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In honor of National Feral Cat Day... your feral rescues!

post #1 of 36
10/15/10 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
National Feral Cat Day is October 16 (tomorrow, Saturday)!

I thought in honor of the day, let's share our ferals.

All of our kitties are feral rescues, but I'm only including the ones where I have reasonable "before" and "after" pics.

A tad bit of background. Lazlo and Shelly were our first kitten rescues. We don't have "before" and after pics of them. They had three siblings. We adopted out Spooky and Julius. Tuxedo was "unadoptable" he was so aggressive.

We didn't have a screening process in place, so we had to rescue back Spooky and Julius. One of the vet techs fell in love with him (a long haired red tabby).

It'll take me a few to get up pics of Spooky...

No pics of the babies outside. But Lazlo looking looking like that scared little feral fella, taking refuge in his box:



Not looking very scared or feral here!



Here's Tuxedo before and after.

In this pic, he's 7 months old and "winterized" We brought him in when he was 11 months old. He's in the background, behind the mud flaps:


Daddy's little boy:



Flowerbelle...



...and a very happy little girl:



More in a few.

Please share yours!
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post #2 of 36
10/15/10 at 3:45pm
Oh what a group!! I can see why you love them.They are so lucky to have you.

I took in Slick (our female feral) who turned out not to be terribly feral. She tamed down immediately. She was pregnant and eventually had 6 kittens. Found homes for four kittens. Good homes, each person took two.

Now Slick and her daughter Beeshee Marie and son Fetch are living with us. Beautiful loving cats. Yes, it's hectic sometimes, but it's ok. I couldn't have stood to see them all running around near the busy road.

The males, Patches, Ranger, and Hosta have disappeared. I have mixed emotions. I miss them.

First time in over 30 years there are no ferals.
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post #3 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, it's always sad when they stop showing up and you just never know what happened to them.

I have a few more.

I found some pictures of Spooky outside.

In this one, Julius is the orange guy up front, Spooky is the tortie-tabby, and Magic is the black kitty. Julius and Magic were adopted out.



Just Spook:



And Spooky, our needy little "PET ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" baby girl:
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post #4 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:16pm
Thread Starter 
Billy, who showed up with his brother, Bing, and pregnant sister, named Guenivere by her foster mom, who took her and the kitties. We knew she was pregnant, but had no idea how far along. We got the three of them to the vet on the same day, and Guenivere went into labor within an hour or two of arriving at the vet. She and her babies were all adopted out. We found a home for Bing - but they couldn't take two. We had no choice but to bring Billy inside!

Billy (in front of Bing):



Billy now,


...and Guinevere and her babies. She stood up to say "Thanks" to Gary.
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post #5 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:28pm
Here is one of the first photos I got of Felix, when he was still very very shy:



And here's the first time he let me hold him (he flopped over and "kneaded" the air):



He's a big mush-bucket now.
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post #6 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:30pm
Thread Starter 
Chumley.

Here he is outside this summer:


This is Chumley in transition. He adjusted to living inside in a trailer next to us while we made slow introductions to our crew (bringing him over a few hours a day):


Chumley fully transitioned.
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post #7 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Awwww.... look at Felix the love bug! Have a soft spot for the b&w kitties.
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post #8 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
The kitty that started it all for us. Booger

Even though it turned out she was a stray that acted feral, not a real feral, it took months to earn her trust. It also turned out she was spayed, and a Maine Coon kitty. When she didn't like the growing feral colony, we found her a new home.







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post #9 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:45pm
Laurie, you're a great person for caring for these ferals.

We've fed numerous ferals over the years (there's loads of them in Hartford), but right now we only have Billy. I don't have a camera, but he is white with one blue eye and one green. He's not a young cat by any means, but he loves us to pieces. He does not come into the house, not even in the basement. He was very silent when he came to our backyard, probably because nobody had ever "listened" to him. He had never been loved, nobody had ever cared a scrap for him, so now he thinks he's died and gone to heaven living with us. He's very nice with the other cats too and he never leaves our fenced backyard.
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post #10 of 36
10/15/10 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
I should add, Thanksgiving (when the kitty hissing in the above picture turned up) and Magic (the black kitty above who turned up around Halloween with Munchkin - we presume his sister) were both adopted out. I don't have pictures of Magic after he went home, but here's Thanksgiving:



...and Magic's sister, we fostered. Our secretary adopted her.

Here's little Munchie:

Before


...and after
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post #11 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primula View Post
Laurie, you're a great person for caring for these ferals.

We've fed numerous ferals over the years (there's loads of them in Hartford), but right now we only have Billy. I don't have a camera, but he is white with one blue eye and one green. He's not a young cat by any means, but he loves us to pieces. He does not come into the house, not even in the basement. He was very silent when he came to our backyard, probably because nobody had ever "listened" to him. He had never been loved, nobody had ever cared a scrap for him, so now he thinks he's died and gone to heaven living with us. He's very nice with the other cats too and he never leaves our fenced backyard.
He sounds like a handsome guy! Does he talk now? Is he deaf? Flowerbelle talks, but she's deaf. I think that's why she talks, in fact, because ALL of the others were completely silent. Their mums taught them not to talk, it's part of "feral etiquette." Of course, once they learned that Flowerbelle's talking got her attention, they slowly but surely all started talking. It was so funny to hear their squeaky unused little voices!
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post #12 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:08pm
What a great idea for a thread I can't compare to all your rescues because I only really took in one truly feral kitty (Mama) but she came with "baggage" They were the cutest little pieces of luggage I ever saw! Two of my co-workers took Rocket and Selena.

Mama



Megan



Megan today



Selena



Rocket

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post #13 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:15pm
Quote:
because ALL of the others were completely silent. Their mums taught them not to talk, it's part of "feral etiquette."
Isn't that the truth! Shut up or someone will hear you. Lizbeth was a stray that started hanging around. I seriously don't think that she was away from people all that long but she's very quiet. Compared to my RB Kitty George who talked all the time, they are all very silent. Then I picked Domino up at the shelter. He doesn't "meow" but his "Brrrrrs" make up for the silence after George passed away
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post #14 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
He sounds like a handsome guy! Does he talk now? Is he deaf? to hear their squeaky unused little voices!
Yes, he does talk. And when he is very happy, he growls. He is not deaf, but it seems to me that his hearing is not as good as other cats. DH says he has never noticed this.
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post #15 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
Oh Chris, look at all those B&W kitties! I didn't know Momma and Megan's background. But WHAT adorable babies!

And Primula, it took us a little while to figure out if she was deaf. Funny, because I knew white cats (well, it's particularly white cats with blue eyes, and Flowerbelle's are sea green) are almost always deaf, so we asked the vet. He clapped his hands behind her, and she turned to look - so he proclaimed she wasn't deaf. We have figured out she can hear certain frequencies, so we think her condition is due to the SEVERE infections she had when rescued and damage done as a result... but we also think she "felt" the clapping hands as opposed to hearing them clapping.
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post #16 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:39pm
Great pictures everyone!
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post #17 of 36
10/15/10 at 5:49pm
Hope I did this right...

Top one is Dahlia Moria

Bottom is Zoey Woey


Zoey was my first feral, I was given warning about being a feral It turned out I had one prior feral cat who was a kitten when found and my playmates as a toddler were a multi generation of ferals... Only a few people could get near, I guess I was special as I played ,feed and touched all of them...... She came from a shelter in the next town that a friend of mines friend worked at... I went for a Pointed cat and came home with Zoey..Zoey was supposed to be 2-3 years old ( she was 8-10 months)... About 6 weeks from now is her 6th Gotcha day ... I did not have any idea what feral ment ( thought stray) , lets say I learned quick... Today, Zoey is a very well adjusted girl that just is not up for being held ... All who met her and have dealt with ferals wonder how she can be such a calm girl....

Dahlia was a true fluke I blame on White Cat Lover... As It was Nat who saw her on pet finder and sent me the link... Dahlia was in a open cage shelter for OVER four years prior to coming to my home... She loves me and has made wonderful progress in the last 22 months but most folks do not ever see her ....

Yes, they are in fact mirror image twins though Dahlia is about a third larger than Zoey...
LL
LL
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post #18 of 36
10/15/10 at 6:22pm
Hi everyone.This pic is of our feral kittens.Both now 2 years old.And spoiled rotten.
Jeff
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post #19 of 36
10/15/10 at 6:26pm
^Precious bunnies!
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post #20 of 36
10/15/10 at 6:35pm
I'll share:

Hurricane Charlie then:



Hurricane Charlie now:




Chaplain then:



Chaplain now:




The Dumpster Gang then:



The Dumpster Gang and more now



Starlight Then:



Starlight Now:



Some of the other crew:

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post #21 of 36
10/15/10 at 7:25pm

Lucky 2 days after I found her




Lucky last Christmas


Gus after I kittynapped him


Gus snuggling Lucky
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post #22 of 36
10/15/10 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
MA, I always love seeing pics of your crew! And I also always love seeing pictures of your jungle gym thingy!

WHO is that gorgeous kitty with the white goatee on the right?

Chaplain!

...and every time I see Hurricane Charlie I expect to see Cyclone, don't ask me why. And they are about as different as a Hurricane and a Cyclone!
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post #23 of 36
10/15/10 at 7:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbjerkness View Post

Gus snuggling Lucky
Oh are they precious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...as are your two incredible little snuggle bunnies, Jeff!
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post #24 of 36
10/15/10 at 7:36pm
All of my guys were rescues.

Freya then:

Original

Freya Now:

Original


Cotton then:

Original

...and after:


Sybil...she's still too new to have an after, but here she is:
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post #25 of 36
10/15/10 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
Cotton He always held a very special place in my heart.
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post #26 of 36
10/15/10 at 9:50pm
Cotton....

Hissy wow at the changes ...
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post #27 of 36
10/16/10 at 5:24am
What special babies, all of them. The transformation in Starlight is incredible.

Sweet Pea in Jan this year, a couple of weeks after we trapped him.



And now:


Marina
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post #28 of 36
10/16/10 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
Look at beautiful Sweet Pea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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post #29 of 36
10/16/10 at 11:16am


One phantom.. rescused 6 years ago, still very independant but a love bug at night.
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post #30 of 36
10/16/10 at 12:59pm
Here's a pic of my own feral "kittens," Claire and Peter, who were trapped with their littermates at 3-4 months old. They were a bunch of scared, hissy, growly little creatures at first, but came around quickly with plenty of socialization.



Here are two little feral guys, Mickey and Monty, trapped in my colony at about 10 weeks old. They were born to feral mama cat, who was fixed and released, and had no human contact prior to being trapped. Mickey decided humans were pretty cool within a couple of days. Monty took a little longer, but once he came around had the loudest purr I've ever heard. They were adopted together and are now very sweet, loving adults.

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