Happy November. As Thanksgiving gobbles towards us, we’ve all got family on our hearts and minds — and that goes for our feral cats, too.
It was a family affair this month when our TNR team trapped some unneutered tomcats near Tabby’s Place. We’d quickly find that those fellas were only two twigs on a larger family tree.
Our savvy trappers outfoxed most of the feral family, trapping and sterilizing several of the adults before safely returning them to their colony. Alas, one of those toms wasn’t about to give up his unneutered life without a fight, and he slipped out of our grasp after being trapped. He’s not been seen again, so we work and pray towards getting him back — and neutered — for good.
As often, we’ve “outsourced” most of this colony’s spay/neuter surgery to a stellar local veterinary facility. But, by your next update, we should be doing the majority of our surgeries right here at Tabby’s Place. Our expanded in-house hospital is complete! At this point, we’re just awaiting some final permitting and other oh-so-exciting paperwork. Thank you for helping to make this a glorious reality for our cats!
But, getting back to that colony and its family affair. Where there are ferals, there will be kittens, and it so happens that this colony had spawned The Cutest Tabbies In The History of Tabbitude. Skeptical? Feast your eyes on these photos of little Timberland and his sisters Reebok, Nike and Converse.
It seems these wee, wondrous beasties had been born just four weeks earlier. Although they were still young and fragile, their mama had decided she was done with motherhood, and left the kittens to fend for themselves. It was not a moment too soon that they came into our care. Other than a case of ringworm (which is, of course, entirely treatable), they’re a healthy quartet, and positively frantic for love. Enter the kittens’ presence for two minutes, and all four will pile into your lap with no plans of leaving — not now, not ever. We’re confident that the last generation of this feral family will be adopted quickly.
Meanwhile, don’t be too frustrated with their overwrought mama. According to the kind folks who’d been feeding the feral colony, this mother cat had already had at least four litters. Can you blame the poor girl for a bit of weariness?
In addition to being weary, mama is apparently rather wily — at this point, she’s the only member of the colony who has eluded our traps entirely. We know patience is a virtue, though, so we’ll keep at it until she’s safely trapped and returned to a happier, healthier life post-parenting.
Meantime, we’ve got four happy kittens to raise — and some extraordinary human beings to thank. (That would be you.) In this month of gratitude, thank you for giving so much love and life-saving care to the neediest cats of all. Like orphans and exiles with nowhere to go for Thanksgiving, feral cats once had nobody on their side…but you’ve become family to them. Thank you from the depths of my heart for making the rest of their lives one long holiday of love.