who I still don't know is male or female - he/she was fixed before my arrival of the scene.
Arrow is another of the dumpster cats, they are the ones in the middle, without the nice secure setup at Hank's and Harry's. So we put their food down under an old boat and between dumpsters.
I've started feeding twice a week at a spot near me to help someone out. She has been taking care of two cats for over a year now. For some reason, the tenants like to throw their scraps on the lawn.
This is Mimi, she is now spayed and shelters under a neighbour's porch.

I can't say that years ago I would have imagined this is how I would spend my time but all in all it doesn't seem so bad.

Whatever works

When it goes down to below freezing at night and the cats' water turns to ice, they are often as excited by fresh water as they are by food.

Biff especially is a water connoisseur, taking the time to sample it with his paw to ensure that the temperature is just right.

Teddy however just dives right in.
While at home Buddy is convinced that there must be one more piece at the bottom of the bag.
Whatever makes them happy.

Fun in the sun on Family Day

What's a cat to do on a sunny day in February? Enjoy it.

Here's Teddy reclining on a piece of styrofoam, much comfier than the concrete.

Even Morris the outcast, took the time to roll around.
And Socks never needs much encouragement to bask in the warmth.
It's getting close to the end of February and how great this winter has been if you're a feral cat. I wonder if kitten season will start sooner, though. Thankfully, unless someone new moves in, that's no longer a concern for me but there are so many out there who still need to be TNRed.

What kind of person hates cats?

I had an unpleasant encounter yesterday with a cat hater. I was approached or should I say accosted by a man or should I say a**hole who was upset about the cats' presence. He threatened to shoot or poison them and said we should just let them starve.

I tried to calm him down and explained that we have had them all spayed and neutered and that eventually the colony will die out. I assured him we wouldn't feed on his side of the property but of course we can't control where the cats go. I can only hope he is just a bully who needed to vent and that he won't take any action.
It left me shaken and worried, just affirms the lack of control we really have and how tough their lives are. Who could want to hurt these guys?

A wintry weekend

What a chilly weekend, the ferals at the yard clearly are not happy, it seems almost too cold to come out and eat.

What a difference a year makes for Maggie. Last winter she was huddled under a street sweeper at the colony until I brought her home. Now she spends her evenings in front of the fire.

Oh, and Buddy, our most recent rescue, approves of this post he says.
I'm glad it's supposed to warm up tomorrow, it breaks my heart seeing the cats huddled in the cold.

Even when we go away...

Steve and I took a little winter break and headed down to Key West for some R & R. Of course, our first stop was the Hemingway House. I actually am a Hemingway fan but what we really wanted was to see the polydactyl cats that have lived there for generations.

They have quite the life there, look at the cute houses they have to hang out in.
Everywhere you look there are cats. There are 44 who live on the property, apparently most are now spayed and neutered and they receive vet care.
This cat was snoozing away even with a tour going on and crowds going through the house.
In a corner there is a cat cemetery. Many of the cats have been given names of famous people.
The cats are certainly not feral, just lucky outdoor cats.
I can't believe how calm they all are. We visited twice, the second time just to see the cats.
Fortunately my home cats and feral cats were all well cared for while I was away (although Maggie hid in the ceiling) and I'm rested and refreshed and ready to scoop more kibble.

The colony post Jackson

Losing Jackson in such a tragic freak accident has been unimaginably hard. Every time I go down to feed I still expect to see him come bounding towards me. We have not found his body but saw Minky skirt along the edge of the water to go under the deck of a building so that's what must have happened to Jackson but it was dark or icy or windy or he just slipped.

However, as sad as it is, there are still at least 18 mouths to feed so no time to mope. MC needs fresh water.
Arrow and Pebbles need to be fed as does Tina and Socks.

So we keep going, and I renew my vow to take care of these cats the best I possibly can.