~Feral Cats~

Our society desperately needs to solve the problem of thousands of homeless animals roaming the streets, looking for someone to care for them. When a homeless mother cat has kittens, quite often these kittens never come in contact with humans who care about them. Soon, those kittens have kittens of their own, and they become ferals. A feral cat is not a separate breed or species. A feral is the offspring of a domestic cat who has "gone wild" because it knows nothing but hunger, fear and too often, abuse and cruelty from humans. They have learned not to trust.

Find out what a day is like in the life of a feral cat rescuer.

In our old neighborhood, there was a feral white male cat with blue eyes. Everybody in the neighborhood hated this poor cat. I fed him for several months, but failed in my attempts to capture him and take him to the vet for medical care and neutering. He was mistreated for so long that progress was painfully slow. When all he had known was pain and misery at the hands of humans, how could I expect him to trust me immediately?

While trying to help White Cat, I made several mistakes. If you would like to see pictures of White Cat and read his story, click the button below to go to his special page. This page is offered in hopes of helping others to avoid the mistakes that I made. The biggest mistake I made was in not getting out to rent a trap - no matter how bad my hip hurt! So in honor of White Cat, I'm buying my own trap and will be ready for the next feral that crosses my path.

Easy, inexpensive shelter for ferals cats:

Animalkind, Inc. has instructions for a shelter for outdoor cats that you can put together in minutes at little of no cost to you. Winter will be here before we know it and we have to think of those ferals that suffer in the cold. This will be of particular interest to those of you that live in the colder climate areas; but, cat lovers in all areas can use this shelter. Please go  here  for further information.

Meet Ginger, a feral kitten my son and his wife rescued in New Zealand where they live. The Mama cat is too feral to tame, but they are feeding Mama and hope to have her spayed. Ginger's sister didn't survive, but Ginger is doing very well.

The beautiful baby is my granddaughter Zoe!

A friend who lives in South Africa has graciously consented to share photos of her two beautiful rescued feral cats with us. I know you will enjoy reading their stories as much as I have. Click the button above to go to Xian's and Felix's page.

Of herself, Virginia says:
"There is not much to tell about myself. I help all stray and feral cats that I come across and have found homes for many. I have 10 cats of my own, all rescued, although Xian and Felix are the only ferals."

"I also have 4 rescued dogs and everyone gets along well together, especially Gypsy my German Shepherd, who loves the cats and sleeps curled up with them."

Jacqlee's Cats - The Fearless Foursome - wish to present Virginia with this award, which will be kept here until she has her own website on which to display it.

Let the Little Tabby tell you all about it by clicking on her banner.
Be sure to bring a tissue!

A must read if you are interested at all in feral cats:   Boy: The Story of a Feral   by Karel Bergstrom. This story is written from Boy's perspective and is so similar to what White Cat must have felt!

If you want to read a lovely story about how a feral Tuxedo kitten became a treasured and adored house cat, then My Sweet Baboo is for you! This story is as sweet as Baboo's plaque is cute! You can pick one up for yourself when you visit!

A managed feral cat colony is a group of feral cats that are being supervised and taken care of by a caretaker. The caretaker assumes responsibility for spaying, neutering, eartipping, and providing medical care and vaccinations for all members of the colony. In addition, the caretaker provides food, water and shelter. In a properly supervised colony, the cats are healthy and can enjoy life because they no longer have to put all of their energy into producing and caring for offspring. Caretakers are very special people - caring for a feral colony requires enormous drains on their personal time and finances. The next time you hear someone casually remark that they are a caretaker for a colony of feral cats, make a mental note to give this person a very large bag of good quality cat food the next time you see them! They deserve it!

Read this for a simple explanation of how colonies get started.

If you are feeding a stray cat or several strays, please click on the banner above and read the importance of assuming responsibility for the cats that are depending on you for their food.

Wild About Cats!   is a campaign to promote an understanding of the feral cat's nature, origins, history, social structure, and niche in our society and environment. Sponsored by Ally Cat Allies and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

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Alley Cat Allies is an excellent resource for caretakers on feral cat care, Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR), trapping tips, identification eartipping, colony management and more.

If you are attempting to help a feral cat, Friends of Feral Felines will give you encouragement and knowledge. They were a tremendous help to me in my attempt to rescue "White Cat" whose story is above. A new feature has just been added - Feral Cat Fact Sheets - which give information on feeding a feral, medical issues, and even how to deal with your neighbors if you are caring for a feral in your own neighborhood.

The Feral Cat Network is a wonderful site full of information on feral cats by a great lady who has rescued many, many, many cats. Her purpose is to supply general information to the public regarding feral cats and Trap-Neuter-Return in an effort to increase community support for caretakers.

You are invited to join the Alley Cats Need Love Too! Netring. This ring was started in the hopes of making people more aware of what wonderful companion animals alley cats can be.

 

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