Feral and stray cats abound here, just as they do everywhere. There are multiple colonies throughout the area, and they’re adding to their numbers all the time. While many are descendants of the original members, many are former family pets dropped off by tourists and summer people who tire of them. Most recently, a sad commentary on our economy, is that people whose homes have been foreclosed and are forcd out, are taking family pets and releasing them. They feel the animal has a better chance of survival on their own than if they were to be taken to a shelter where their chance of being euthanized is high.
It’s not difficult to tell the difference between ferals and an abandoned pet. The ferals have that aggressive, yet defensive, air about them. They stay away from people as much as possible. They have wounds and scars. Their coats are not soft and glossy. They tend to be scrawny from lack of a decent diet. They reproduce. A *lot*. They have no reason to trust humans.
The pets have a terror-stricken look to them. They’ve no idea why they no longer have a home, or food, or a safe place to just *be*. They can’t understand why they’re no longer loved. These pets, the ones who somehow manage to survive their first few weeks on their own, begin to learn the ropes. The lucky ones quickly learn what a predator is, and how to hide or run for their lives. They scavenge for food wherever they can, they learn to hunt, and to avoid human contact. They lose their trust. The not-so-lucky ones end up dying a miserable death on the side of a busy street, or chased, and even shot at, by cruel people, or end their lives as a meal for a coyote or other predator. Winter sets in, and they haven’t developed a heavy coat, or had enough to eat to get that layer of fat so necessary for their survival, so many freeze to death.
We have a local no-kill shelter as well as a standard “humane” society. Neither of them deal with stray or feral cats. There was a gap. We learned of this gap when Wendy’s friend brought her six tiny kittens that he captured near a quarry. Initially, there were nine kittens and their mother. He watched as a coyote got three of the kittens and the mother cat. No one else would have anything to do with the kittens. Who can look at a kitten, or any other baby animal and turn away? That was just the beginning…
Wendy and I. That’s it. No funding, no intern programs, no outside help. Still, someone had to do something, no matter how small that something was.
We began to foster kittens and cats, caring for them until we could find forever homes for them. We first get them to our local vet, who looks them over and provides whatever medical care they need, including spaying/neutering, and vaccinations. Socialization is next. It can take a long, long time to gain the trust of an animal that has absolutely no reason to trust any biped. Some have never received regular meals, but they seem to adapt to that rather quickly. We’ve adapted to being hissed, spat, and swiped at even while setting down a bowl of food. Most have never felt a gentle touch, and don’t know what to make of that. While many of our fosters finally do become socialized, and make wonderful, loving pets, others will never be that cuddly sidekick people tend to want from their pets. What becomes of them? Don’t they have a right to a good life, too? We think they do, so we continually look for farm situations where they can be outside, in their element, but safe, too. Our farm people provide a warm, safe shelter, and fresh food and water. They also keep an eye on them to detect a need for veterinary care. And then there are our permanent residents.
Others, too feral for even farm life, are trapped, taken for veterinary care, spayed/neutered, given their vaccinations, and then released back to the area where they were captured. Feeding stations are set up to support the colony. These T(rap)N(euter)R(elease) programs are very successful at reducing the numbers of feral cats in a natural way. The cats continue to live out their lives, but since there is no reproduction, as the cats die natural deaths, there are no new kittens taking their places.
The hunt is always on for both good homes for our charges, as well as a way to finance our entire outsider operation.
That first purr…that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
