Friend of Ferals Award Badge - Apply Here

[nyny]

Firstly I would like to say that I am 15 years old. I'm not like most kids my age, I'm barely on my phone, I don't use twitter ect. But that's besides the point. When I was 4 years old my mother married my stepfather, a nature reserver. I guess that's where I got my love for animal.. I'm planning on going into a career working with animals, preferably something to help save animal(suggestions?!). So, a few years after the marriage we heard a kitty meowing, my brother went to have a look and there was a kitten. He was definitely not someone pet as he was scared of us and hissed when we came near him. We took him in and named him Sokkies (socks in english). He lived with us for a few years. A few years later we moved, when we got at our new home we noticed some stray cats. They seemed to really mend with our cats. We now consider them our cats, although we can't touch them or come near them, we still do care for them. We feed them and they sleep in our house. When I was about 9 we took in another kitten that someone found in a bush. Last year we found out our own cat tested HIV positive. The vet told us he probably got it from a stray cat. We knew exactly what cat it was.. It was a stray who also lived nearby, he would sometimes come in but when he saw us he ran away. Unfortunately we had to put our cat to sleep. A few weeks later the stray came into our house, he was very waeak and just payed there. It's almost as if he came to ask us for help, unfortunately he was very ill and also had to be put down. Right now we still have the strays that came with the house. My mum suspects the one cat could be pretty close to my age. We also have two other cats of our own... So that our story. Also I don't know if this counts but I volunteer a a rehabilitation centre on Saturdays. Thanks for reading!

 

[Anne]

Firstly I would like to say that I am 15 years old. I'm not like most kids my age, I'm barely on my phone, I don't use twitter ect. But that's besides the point. When I was 4 years old my mother married my stepfather, a nature reserver. I guess that's where I got my love for animal.. I'm planning on going into a career working with animals, preferably something to help save animal(suggestions?!). So, a few years after the marriage we heard a kitty meowing, my brother went to have a look and there was a kitten. He was definitely not someone pet as he was scared of us and hissed when we came near him. We took him in and named him Sokkies (socks in english). He lived with us for a few years. A few years later we moved, when we got at our new home we noticed some stray cats. They seemed to really mend with our cats. We now consider them our cats, although we can't touch them or come near them, we still do care for them. We feed them and they sleep in our house. When I was about 9 we took in another kitten that someone found in a bush. Last year we found out our own cat tested HIV positive. The vet told us he probably got it from a stray cat. We knew exactly what cat it was.. It was a stray who also lived nearby, he would sometimes come in but when he saw us he ran away. Unfortunately we had to put our cat to sleep. A few weeks later the stray came into our house, he was very waeak and just payed there. It's almost as if he came to ask us for help, unfortunately he was very ill and also had to be put down. Right now we still have the strays that came with the house. My mum suspects the one cat could be pretty close to my age. We also have two other cats of our own... So that our story. Also I don't know if this counts but I volunteer a a rehabilitation centre on Saturdays. Thanks for reading!

Thank you for sharing your story! It's wonderful to see someone so young helping animals and wanting to learn more about it. Is there a shelter or a rescue organization near you that you can contact? Volunteering at such a place can be a great experience. You'll be helping cats and dogs and learning more about what needs to be done for them.

Badge awarded! 

 

[nyny]

Thanks so much for the badge! Like I said, I volunteered at a nearby rescue centre. We have also talked to the local shelter about volunteering. My mother also got a number of an organization that goes to help dogs in the more rural part of the city. I'm disgusted by the lack of respect that today's children have for animals. Usually the kids at my school look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them about my love for animals. Anyway, our eldest stray has been sick for the last few days, and now she's missing. She was having some trouble walking.. Please send us some good vibes! Thanks again, Anne!

 

[jil05]

Hi,

I take care of a small feral bunch in my backyard. There were more of them but they disappeared all in one day. I think it was the neighbors- they all hate cats. Anyway, there are now four of them out there, we had to put Beauty to sleep about two months ago. The other cats and I still miss her.
They have been with us for about 10 years now and are well-fed, have shelter and even allow us to pet them when they are in the mood of course. All have been TNR'd and are very happy.
During those ten years my sister and I must have spayed/neutered about 20 cats and got a couple of them adopted too!
I love all cats but have a soft spot for the ferals as I can see what they have to endure out there. And considering everything, most of them still have the most beautiful personalities!
Would love a Friend of Ferals Award Badge!

 

[Anne]

 
Hi,

I take care of a small feral bunch in my backyard. There were more of them but they disappeared all in one day. I think it was the neighbors- they all hate cats. Anyway, there are now four of them out there, we had to put Beauty to sleep about two months ago. The other cats and I still miss her.
They have been with us for about 10 years now and are well-fed, have shelter and even allow us to pet them when they are in the mood of course. All have been TNR'd and are very happy.
During those ten years my sister and I must have spayed/neutered about 20 cats and got a couple of them adopted too!
I love all cats but have a soft spot for the ferals as I can see what they have to endure out there. And considering everything, most of them still have the most beautiful personalities!
Would love a Friend of Ferals Award Badge!

So sorry to hear about the neighbors trouble. I think dealing with humans is probably the hardest thing when caring for ferals is concerned 

Thanks for sharing your story and badge awarded!

 

[ecmyers]

The Wild Cat Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group in Lafayette, Louisiana. Since incorporation in 2002, we have TNR'd an average of over 1000 cats per year. We provide training, guidance and advocacy of TNR to our local community and beyond.  In 2012, we opened SpayNation for Dogs & Cats, a feral-friendly high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter facility  serving the Acadiana area of Southwest Louisiana. We would be honored to display the Friend of Ferals badge on our site.

 

[Anne]

 
The Wild Cat Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group in Lafayette, Louisiana. Since incorporation in 2002, we have TNR'd an average of over 1000 cats per year. We provide training, guidance and advocacy of TNR to our local community and beyond.  In 2012, we opened SpayNation for Dogs & Cats, a feral-friendly high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter facility  serving the Acadiana area of Southwest Louisiana. We would be honored to display the Friend of Ferals badge on our site.

Welcome aboard! I just put the badge on your profile here. If you like, you can grab the image and post it on your site as well, not a problem. If you could link it back to http://www.thecatsite.com or even specifically to the ferals forum - http://www.thecatsite.com/f/9/caring-for-strays-and-ferals - that would be awesome! Thank you!

 

[thommyzmommy]

Thank you so much for what you do and creating much needed awareness!!!  That is Thomas J over there on his little pillow, he was the in the first litter I trapped in 2004!   We are in the heart of Texas and my guy and I have been TNRing together since 2009.  More Trap, Neuter and Remove - as into homes but we still have 9 colonies who keep us busy twice a day.  By our home is several complexes who seem to churn out abandoned animals so we scoop them up and place them with a whole load of restrictions for the new parents!!!!  

  Thanks again for your work, very nice to meet you!!!!

Trish

 

[Anne]

 
Thank you so much for what you do and creating much needed awareness!!!  That is Thomas J over there on his little pillow, he was the in the first litter I trapped in 2004!   We are in the heart of Texas and my guy and I have been TNRing together since 2009.  More Trap, Neuter and Remove - as into homes but we still have 9 colonies who keep us busy twice a day.  By our home is several complexes who seem to churn out abandoned animals so we scoop them up and place them with a whole load of restrictions for the new parents!!!!  

  Thanks again for your work, very nice to meet you!!!!

Trish

Welcome to TCS, Trish! Thomas J is really sweet! Why not post about him and yourself in our New Cats on the Block forum? We also have a summer posting contests for new members, which you can read all about here. Badge awarded too 

 

[kittytech27]

What an awesome way to show recognition to those wonderful people involve in helping out community cats! 

I'm involved in our shelter's TNR program and last year we trapped and spayed/neutered/vaccinated 1,037 community cats that were then released in the area they were trapped in. We started to focus more on community cats and TNR after reading in one of the local papers and seeing an ad looking for an "exterminator" to destroy the large feral population! We stepped up and offered our services and educated the community on what TNR was and how it was a way better option than paying someone to come in and shoot them all! The public responded and we had some really wonderful volunteers that went above and beyond for the feral cats in their communities. We have continued with the TNR program this year and we are up to somewhere around 750 cats s/n/v. It's a long road, but an extremely rewarding one

 

[keyes]

kittytech27-Oh my gosh, I can't believe the number of cats that you have tnr'd.  Hopefully, these numbers will decrease as you go along.  Thank you and your volunteers for all that you do.

 

[kittytech27]

Honestly we couldn't either! You would never have guessed at how many cats there were actually out there until we started trapping them. We thought it would be a couple hundred tops, and we thought that number might be high. Considering you only see a few here and there. We were all very surprised at the sheer number of feral cats we were seeing! This number also includes semi-feral barn cats and trailer park cats. I sincerely hope next year that our numbers will be lower and we will start seeing the difference that all the hard work has made. I would love to see a time when TNR programs were not even necessary. To all the kitty superheroes out Keep Calm and Rescue On!

 

[Norachan]

 
Honestly we couldn't either! You would never have guessed at how many cats there were actually out there until we started trapping them. We thought it would be a couple hundred tops, and we thought that number might be high. Considering you only see a few here and there. We were all very surprised at the sheer number of feral cats we were seeing! This number also includes semi-feral barn cats and trailer park cats. I sincerely hope next year that our numbers will be lower and we will start seeing the difference that all the hard work has made. I would love to see a time when TNR programs were not even necessary. To all the kitty superheroes out Keep Calm and Rescue On!

You're doing a fantastic job. It is amazing how many cats are out there, isn't it? I TNR'd the feral cats on just my street and it came to 35 cats. Yet most of the time they stay hidden and you wouldn't know they were there.

Thank you for doing so much for the cats and to educate the community. 

 

[Anne]

 
What an awesome way to show recognition to those wonderful people involve in helping out community cats! 

I'm involved in our shelter's TNR program and last year we trapped and spayed/neutered/vaccinated 1,037 community cats that were then released in the area they were trapped in. We started to focus more on community cats and TNR after reading in one of the local papers and seeing an ad looking for an "exterminator" to destroy the large feral population! We stepped up and offered our services and educated the community on what TNR was and how it was a way better option than paying someone to come in and shoot them all! The public responded and we had some really wonderful volunteers that went above and beyond for the feral cats in their communities. We have continued with the TNR program this year and we are up to somewhere around 750 cats s/n/v. It's a long road, but an extremely rewarding one

Wow, that is a huge number! Kudos! I hope you'll start seeing a nice decrease in future years.

Badge awarded, of course - thank you for helping us spread the message of caring for ferals in our community!

 

[lilysguardian]

My whole life I have been a friend of Feral kitties.  Living out 'in the country' in a nicer neighborhood in my childhood, a lot of cats were dumped there, I believe, because their owners knew they had the best chance of finding people to take care of them. Sometimes  we'd have 20 cats around after the mommas had their babies.   We spayed numerous females and re homed kittens every year though it broke my heart to let any of them go after I worked so hard to tame them (one of my favorite childhood memories is me and my mom grabbing a laundry basket and then detaching a gutter drain pipe where feral kittens of abandoned mama cats loved to hide at my house, shaking the contents out into the basket then trying to play with them with garden gloves on).  As an adult I also live in the country, my two cats are rescues, and I never give up on any cat that shows up at my door.  There's nothing greater than watching a relationship grow with a cat that seems to be a lost cause.  It's amazing how each one is different and I appreciate each cat, whether they open up completely or continue to be skittish...they all need love, and I'm glad to give it as the reward of their affection on any level is beyond compare! I'd love to have the badge Thanks.

 

[ecmyers]

 
Welcome aboard! I just put the badge on your profile here. If you like, you can grab the image and post it on your site as well, not a problem. If you could link it back to http://www.thecatsite.com or even specifically to the ferals forum - http://www.thecatsite.com/f/9/caring-for-strays-and-ferals - that would be awesome! Thank you!

Thank you so much! We will display it proudly.

 

[artemis214]

I fell on some hard times about 4 years ago, and I had to downsize from an apartment to renting a room out of someone's house.

Fortunately I was able to bring my two Cats with me that I already had.  Both Rescues, one 8 years and one almost 16 yrs.

While I was living there, some feral kittens were born in the shed in the back-yard.  I ADORE cats, so I immediately took over with taking them food, trying to domesticate them, etc.  When they were old enough, I contacted "FixNation", which is an organization that specializes in teaching people about Trapping, Neutering, and Releasing Feral cats from colonies.

We had a fairly large colony in the neighborhood there, and I fed and watered them every day, tried to pet them, and bought them a tent for the cold, rainy weather.  They took to it right away !!  Did my heart SO much good to know they could be warm any time they wanted to.

I borrowed a couple of traps for a few months, and with one of my roommates help. we had about 9 feral cats neutered/spayed, de-wormed, vaccinated - then released.

I fell in love with them - especially the kittens I'd been taking care of since birth, and their mama - whom we also had fixed.

After almost 2 years, I had to move from the place I was renting, and really had nowhere I could go with, now 4 cats, but I refused to leave them behind.  One of the feral kittens I took care of mysteriously died one day, and often I'd see what looked like blunt force injuries on the others now and then.  

One day I caught a neighbor shooting at the colony with a high-powered sling-shot !!  I let him have it - believe me about that.  However, I was terrified he'd hurt more of the cats, since I now suspected the kitten who died was because of that awful man.  Then another of my feral kittens came home badly injured in his jaw.  He'd also had his front fang knocked down to only 1/4 of how long it should be !!  He almost didn't make it - and he hid for two weeks, and I had to start all over trying to get him to trust me.

Long story short, I was in California during that time, decided to accept a good friends' offer to come stay with him in Michigan - and we drove a moving truck with all my furniture, my 2 original cats, and the two feral kittens all the way from CA to MI, and we are ALL quite happy.   We even built a "Catio" out in the back yard that is fenced in with chicken-wire, so the cats can go outside and sun themselves, chase bugs, play, etc. in safety.

These wonderful cats have come a LONG way and are just as healthy and happy as can be.

I lost my 18 yr old 3 months after arriving.  My heart was devastated, but it was from natural causes.  18 years is a long time to have a little sweet, loyal, precious companion.  I rescued her just one day before she was going to be "put down" at the shelter all those years ago.  She always gave me so much love and Joy, and I miss her terribly.  

We buried my sweet "Poo-Doo" under a Jasmine tree out back by the pond.  We have a total of four Cats now - all rescues, and we have a very happy, blessed home ! <3

 

[Anne]

 
I fell on some hard times about 4 years ago, and I had to downsize from an apartment to renting a room out of someone's house.

Fortunately I was able to bring my two Cats with me that I already had.  Both Rescues, one 8 years and one almost 16 yrs.

While I was living there, some feral kittens were born in the shed in the back-yard.  I ADORE cats, so I immediately took over with taking them food, trying to domesticate them, etc.  When they were old enough, I contacted "FixNation", which is an organization that specializes in teaching people about Trapping, Neutering, and Releasing Feral cats from colonies.

We had a fairly large colony in the neighborhood there, and I fed and watered them every day, tried to pet them, and bought them a tent for the cold, rainy weather.  They took to it right away !!  Did my heart SO much good to know they could be warm any time they wanted to.

I borrowed a couple of traps for a few months, and with one of my roommates help. we had about 9 feral cats neutered/spayed, de-wormed, vaccinated - then released.

I fell in love with them - especially the kittens I'd been taking care of since birth, and their mama - whom we also had fixed.

After almost 2 years, I had to move from the place I was renting, and really had nowhere I could go with, now 4 cats, but I refused to leave them behind.  One of the feral kittens I took care of mysteriously died one day, and often I'd see what looked like blunt force injuries on the others now and then.  

One day I caught a neighbor shooting at the colony with a high-powered sling-shot !!  I let him have it - believe me about that.  However, I was terrified he'd hurt more of the cats, since I now suspected the kitten who died was because of that awful man.  Then another of my feral kittens came home badly injured in his jaw.  He'd also had his front fang knocked down to only 1/4 of how long it should be !!  He almost didn't make it - and he hid for two weeks, and I had to start all over trying to get him to trust me.

Long story short, I was in California during that time, decided to accept a good friends' offer to come stay with him in Michigan - and we drove a moving truck with all my furniture, my 2 original cats, and the two feral kittens all the way from CA to MI, and we are ALL quite happy.   We even built a "Catio" out in the back yard that is fenced in with chicken-wire, so the cats can go outside and sun themselves, chase bugs, play, etc. in safety.

These wonderful cats have come a LONG way and are just as healthy and happy as can be.

I lost my 18 yr old 3 months after arriving.  My heart was devastated, but it was from natural causes.  18 years is a long time to have a little sweet, loyal, precious companion.  I rescued her just one day before she was going to be "put down" at the shelter all those years ago.  She always gave me so much love and Joy, and I miss her terribly.  

We buried my sweet "Poo-Doo" under a Jasmine tree out back by the pond.  We have a total of four Cats now - all rescues, and we have a very happy, blessed home ! <3

Welcome to TCS and thank you for sharing your story with us. You're obviously a friend of ferals and an avid cat lover, so I hope that over time you'll come to see our little community as an online family. Badge awarded, of course 

 

[artemis214]

 Thank you !

 

[hoots-paw]

I live in Israel where there are so many feral cats, they all have territory and have identified soft-hearted folks like me who put food and water out for them. Four have permanently set up shop on our porch, each with his or her area of choice. Another 10-15 come and feed (I boil chicken breasts and throw them chunks).

I also put food and water over the fence for another 10-15 cats so they do not fight with the ones on this side, since no one over there feeds them at all.

I go for walks at 4 am every other day, with a carry-on rolling suitcase full of water and food, which I distribute to two other colonies, one of more tham 20 cats, and the other about ten cats. I take a dis brush and brush one who never runs for the food while I am around: only wants to be brushed.

One has come inside, cuddles up to us, sleeps on our bed, and seriously wants to be adopted. Her name is Hoots-Paw because she has Israeli chutzpah.

We may move in another 6-7 months and I am worried about whether I am making so many dependent on me.

I bring real meat and tuna which are rare treats. One is a three-legged orange tabby that I always save the biggest chunk for, distracting the others with scattered pieces while I give hers to her ( or him,)

I want the ones who trust me enough over time to feel what it is like to be loved, petted and brushed. I learn so much about God's love from all of them.