newly aquired feral colony HELP

I have found 28 feral/stray cats and kittens when my car broke down, a horrifing sight a mother and 3 wee kittens. They were scavaging for food bt a dumpster in the freezing cold as it was snowing. The kittens were rubbing on mm and trying it apa5rde to stand under her for warmth. I had cat food in my car, as I always do just in case.Ifeed them but it brke my heart to leave them. I slept on the idea of rescuing them and themI found the next day 28 cats in need of rescuing, I knew it must be done but how...I now go daily to feed and need major help on getting them spayed/nuetered I am disabled with a rare form of arthritis and have very limited funds,. but i will not abandon my new family. But I need info, donations, How? and they need to reelocated, I need to find a property to move them to.I have contacted local groups and they can't help or I havn't found the right ones. I wish to form my own rescue but thats money again. I am over whelmed by the cost of food alone while figuring this outAny info would be GREAT. Thankyou, melinda

Bless you for caring for these unwanted cats of your area. Every little thing helps these poor souls.

I don't have much to offer, but I can direct you to a few resources. www.allycatallies.com is a wonderful organization that specializes in working with and helping those who help with feral colonies. Also, check out our sister site, www.meowhoo.com as I know they have a whole Feral Cats section for listings. Check out www.savesamoa.org also. That site is run by two of our members here and although the main part is rescue stories, there is also a links page which has more resources that may be of help.

I know that there are many here who manage feral colonies who can give you more assistance by way of experience, and they will be by shortly. Again, you are an angel for helping these little ones.

Wow-how fortunate for this cat colony that you broke down at the spot where you did. Heidi has given you excellent links to look for assistance at, the problem you will run up against is all these organizations are just about stretched to the max helping those in need. There are some websites that I have run across that help you with this type of problem, I put them all on a special disk and need to go looking for it.

Have you called local vet offices and asked everyone who works there if there is a feral cat rescue in your area? One of our founding members Sandie is from your area, and she may be able to point you in the right direction.

If you go to www.meowhoo.com and look under Cat Health you will see a category of Spay & Neuter Resources. Keep on feeding them whatever cat food you can afford to- and yes, I do know how expensive it gets. Perhaps you can find a vet's office that will donate food for this, calling around to them and asking never hurts. If I was closer I would come and help you feed as well. Good luck!

I just had a thought, and I don't know if it will pan out or not, but you could try calling up local pet supply stores, even feed stores and explain your situation and see if they would be willing to give you or sell at a reduced price any damaged bags of food that they would normally throw away. The shelers may already have dibs on them, but it never hurts to ask.

Hi Melinda! Sorry we couldn't be of more help at Save Samoa, but we're really not set up for that.

As to feeding them, you should DEFINITELY contact both local shelters and local pet supply stores. You can also contact on-line Petsmart - I know they are huge supporters of rescue efforts and sponsor just about all on-line sites dedicated to adoption & other rescue services. Try going straight to www.Pets911.com - there are links there to Petsmart, Alley Cat Allies, etc.

Have you been able to get in touch with Alley Cat Allies? If not, let me know, and I'll send you an e-mail address.

Bless your heart.

Laurie

Melinda - lotsocats sent a link to an article at Alley Cat Allies on relocating feral colonies. Basically, it recommends not to do it unless the area is threatened with demolition or building or something. They also recommend lots of things be done first, requiring lots of time. I don't know how realistic this for you. But unless the cats are in immediate danger, it really isn't recommended. I hope this can be of some help... but there are other resources listed at the end of the article.

Relocating a Colony

Again - I had a hard time figuring out how to contact Alley Cat Allies, which really might be of great help to you. If you're having trouble getting in touch with them, please let me know.

Hi Melinda,

I live in Ledyard as well. We have even had a hard time finding help for ferals. The person I know will have some good info for you can be found at this web site
http://www.catales.org/
TEAM also offers low to no cost spay/neuter for feral colonies. You can call them at 1-888-FOR-TEAM. Tell them that it's a feral or semi feral colony and that you need some ideas and help.
Also, you are more than welcome to contact me by e mail, and I am sure we could help trap them and transport them if need be.

Melinda,

I just talked to Helping Paws, and was informed that she offered you some help trapping, and some spay/neuter vouchers. You REALLY need to call or e mail them back. She was willing to help you.

Sandie, thankyou for your help I will be contacting helping paws. I just got an appointment with team and they will be here in ledyard on march 15th and i hope to trap and be there. thankyou for offering to help trap I may take you up on that i will see how it goes. I am trying to get them quickly since breeding season will start nest month. helping paws has sent me a huge bag of food and vouchers. Which is nice of them and I got alot of valuable info from them. I will be in touch, definetly I think, thanks again, melinda

Melinda, I'm so glad Sandie was able to be of some help! Good luck, and please keep us posted as to how things are going.

:tounge2: :tounge2: :tounge2: :tounge2:

Thanks Sandie!!!

:tounge2: :tounge2: :tounge2: :tounge2:

And to both of you:

Melinda, what a kind heart you have!! Hope all goes well with the future trapping.