Mon 26 Jan 2009
In 2005, my neighbors moved out of their house and left 2 cats behind. One was pregnant and social. She was able to be re-homed and her sons were adopted out. The other cat seemed like she had been abused. She was never trusting. The house was boarded up shortly after my neighbors moved out and that’s where the cat continued to live. From her, came generations of non-trusting “feral” cats.
In October of 2008, the house that all of these cats were living in was bought and is in the process of being renovated. They no longer have a home. The neighborhood has become unsafe for these cats. In November, I caught neighborhood kids with some of the kittens I had been socializing. They caught the kittens, soaked them in something, put them in grocery bags attached to bike handles, and were driving down the street with the kittens. When I got them back, they were shivering and much more scared than they had been. I was eventually able to find homes for all of those kittens. That didn’t stop the kids from tormenting other adult cats, though. I still have to sit at the window at
I have also found several dead cats. This makes me very leery of the neighborhood. In the past, some cats had disappeared from the colony, which can be explained by a number of different things when talking about ferals. However, when I find dead bodies, of otherwise healthy cats, there is something going on.
I am in the process of raising funds to get all of these cats fixed. Their vet appointment is with Washington Humane Society on February 8th. The cost of each of the 9 cats is $45. My dream goal is to get as many of these cats re-homed and adopted out as possible. My husband and I have been working on socializing all of the cats for quite awhile. Two of the adults are tame enough to be picked up. At least 2 of the kittens can be picked up as well. I don’t think any of the kittens would take long to socialize, but they would need someone with patience.
We’ve exceeded our donation goal!! Thank you all for helping these cats.