Adopt a River Cat

Adopt a River Cat Trap-Neuter-Return, cat rescue and cat welfare Founded in 1997, Adopt a River Cat (A.R.C.) Over the last two and a half decades, A.R.C.

is a no-kill organization based in the Fox Valley area that is dedicated to the spaying and neutering of feral cats and rescue of kittens born to feral cats. Born outdoors, these cats have adopted an extreme distrust or fear of humans, and as such cannot properly be rehabilitated as household pets. These homeless community cats tend to form colonies, where they interbreed and soon a population exp

losion occurs. The traditional reaction, or solution, to this problem has been to trap and kill the cats, but as it is a very costly method, it is only done in spurts, and as such, barely makes a dent in the population while opening new opportunities for colony growth. has been committed to providing a humane alternative to this method, by placing adoptable cats and kittens into no-kill shelters, or by following the standards of Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (TNVR). This approach mandates that feral cats be trapped, sterilized, and returned to a managed colony where food, shelter and medical care is provided.

02/17/2025

It makes sense that our newest intake is a growler too, except this one is perfectly tame. How did we get a tame kitten from outdoors in the middle of Winter? He was found by a family in a strip mall parking lot.😔Thank you to the family who rescued him. He is about 7wo.

Hopefully it is *spay* or neuter your ex 😄, what do you guys think about this TNR effort? It certainly is creative! We a...
02/09/2025

Hopefully it is *spay* or neuter your ex 😄, what do you guys think about this TNR effort? It certainly is creative! We all could need a little boost for healing lol.

Murek says no way he is 5lbs overweight, he also says no way is he going BACK to the vet to get his teeth cleaned and hi...
02/08/2025

Murek says no way he is 5lbs overweight, he also says no way is he going BACK to the vet to get his teeth cleaned and his fractured tooth pulled.❤️ Murek was a TNR 3 1/2 years ago when he was 1 1/2yo that eventually left the site he was at and found new caretakers. He is FIV (and FELV) negative which we are happy about for him being outdoors for almost 5 years (since he was born).

One of the benefits of TNR that isn’t always mentioned is that when TNR is done correctly i.e. fixing ALL the males at a site, including the ones that tend to roam and only stop by occasionally (this takes more time because of their roaming behavior during the warm months of the year, they settle down at a location during the colder months, that is a good time to trap them but we do not trap over the Winter except for sick or injured cats so we try to coordinate sightings with residents during the months we do trap.

What are the results of neutering the males in a colony/area? Less territorial behavior and fighting, that results in less FIV transmission among the community cats. This is because very deep bites are how FIV can get transmitted (where blood vessels are contacted). That is why FIV is sometimes called a fighting disease.

Back to our fellow Murek, he tested negative for FIV which surprised us because of how long he was outdoors. However, had he tested positive we do not worry anymore because FIV cats are adopted regularly now that people understand when they live indoors they can live as long as cats without a FIV. Our shelter partners also regularly take FIV cats from us which allows us to get socialized colony cats indoors even if they are FIV positive. All great developments for FIV positive cats. Murek became social after some time at the new location and was returned to us due to having our microchip (all our TNR cats are microchipped). He has been with us a couple of months and is such a sweet boy. Thank you Michael and Giselle for keeping him safe and bringing him back to us, and for the card, donation and picture collage.

02/07/2025

🤷‍♀️

02/05/2025

Got our first purrs from this brother and sister. They are the most growly kittens I have ever seen - they growl non stop! The third sibling has been purring for a couple of weeks so we separated them so that kitten would not be held backwards from his progress. I got tears in my eyes when I heard their first purrs, it was when they saw the blue bird toy with a long tail was dangling for them (they were finally calm enough to sit and watch what I was doing) because I really thought these two, who were kittens very late in the season last year, were not going to come around. They still have a long way to go, but I now believe they do not have to be returned to their colony.

Heathe Abraham
President

Hey Pet Lovers, Just a reminder Paws on Main Street in downtown Oswego is still open every day of the week. Monday - Fr...
02/03/2025

Hey Pet Lovers,

Just a reminder Paws on Main Street in downtown Oswego is still open every day of the week. Monday - Friday 10 - 6. Saturday and Sunday 10 - 4. Due to numerous Doctor appointments sometimes I have to open late or close early which will be posted on my page. Special Orders are usually not a problem so if you are looking for something I don't have in stock, please let me know. Thanks to all of you that continue to support Paws on Main!

February 1 & 2 we will have a free dental chew giveaway!! Hurry in today!!! .com

It’s back in stock!!! American Natural Premium & the Woof-Itz too!!! Yay!!! Hurry in today!!!

Sent by Julie Hoover

01/23/2025

Thank you to our amazing volunteers Brad and Carol for making cat shelter boxes again this year for us and for several years now. We appreciate it so much! They also bring us overflow donations of food from the amazing rescue Starfish which we are so thankful for, we distribute the food to the colony caretakers (the residents caring for the community cats).❤️

That is not your basket, it is for the kittens we are socializing. (She knows that, hence the guilty look).
01/22/2025

That is not your basket, it is for the kittens we are socializing. (She knows that, hence the guilty look).

Here is some helpful information on taking care of feral/community cats during Winter.
01/20/2025

Here is some helpful information on taking care of feral/community cats during Winter.

Worrying about the stray cats in your community now that cold weather is here? In this blog post, you'll find ways you can help stray cats survive cold weather by providing food and fresh water, as well as shelter options like outdoor cat houses and heated houses for stray cats. Learn more here.

01/20/2025

This was my son ❤️❤️❤️

We have wonderful news, Aragorn our feline leukemia positive kitty is a foster failure at his temporary/emergency foster...
01/11/2025

We have wonderful news, Aragorn our feline leukemia positive kitty is a foster failure at his temporary/emergency foster home. He has bonded with the family and is so loved by them especially his human dad. Thank you Mary and Walter both for stepping up as an emergency foster and for opening your hearts and home to this very special boy.

Frosty’s caretakers took her inside two years ago and she is doing great. We were able to place her two kittens.
01/07/2025

Frosty’s caretakers took her inside two years ago and she is doing great. We were able to place her two kittens.

Christian will be going to a shelter partner soon. His mom still needs a home, she is very shy and FIV positive if anyon...
01/07/2025

Christian will be going to a shelter partner soon. His mom still needs a home, she is very shy and FIV positive if anyone is interested in providing her a loving home.

01/05/2025

Help - we are looking for short term fosters while we wait for them to be placed with a shelter partner. We would like to move them out of the garage shelter they have reached their max time we are comfortable with them being crated there. Please message us if you can help.

Our new vet Bristol Veterinary Clinic sent us this very nice card, we appreciate them too! They are located on Orchard R...
01/03/2025

Our new vet Bristol Veterinary Clinic sent us this very nice card, we appreciate them too! They are located on Orchard Rd near Rt 34 in Oswego. We are thankful someone recommended them to us when we were looking for a new vet last Fall and we found them. They understand TNR programs and the work we do and have a lot of previous experience with TNR groups.

01/01/2025
The 3 babies we trapped last weekend. They got their nails clipped tonight and weren’t too happy about it especially the...
12/22/2024

The 3 babies we trapped last weekend. They got their nails clipped tonight and weren’t too happy about it especially the tabbies. Still very hissy but they will come along with TLC and proper socialization.

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3900 Gabrielle Lane, # 6654
Aurora, IL
60598

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It makes sense that our newest intake is a growler too, except this one is perfectly tame. How did we get a tame kitten from outdoors in the middle of Winter? He was found by a family in a strip mall parking lot.😔Thank you to the family who rescued him. He is about 7wo.

Got our first purrs from this brother and sister. They are the most growly kittens I have ever seen - they growl non stop! The third sibling has been purring for a couple of weeks so we separated them so that kitten would not be held backwards from his progress. I got tears in my eyes when I heard their first purrs, it was when they saw the blue bird toy with a long tail was dangling for them (they were finally calm enough to sit and watch what I was doing) because I really thought these two, who were kittens very late in the season last year, were not going to come around. They still have a long way to go, but I now believe they do not have to be returned to their colony. Heathe Abraham President

Gary looks so handsome after his entropion surgery! Dr. Hall did a wonderful job as usual. We are so happy for him!❤️ He is also doing great on his prescription food and will be retested to measure crystals in his urine soon. He most likely will have to continue on prescription food for a long time and possibly the rest of his life. He is up for adoption and will need a home that understands and can provide for his needs. Please message us if you are interested in this very sweet and loving boy!

Mufasa and Bear
Mufasa and Bear

I have been worried about Mufasa and his rehabilitation (more like lack thereof) to the point where I am starting to lose sleep over it, because we have not had a foster volunteer and our shelter partners are still at their max with m FIV pos cats so I have started to bring him into the office at my home while I am working. Today Bear joined him who we can also not place or find a foster for and desperately needs attention. I forgot that kitten love is the best thing for rehabilitation.

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