Hi, all! I am new here and this only my second post (my first post was in the introduction area). Here's a little background about my stray colony:
I have my own "colony/neighborhood" of strays that I feed. Over the last five years I have rescued approximately 10 strays from my neighborhood. Once rescued they are taken to my vet who owns a no-kill cat rescue and placement center where they are immunized, altered and then taken to the shelter for adoption. My goal is to socialize the cats in my colony and get them to the shelter. I use the term colony lightly because my strays, which was five in total, don't live together in a colony. They all have their own places to stay; they just come to my house for food. I live in the middle of a city; houses everywhere. On the deck just outside our back door we have an Amish-built shingled cat sized dog house where one or two of the strays took shelter during the winter. The lucky souls who have taken shelter in my dog house get fluffy fleece blankets with hand warmer pads and warm cat milk all winter.
Thankfully I have great neighbors who don't mind my passion and hobby.
The first stray I started feeding is "Dexter." Dexter got her name because we had a couple holes in the lattice covering our deck and we kept food under there for her to eat. In the beginning Dexter was amazingly skittish. Even a glance at her through the window would scare her and she'd run away. Over the past five years Dexter has become much more social and over the past week I've been able to pet her for the first time thanks to one of my social strays, Georgie. BTW, Dexter is a spayed female.
Georgie showed up at my house around nine months ago. He was an unaltered male who with a very aggressive, dominant and CRANKY personality. He was definitely an alpha-male. I tried to catch, trap and/or capture him many times over the last nine months but he was way too smart and I never even got close.
Georgie had a really bad start with me. He was injured when he first started hanging around and I learned the hard way that when Georgie was hurting to WATCH OUT because he would bite. Within the first week of showing up at my door he was hurt and he bit me when I went out to feed him. I ended up in the ER because it was a deep puncture wound and because he was sick/injured we feared rabies. Our county animal control set up traps but he (nor any of my other strays) were ever caught. Because his health returned and his injuries healed I was out of the woods regarding the rabies. Over the nine months he was here Georgie bit me at least 20 times. It was always when he was injured and it was usually because he didn't like the flavor food I gave him - no kidding. Georgie would only eat the grilled style canned Fancy Feast food in fish flavors. I learned that the hard way and actually bought myself a pair of knee-high thick rubber boots that I called my "Georgie boots" to wear when I fed him. He actually bit through the boots a few times.
Georgie got in a bad fight on Friday night, we think with a raccoon. We heard it at around 11:00 p.m. Yesterday morning Georgie was waiting for me for his usual 6:00 a.m. feeding and he was beat up severely - the worst one yet. He could barely walk (looked like the raccoon bit through one of his hind feet) and the side of his head and ear were nothing but blood. He was hurting really bad and it broke my heart. He ate and then gimped off, howling and whining the whole way across the road. I didn't see him the rest of the day until he showed up for his usual nightly feeding. He was in the same condition and it was absolutely pitiful. Because he was so crippled and mangled I was able to pick him up and get him in a carrier nearly effortlessly. He couldn't fight me as he always did in the past. I immediately took him to the emergency animal hospital and had him euthanized. My heart is hurting so much and I feel like a horrible mom. Georgie was not a candidate for adoption. The biting was reason enough but he was way too aggressive. He was a street cat and there was no hope for him. Plus, the thought of him needlessly suffering through another Michigan winter killed me. I know he is not suffering anymore but now I am and so is his buddy... Dexter.
Over the last two weeks Georgie and Dexter became best buds. It was Georgie who began Dexter's socialization. They loved each other and the two of them would sleep together on my front porch. Georgie was very vocal and loved to be petted. Dexter watched me pet Georgie and she saw that Georgie trusted me so Dexter started trusting me more, too. I have been able to pet Dexter three times in the last week thanks to Georgie. Sadly, Dexter hasn't eaten since yesterday morning when she was last with Georgie. She came late last night to eat and when Georgie didn't show up she refused to eat. Same thing happened this morning. I got up for the usual 6:00 a.m. feeding. Dexter was waiting on the porch and she wouldn't eat. She just sat there looking around for Georgie and she left about 15 minutes later. She wouldn't let me get close to her, either.
So, now, my heart is breaking because I've lost Georgie but also because Dexter is missing her pal. I know that I had no other options but I can't help but question my decision.
I think I could write forever about my kitties. I'm sorry this post is so long, I just needed to give a little background so you all understood my situation. BTW, here's a picture of my Georgie.
Rest in peace, sweetheart. I am sorry I couldn't save you. I miss you and maybe someday my tears will stop.
I have my own "colony/neighborhood" of strays that I feed. Over the last five years I have rescued approximately 10 strays from my neighborhood. Once rescued they are taken to my vet who owns a no-kill cat rescue and placement center where they are immunized, altered and then taken to the shelter for adoption. My goal is to socialize the cats in my colony and get them to the shelter. I use the term colony lightly because my strays, which was five in total, don't live together in a colony. They all have their own places to stay; they just come to my house for food. I live in the middle of a city; houses everywhere. On the deck just outside our back door we have an Amish-built shingled cat sized dog house where one or two of the strays took shelter during the winter. The lucky souls who have taken shelter in my dog house get fluffy fleece blankets with hand warmer pads and warm cat milk all winter.
The first stray I started feeding is "Dexter." Dexter got her name because we had a couple holes in the lattice covering our deck and we kept food under there for her to eat. In the beginning Dexter was amazingly skittish. Even a glance at her through the window would scare her and she'd run away. Over the past five years Dexter has become much more social and over the past week I've been able to pet her for the first time thanks to one of my social strays, Georgie. BTW, Dexter is a spayed female.
Georgie showed up at my house around nine months ago. He was an unaltered male who with a very aggressive, dominant and CRANKY personality. He was definitely an alpha-male. I tried to catch, trap and/or capture him many times over the last nine months but he was way too smart and I never even got close.
Georgie had a really bad start with me. He was injured when he first started hanging around and I learned the hard way that when Georgie was hurting to WATCH OUT because he would bite. Within the first week of showing up at my door he was hurt and he bit me when I went out to feed him. I ended up in the ER because it was a deep puncture wound and because he was sick/injured we feared rabies. Our county animal control set up traps but he (nor any of my other strays) were ever caught. Because his health returned and his injuries healed I was out of the woods regarding the rabies. Over the nine months he was here Georgie bit me at least 20 times. It was always when he was injured and it was usually because he didn't like the flavor food I gave him - no kidding. Georgie would only eat the grilled style canned Fancy Feast food in fish flavors. I learned that the hard way and actually bought myself a pair of knee-high thick rubber boots that I called my "Georgie boots" to wear when I fed him. He actually bit through the boots a few times.
Georgie got in a bad fight on Friday night, we think with a raccoon. We heard it at around 11:00 p.m. Yesterday morning Georgie was waiting for me for his usual 6:00 a.m. feeding and he was beat up severely - the worst one yet. He could barely walk (looked like the raccoon bit through one of his hind feet) and the side of his head and ear were nothing but blood. He was hurting really bad and it broke my heart. He ate and then gimped off, howling and whining the whole way across the road. I didn't see him the rest of the day until he showed up for his usual nightly feeding. He was in the same condition and it was absolutely pitiful. Because he was so crippled and mangled I was able to pick him up and get him in a carrier nearly effortlessly. He couldn't fight me as he always did in the past. I immediately took him to the emergency animal hospital and had him euthanized. My heart is hurting so much and I feel like a horrible mom. Georgie was not a candidate for adoption. The biting was reason enough but he was way too aggressive. He was a street cat and there was no hope for him. Plus, the thought of him needlessly suffering through another Michigan winter killed me. I know he is not suffering anymore but now I am and so is his buddy... Dexter.
Over the last two weeks Georgie and Dexter became best buds. It was Georgie who began Dexter's socialization. They loved each other and the two of them would sleep together on my front porch. Georgie was very vocal and loved to be petted. Dexter watched me pet Georgie and she saw that Georgie trusted me so Dexter started trusting me more, too. I have been able to pet Dexter three times in the last week thanks to Georgie. Sadly, Dexter hasn't eaten since yesterday morning when she was last with Georgie. She came late last night to eat and when Georgie didn't show up she refused to eat. Same thing happened this morning. I got up for the usual 6:00 a.m. feeding. Dexter was waiting on the porch and she wouldn't eat. She just sat there looking around for Georgie and she left about 15 minutes later. She wouldn't let me get close to her, either.
So, now, my heart is breaking because I've lost Georgie but also because Dexter is missing her pal. I know that I had no other options but I can't help but question my decision.
I think I could write forever about my kitties. I'm sorry this post is so long, I just needed to give a little background so you all understood my situation. BTW, here's a picture of my Georgie.
Rest in peace, sweetheart. I am sorry I couldn't save you. I miss you and maybe someday my tears will stop.
