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.
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.
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.
From February 1 – 14 Global Pet Foods kicks off their annual Show Us Your Heart (Valentine’s themed) fundraising campaign, which raises money for animal shelters across Canada.
Beaches/Danforth/Lower Jarvis/York mills Global Pet Foods will be raising money for Cherry Street Cats and Big on Beagles this Valentine!
Donna who runs those four stores has been a great supporter of ours and I'm so appreciative that she has chosen our little rescue this year. It will be great to have some money for vet care and food for our guys.
I've spent the last two days during my lunch hours trying to find Jackson's body so that we can get him cremated. My wonderful boss even found a net and came down with me yesterday. We stirred the flotsam and jetsam trying to find him, without ourselves falling in, but the currents must have shifted since Steve saw him. I'll keep searching. It wasn't the same today feeding without Jackson rushing up for his bowl of food.
Sadly today the question of where is Jackson has been answered. Steve found his body this afternoon floating in the water, somehow he must have fallen in and drowned. I'm so upset, Jackson was an original of the colony, and was always there, ready for food and a pat. We'll miss you, Jacks.
Jackson is the founding member of the colony, the one Sandi first saw. He is a sweetie, you can even pat him. For the last three days no sign of him and he's usually right there, Jackson loves to eat. This morning I wandered around the yard calling his name, looking in boats in case he had gotten trapped in one but I couldn't find him. It's dangerous down there, trucks, raccoons, who knows what else so my fingers and toes are crossed and I'm just praying that he's OK and shows up again. I hate to think of it without him. That's the problem with doing this, eventually they will all die or disappear. Too many cats to love.
Finally we discovered that some had been trapped and there were caregivers. What a relief. I thought for a couple of days that I would have to take on another colony. It's reassuring to know how many people care about cats. I may feed them occasionally, it's kind of on my route.
Yesterday when I arrived at Harry's Biff was meowing at the water bowl. It was totally frozen and he waited while I refilled it and immediately started to drink. I often wish my colony was right outside my back door so I could feed them and give them fresh water more often, especially in this weather.
Nobody claimed him and it was discovered he had serious ear problems and needed surgery. This was more than TAS could deal with and the caretaker sent out a plea for help, unable to take him herself or pay for expensive surgery. As soon as I saw the photo, I was hooked, and forwarded his plight along to some contacts at various rescues. Amazingly, Annex Cat Rescue offered to take him on. In the meantime, TAS contacted the Toronto Humane Society, and they also agreed to help him. So the upshot is he's off to the THS where he will be all fixed up and I'm sure someone will adopt this guy. Apparently he's super friendly and who cares if he's missing an ear.
Keeping all the cats fed and cared for costs a lot of money and I couldn't manage it without the donations. Two women saw the article in The Star, tracked me down, and sent me cheques. All of these gestures of kindness have allowed us to help Teddy (above) and Socks (below).
Now that Socks is neutered and had rotten teeth removed he is roly poly and content.
Stubby is still scared but he surely would have died from an infection had we not managed to trap him and deal with his mangled tail. Even with all the donations, I was out of pocket a lot of money. No pity party here, just want everyone who helps out to know how much it is appreciated.
I found a great way to save money the other day. I checked under the fridge for cat toys, and lot and behold, there must have been $50 worth there.
Buddy, our recent rescue, likes to play, and goes through a lot of toys, so I'm glad that I figured out where his secret stash is.
In addition to all my work at the colony, I also helped out with a few other cat projects. We got four cats off the spit, three into a barn and one into a home. Two sets of residential kittens were rescued and socialized and went off to good homes and the moms were TNRed. In my neighbourhood I TNRed four feral young cats (three females and one male) that are well cared for by a few homes. And farther away in a west end neighbourhood I TNRed three feral females, and two adults and two kittens were rescued. Somehow during that project I ended up with Buddy, who just ate our bacon off the counter. Oh, I almost forgot about Bruno, a neighbourhood semi-feral who is being fostered (hopefully forever) by Terry and Laird. Then there is Annie, a charming kitten living outside a few blocks away who Connie fostered and quickly fell in love with. 