Friend of Ferals Award Badge - Apply Here

PrincessPandaBr said:

My aunt and uncle have started a ferrel sterilization program in their town, cooperating with local vets.  They feed/keep/care for dozens of ferrel cats in a warehouse, and I would love to see them recognized for their love of cats and their dedication.  They do not, however, use computers.  Is there any way you could recognize them un-electronically.  If not, it's ok - they do it not for recognition, but because they love animals, they love life, and they love helping animals that would normally be forgotten or rejected.

Sincerely, 
Lauri

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Thank you for sharing their story with us! Sounds like they're doing so much for the cats. Maybe you can convey our sentiments to them? I'm not sure how else to do this, with TCS being a website

Badges awarded! Just wanted to add a warm welcome to all of the new members I'm seeing in this thread! Good to have you aboard, and I'm looking forward to share our love for cats with you!

Im Rachel(: Im only 15 and my allowence money goes to feeding stray cats and all the little critters like opossums and skunks around my house. We have 17 cats coming around to my house alone. I dont have alot of friend because of the fact that I rather go buy cat food and try to get the cats to come up with no fear of people instead of going to the movies. The cats get so happy when I come home because they know treats and string with toys are coming out to play. Just two days ago the alpha  (not sure if its a boy or girl yet) came up to me and yesturday a couple more came up to me and rubbed up on me.

My personal cat was born in an alley and the mother left her. She was about four days when I saw her. Her little eyes were still shut. She was in terrible condition her gums were white as paper, had a nose filled with green,and feces covering her bottom. I took her to the vet and he told me the "best thing to do is to put her down" I could't do it, so I took her home and atempted to nurse her back to health. And it worked. She is now about five months. She is a crazy high strung orange kitty named Olive. But she is the reason why I go feed the strays because think of how deprived she was, broke my heart.

Im not apart of any organization. But as soon as I turn eighteen im going to open a Cat Cafe. It will be called Olive Cat Lounge. And there will only be Stray and Feral Cats staying there. I plan on getting them spayed and neutered and up to date with shots. The purpose of this is to have people around the cats alot so they can become use to people. And once they are use to people im going to find perfect homes for them and get move cats(:

Welcome Rachel and thank you for helping the strays. Badge awarded

Bumping up this thread! If you're a friend of ferals and still don't carry our TCS badge, just post here with your story (pictures are always welcome as well!). I may take a while to award badges in the next couple of months (it's traveling time), so don't hesitate to PM me if it's taking more than a few days for your badge to show up.

I'm not sure if this counts or not, but here goes.

My husband and I, (mainly I), are involved with some local rescues as a pet foster home. Often times, (at least for us!), this means having a stray, (usually feral), momma and young kittens live in our guest bedroom and bathroom. The result is the mom eventually being spayed and placed back where she came from, and to socialize the kittens the best we can. Of course, sometimes there are one or two that take after mom and just will not have it. When this happens mom stays until it is safe to fix and vaccinate both her and said baby(ies) and release them together. The rest of the kittens are then up for adoption after their spays and neuters.

Also, sometimes a cat is trapped during nonworking hours at the vet. If said cat is feral, we are one of the homes that has a quiet place to set kitty until morning. These kitties are then spayed/neutered and released.

KittyMeri I would sure think so!

I do alot of feral rescue as well as have a rescue group, and know first hand about pulling a feral momma with her kittens from the shelter before they are euthanized (we have a high kill shelter)

First hand because it's usually my cat room where these families will go until as you said, mom is done and tnr'd.

I just had a quick question for you though, when you mentioned sometimes kittens will be resistant, are you not able to go and handle them starting around 3-4 weeks?  (or sooner)

This is not really the right place/thread to chat so if you want to pm me, feel free. I'd love to hear from you!

KittyMeri said:

 
I'm not sure if this counts or not, but here goes.

My husband and I, (mainly I), are involved with some local rescues as a pet foster home. Often times, (at least for us!), this means having a stray, (usually feral), momma and young kittens live in our guest bedroom and bathroom. The result is the mom eventually being spayed and placed back where she came from, and to socialize the kittens the best we can. Of course, sometimes there are one or two that take after mom and just will not have it. When this happens mom stays until it is safe to fix and vaccinate both her and said baby(ies) and release them together. The rest of the kittens are then up for adoption after their spays and neuters.

Also, sometimes a cat is trapped during nonworking hours at the vet. If said cat is feral, we are one of the homes that has a quiet place to set kitty until morning. These kitties are then spayed/neutered and released.

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It absolutely counts! You're very deserving of the badge! Thank you so much for all that you do for feral cats and for helping us spread the word by wearing your badge!

I have been taking care of ferals since August of 2010 when a 5 month old kitten wandered into my yard.  He was as wild as can be!  I was able to TNR him in October of 2010 and he has lived on and around my deck since that time.  Shortly after he arrived, another feral showed up.  I cared for him throughout the winter, but when I went to TNR him in the spring he disappeared.  Fortunately he came back 5 months later and I was able to successfully TNR him. Unfortunately he disappeared soon after the TNR and has not returned to me.  In December of 2012 another feral appeared.  He fed from the feeding station all winter and lived under my deck.  I was able to TNR him in March of 2013.  He was very territorial and caused upset with the other cats.  He is now being socialized in my home.  Finally in June of 2013 another feral appeared.  He was stick thin and had a gaping wound.  He quickly settled in with good food and shelter.  I was able to TNR him in July of 2013.  He now lives with my first feral on my deck. 

I know my colony is small, but I do what I can to take the very best care of them.  I have worked tirelessly with my very first feral, Shadow.  He now allow pets, brushing and even an occasional lap sitting!  The feral I brought in the house has come such a long way.  It has been a difficult process bringing a territorial male in a home with a lone resident indoor only kitty and dog.  I could not keep him outside or he would do nothing but fight.  Inside the fighting has finally stopped.  I had looked to find a shelter to take him or for him to be a barn cat.  Yet it was during the height of kitten season and no one would take him.  The shelters would euthanize him as he was deemed unadoptable.  I was his only hope. 

Thank you for your consideration.

ShadowsRescue said:

 
I have been taking care of ferals since August of 2010 when a 5 month old kitten wandered into my yard.  He was as wild as can be!  I was able to TNR him in October of 2010 and he has lived on and around my deck since that time.  Shortly after he arrived, another feral showed up.  I cared for him throughout the winter, but when I went to TNR him in the spring he disappeared.  Fortunately he came back 5 months later and I was able to successfully TNR him. Unfortunately he disappeared soon after the TNR and has not returned to me.  In December of 2012 another feral appeared.  He fed from the feeding station all winter and lived under my deck.  I was able to TNR him in March of 2013.  He was very territorial and caused upset with the other cats.  He is now being socialized in my home.  Finally in June of 2013 another feral appeared.  He was stick thin and had a gaping wound.  He quickly settled in with good food and shelter.  I was able to TNR him in July of 2013.  He now lives with my first feral on my deck. 

I know my colony is small, but I do what I can to take the very best care of them.  I have worked tirelessly with my very first feral, Shadow.  He now allow pets, brushing and even an occasional lap sitting!  The feral I brought in the house has come such a long way.  It has been a difficult process bringing a territorial male in a home with a lone resident indoor only kitty and dog.  I could not keep him outside or he would do nothing but fight.  Inside the fighting has finally stopped.  I had looked to find a shelter to take him or for him to be a barn cat.  Yet it was during the height of kitten season and no one would take him.  The shelters would euthanize him as he was deemed unadoptable.  I was his only hope. 

Thank you for your consideration.

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Thank you so much for sharing your story! Your badge is on now!

Well, I have 4 feral kittens and 2 adults. There are a bunch of feral cats in the neighborhood but with the help of my neighbor we are capturing these cats to have them spaded or neutered so we won't have so many running around. I do feed them and give them water, otherwise they won't live long. I hope this will reduce the number of feral cats in the area. 

Good luck to all!

Steve

I use to live in Brooklyn NY, I did a lot of TNR work and I had a feral cat colony in my back yard. I loved every minute of helping the feral cats. I now live in Florida and I want to get back into TNR work.

Thanks

Toniann

I'm a late replier to this thread, but I've been helping ferals for about 6 years now. It started when I had a pet cat die from leukemia. He had been a stray that someone found when he was about 4 weeks old. I didn't know much about feline leukemia back then, but his death was probably the most traumatic thing I've ever had to deal with. After he died, I did a lot of research on leukemia and the one thing I found interesting was that TNR helped stop the spread of FIV and Felv by preventing fighting and breeding. So at that point I guess I went on a "Save the cats of the world from leukemia" mission and started trapping the feral cats that were living around my apartment complex.  What started out as an obsession about feline leukemia turned into me developing a love for feral cats. My husband and I have socialized quite a few of them. We've found some homes. We've kept some as house cats for ourselves and we've trapped, neutered and returned more than I can count! I now advocate for feral cats and actually prefer them to "regular" cats. By that I mean that I would much rather take in an unwanted feral cat than a friendly loving cat that can easily find a home somewhere else (I would help both - but if I had to choose I would choose the feral, because I know that not many other people would.)

I'd love to have a Friend of Ferals badge :-).

Steve Lew said:

 
Well, I have 4 feral kittens and 2 adults. There are a bunch of feral cats in the neighborhood but with the help of my neighbor we are capturing these cats to have them spaded or neutered so we won't have so many running around. I do feed them and give them water, otherwise they won't live long. I hope this will reduce the number of feral cats in the area. 

Good luck to all!

Steve

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evlwoman15 said:

 
I use to live in Brooklyn NY, I did a lot of TNR work and I had a feral cat colony in my back yard. I loved every minute of helping the feral cats. I now live in Florida and I want to get back into TNR work.

Thanks

Toniann

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Brooklet425 said:

 
I'm a late replier to this thread, but I've been helping ferals for about 6 years now. It started when I had a pet cat die from leukemia. He had been a stray that someone found when he was about 4 weeks old. I didn't know much about feline leukemia back then, but his death was probably the most traumatic thing I've ever had to deal with. After he died, I did a lot of research on leukemia and the one thing I found interesting was that TNR helped stop the spread of FIV and Felv by preventing fighting and breeding. So at that point I guess I went on a "Save the cats of the world from leukemia" mission and started trapping the feral cats that were living around my apartment complex.  What started out as an obsession about feline leukemia turned into me developing a love for feral cats. My husband and I have socialized quite a few of them. We've found some homes. We've kept some as house cats for ourselves and we've trapped, neutered and returned more than I can count! I now advocate for feral cats and actually prefer them to "regular" cats. By that I mean that I would much rather take in an unwanted feral cat than a friendly loving cat that can easily find a home somewhere else (I would help both - but if I had to choose I would choose the feral, because I know that not many other people would.)

I'd love to have a Friend of Ferals badge :-).

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Badges awarded! Thank you for taking the time to apply, helping us spread the message about helping feral cats across our community. And most of all, thank you for helping cats in need!!

I posted here once before about all my kitties.  Still have many of them...all came to me as itty-bitty babies either with a momma or unfortunately,  most of them orphaned.

One thing I did last fall...I had to replace my shed.  It was an old metal, rusty shed that I always left the sliding door open about 5 inches.  Stuff would get wet inside but I didn't care because it gave the neighborhood cats a safe place to go out of the weather.  Well, when I replaced my shed with a wooded one last fall, I didn't want to leave the door open so I put a pet door in the wall.  Works great and the out door kitties still have a safe dry place to relax in.

One change I've made this summer.  I have 14 cats to take care of.  I've had 3 cordoned off in the master bedroom, 4 cordoned off in the LR and Kitchen, and the rest in a lattice enclosed patio.  I had never let them go outside in the yard even though all have long been fixed.  Well, the cleaning up after all these cats  is starting to really take its toll on me physically so I decided that most of the kitties would be OK if I let them go outside.  So far it is working quite well and several have lost weight and not been so roly-poly any more.  I first started by trying to socialize the patio cats with the LR/Kit cats so they won't fight so much - they all seem to be quite territorial.  There are still a few skirmishes but so far it is OK.  Sissy doesn't like any of the cats so I give her calming treats and she is a little easier to get along with but she doesn't venture outside much except to get a bite of grass now and then.  They mostly stay in the yard or sometimes the backyard  next door.  Three of the outside cats go to a small wooded area about a block from my house but not for long periods.  One of the black cats (Pretty Boy) is still feral but he lets me pet him while he eats.  He stays fairly close and is home most days.  Unfortunately, nearly all the cats won't have anything to do with any human except me so I haven't re-homed them.  Anyway, my goal is to get all but the most skiddish cats to come and go outside as they please and relieve me of most of the litter box burden.  Four of the 14, in my opinion, won't be able to adapt to the outdoors.

I would truly love to find homes where they will be safe but I'm very skeptical when handing over a critter that I've taken care of for so long.

I used to try to get the local rescue organization to take most of them off my hands but they won't do it.  The only place to leave them would be the animal shelter and they are a kill facility so I won't do that.

I just read the  Hershey Rose story and I want to thank the woman for writing. I now see a way to get around the one pet rule in my condo complex after having paid fines for having 2 cats. One will be a service animal!!! Bless you for your patience.

Kathy

I've worked for and volunteer for shelters in our area off and on for years, so I've seen the tragedy of ferals being brought into shelters where they weren't even given a chance. It always broke my heart, and I did my best to educate people who tried to bring ferals to the shelters as to other options, not to mention the benefits of spaying & neutering.

But I truly began caring for ferals a 5 years ago when a huge, ancient unneutered male wandered into our yard. He was beaten up from what must have been years of tough, outdoor life - he was even missing an ear (so we promptly named him "Vince" after Vincent Van Gogh). We began feeding him and providing shelter, hoping to get him close enough to catch and take to the vet, but at that time I knew nothing about TNR, so I was trying to persuade him through socialization, so it was a long slow process. After doing alot of research, I became a fan of TNR and once I knew about that avenue, we trapped Vince and got him to the vet.

Then last year, after starting to see unknown cats in our yard, we discovered that we had a true cat colony a few blocks over (and unfortunately a colony caretaker who does not believe in spaying/neutering). So my husband and I took it upon ourselves to TNR any that wandered into our area (the caretaker won't let us trap on his property). We've fixed 13 this summer alone - and taken in 3 of the feral kittens that were born before we could get the mom - and we then took 3 months to socialize these adorable guys, eventually finding them all wonderful forever homes. 

We're currently caring for at least 4 ferals that have chosen to live in the shelters we've provided - and we continue to keep an eye out for any un-fixed newcomers. It's hard work - but I know we're doing the right thing!

kittychick said:

 
I've worked for and volunteer for shelters in our area off and on for years, so I've seen the tragedy of ferals being brought into shelters where they weren't even given a chance. It always broke my heart, and I did my best to educate people who tried to bring ferals to the shelters as to other options, not to mention the benefits of spaying & neutering.

But I truly began caring for ferals a 5 years ago when a huge, ancient unneutered male wandered into our yard. He was beaten up from what must have been years of tough, outdoor life - he was even missing an ear (so we promptly named him "Vince" after Vincent Van Gogh). We began feeding him and providing shelter, hoping to get him close enough to catch and take to the vet, but at that time I knew nothing about TNR, so I was trying to persuade him through socialization, so it was a long slow process. After doing alot of research, I became a fan of TNR and once I knew about that avenue, we trapped Vince and got him to the vet.

Then last year, after starting to see unknown cats in our yard, we discovered that we had a true cat colony a few blocks over (and unfortunately a colony caretaker who does not believe in spaying/neutering). So my husband and I took it upon ourselves to TNR any that wandered into our area (the caretaker won't let us trap on his property). We've fixed 13 this summer alone - and taken in 3 of the feral kittens that were born before we could get the mom - and we then took 3 months to socialize these adorable guys, eventually finding them all wonderful forever homes. 

We're currently caring for at least 4 ferals that have chosen to live in the shelters we've provided - and we continue to keep an eye out for any un-fixed newcomers. It's hard work - but I know we're doing the right thing!

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Thank you for helping the feral cats! Badge awarded!

When I moved to this part of Japan about three and a half years ago there was already a colony of stray cats living here.
We moved in with my cat, The Mu, a stray that I'd brought home from the park while I was living in the Northern Region
of Japan. The cats here were so tame that at first I thought they must be someone's pets. If I left a window or door open
they'd stroll in and start eating The Mu's food. I spoke to the neighbours and they told me that the cats had always been
here and that people just put left over food out for them, but that they didn't really belong to anyone.

After we'd been here for about six months a pregnant calico decided that we were going to be her main food source. I
ended up taking in her and her two kittens, plus another kitten I found abandoned outside. That first year I got the mother
cat and three kittens spayed and neutered. In the autumn I noticed a couple of the stray cats had started to lose their fur.
They were tame enough to pick up and put into carriers so I took them to the vet. They had scabies, but fortunately we
were able to get rid of it before it spread to any of the others. I think the freezing winter must have helped a lot there.

The next year I managed to catch and neuter six kittens. Even though they are more than welcome to live with me if they
want to, they spend pretty much the whole summer outdoors and only come in at night in the winter. I also found a badly
injured tom cat that year. I managed to get him to the vet after months of coaxing and we were able to treat his wounds
and neuter him at the same time. Sadly he only lived for about another 12 months after that, but he spent his last year
indoors, being loved and pampered.

This year I've managed to spay five female cats so far and I have appointments for another two spays and four neuters
this month. I've also re-homed one kitten and placed two with a foster family. There is still a bit more work to do before I
get the situation under control, but over all the colony is looking much healthier and fatter than it did when I first moved
in.

(Wish I could say the same for my bank balance......

5729184161_240f3dc729.jpg

• Norachan
• Dec 10, 2013

Sadly they are no longer with us, but they did a great job of passing on their genes.


Hige San looking splendid after his fur grew back.


Two of Hige San's sons, Rufus and Hissy Fit.


The four little fluff balls that I couldn't resist taking in. Mum, Kumori Chan, has been spayed now too.


Three of last years kittens.

Norachan said:

Sadly they are no longer with us, but they did a great job of passing on their genes.

Hige.jpg

• Norachan
• Dec 10, 2013

Hige San looking splendid after his fur grew back.

HissyRu.jpg

• Norachan
• Dec 10, 2013

Two of Hige San's sons, Rufus and Hissy Fit.

Kumori.jpg

• Norachan
• Dec 10, 2013

The four little fluff balls that I couldn't resist taking in. Mum, Kumori Chan, has been spayed now too.

TupandCo2.jpg

• Norachan
• Dec 10, 2013

Three of last years kittens.

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Beautiful cats! Thank you for sharing the story and pictures - badge awarded!