Feisty Felines

19/12/2023

At least four occasions in the last couple weeks we have learned of someone who took in a feral or feral kittens and now, well they didn’t tame so…what? Put them back outside?

This could be a good deed gone wrong.

We are very cognizant of the changing weather and in the winter it means we have to make decisions faster on whether or not the cat wants to be a pet.

Please, do not bring in ferals for extended periods of time going into or in the winter unless you are fully committed to saving their lives and taming them, no matter how long it takes.

I mean, we would not want to go outside today in the same clothes that we wore outside in April or July or September right? We would want a winter coat. They need it too and it’s a drastic difference in weather outside now than even just 1-2 months ago.

Please be aware of that and reach out for any advice before it’s been months with no progress.

Thank you for trying to help them.

19/12/2023

19/12/2023

Well it worked for the Siamese so let’s see if it works for this pretty grey tabby.

This girl is not feral. Shes a touch scared but I think she would be fine. I would love to not have to return her back to the abandoned house they’re living (neighbor feeding).

She’s off for surgery today. Does anyone want to give a home to a homeless kitty that deserves a chance?

If you message soon I can change her to no ear tip. She’s slated for ear tip surgery at this point since I have nowhere to put her :/

19/12/2023

Update: cats on the road so unless you’re north, the chance passed. 2 open spots

Anyone awake at this crazy hour with cats to fix?! Someone cancelled and I was given 3 extra spots!

MESSAGE US!! Olympia to lynnwood

19/12/2023

Update: yay!!!! Pending adoption for Friday!! ❤️

This beautiful girl is very nice (but also very much wants out of the carrier lol).

Sadly, shelters are going to more RTF - return to field. One we hugely relied on now will not be taking in community cats anymore - friendly or not. I seriously cried. It’s so hard as is and this is going to make it so much harder.

I understand because there’s too many to save. But it’s heartbreaking.

So… who wants to home a homeless cat? She will go get ear tip fixed tomorrow and vaccines and flea treatment (or speak now if you want to pay for her surgery and home her). If I have no where to take her and no home for her, I have too many as is. So what am I supposed to do?

Is anyone interested in giving this girl who has had a hard life a better home? She is skinny. Not getting enough food. I’m happy to include standard dewormers with her.

Olympia area.

18/12/2023

Courtesy post for fellow rescue. Contact Passionate Pussycats Feline Rescue

18/12/2023

Edmund ❤️

He’s such a majestic little giant.

18/12/2023

Giving cats a dish of milk has been depicted in art for ages. Now we know cats (like humans and all other mammals) no longer produce the enzymes necessary to digest lactose once they are weaned. Cats may have diarrhea or tummy upsets after ingesting milk. If they live outside, you've no way to know. I know many of you will insist your cat(s) love it, but humans love all kinds of consumables that don't provide good nutrition for us. Cats are at our mercy and except for turning up their noses at the best cat food we just bought, may consume whatever we give them! Sorry to inject health care/ science into art!" 😿

"And then - bam!
And you're half done.
Sometimes your back hurts, sometimes your hip creaks.
And it’s more important for you to feed the cat, than to swing a sword, to spread goodness.
The helmet and shield are hung in their places.
Executioners, dictators - will wait, because the truth is somewhere out there, and the hungry little kitty is here.
It’s not like you’re exhausted...Got tired from dawn to night at the post.
But when you come home, you take the cat...

I wish we could give everyone a cat!

Pycydan Almazova
Artist Nicola Bailey

18/12/2023

Seriously tho! I said when the baby was born I was stepping back….thats a joke 😕 I’m just as busy as ever. 😕 the amount of cats we have seen this year is unreal. It just never stops and this may be the worst year ever. I think we are peaking after Covid (like side effects of cats not getting fixed).

I know I stay so busy that y’all know maybe 10% of what I do. 😕 it’s unreal. This weekend alone, I think for cat rescue I put in 5-6 hours Friday after work, 14 hours straight Saturday and 16 hours yesterday.

-Misti

18/12/2023

Let's talk about keeping food dry and water clean in the fall and winter. We love these DIY feeding stations, built from a large clear tote. They are easy to access for both you and the kitties and provide the cats a way to ensure that no predators sneak up on them. The plexiglass overhang -- which you can see if you look closely -- is genius as a way of ensuring no water enters the opening and the kitties stay dry.

17/12/2023

I would say Uno is friendly!! I’m sitting in the kennel with them and he climbed on my shoulder! And look how good his eye looks!!!

“Dos” will purr and give butt hikes but she’s def more scared. We are working on that.

If anyone wants to adopt this duo, let us know!!

Olympia area. Reduced fees. 🙂

-Misti

17/12/2023

This. Right. Here.

Not only that, surgeries for feral and free roaming cats are severely limited. It’s a heck of a lot easier for someone to fix 2 than 30. And sadly, we hear it so often. “It started with one stray.” 😕

-Misti

16/12/2023

This. All of this. I promise you we feel horrible every time we have to say we can’t help. It’s not because we don’t want to ♥️
- Abby

16/12/2023

Q: Can a feral be socialized and be brought indoors? 🐾🏡🐱
A: Maybe. It depends on the cat.

DEFINITION OF "FERAL": a cat that is unsocialized with humans. 🙀 This cat has had little/no interaction with humans, is afraid of people, and prefers to live outdoors. The term APPLIES to the cat's DISPOSITION/TEMPERAMENT, and NOT TO WHERE IT LIVES (indoors vs. outdoors). Not all outdoor cats are feral.

Yesterday's post sparked plenty of conversations regarding whether a feral cat can be turned/tamed/socialized to be an indoor pet. The answer is YES, it may be possible -- but it depends entirely on the cat and its prior experience with humans, if any.

Socializing a feral cat takes a boatload of patience and time. 🕰️ It's best to start with a fully vetted cat as spaying/neutering removes the hormones that cause cats to wander and otherwise respond to reproductive urges. Slowly, you must earn that cat's trust. Depending on the cat, this can take weeks, months, or years! 📅 The degree to which the cat might become friendly varies. You might end up with a lap cat, or you might end up with a cat that's happy to live indoors but you're never able to touch. The results are never guaranteed.

Sadly, most feral cats are simply TNRed versus going to rescue. There is always a shortage of foster homes, and those are usually reserved for kittens and friendlies (who get adopted faster). 🏠 Bringing a feral indoors for the purpose of socializing him would require the foster to keep the animal isolated in a cage in a small room, away from other animals and stimuli. It would also require the foster to spend hours of daily one-on-one interaction with the cat for weeks or months. 🤲🚫 Most people don't have time for that commitment or can't spare the room. Also, in this situation, the rescue might weigh which is the better option: keeping that foster available to rescue a litter of kittens (with or without mom) versus tying them up for months with one cat with an uncertain outcome. When they weigh which option would make the bigger impact, the feral loses.

We've socialized many ferals that are now in forever homes. 🏡 If we capture a stray and notice that it has potential, we will give it a chance before we put it back out. Sometimes they show us they prefer to live outdoors -- and sometimes they decide the accommodations are pretty good and they want to stay. We listen to their cues and act accordingly.

📷: This is our Blue, a former feral who became one of our resident house cats in August 2020. It took us a full year to gain his trust. 🤝 We socialized him outdoors during Covid lockdown, at his pace. This cat was formerly feral and lived in our area for at least 3 years before we discovered him. Time and patience on our part -- and trust on his part -- made him a beloved indoor kitty. It can be done! 🙌🐈

▶If you're interested in learning more about socializing a feral cat, check out this very informative article/guide from StrayPetAdvocacy.org. There are great tips in here, and we've shared quite a few with our followers over the years. https://loom.ly/e4AWZXE

15/12/2023

Churu to the rescue again 😂 Only way I was finally able to get this feisty one to simmer down so I could do her first vaccine. 4 spicy new intakes arrived last night. The other 3 are just frozen in fear. But this tough girl is the defender of the group.

- Abby

PS I’m down to my last 5 Churu treats if anyone wants to send us more. We are also low on food.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2CBV00ZH6FT4E?ref_=wl_share

14/12/2023

Courtesy post for fellow rescue. Contact them for more info.

Pictures of TRUDY a Domestic Shorthair for adoption in Dupont, WA who needs a loving home.

14/12/2023

Bruce is ready for a home, he is 7mo vaccinated and neutered young man. He was trapped as a feral but was so sweet and wants an indoor home.
He is shy but warms up fast for head rubs..even belly rubs!

He has warmed up to another cat at the Foster’s home and would warm up to others. He will do best in a home without a lot of commotion (so maybe small, loud children is not best, but older and or calmer ones are fine).

Olympia area.
Feistyfelines.org/adoption-application

14/12/2023

14/12/2023

Edmunds and Livingston are still looking for a home. Please share and help spread the word! They would love to be “home” for the holidays. They’re such sweet and gentle giant boys!!

14/12/2023

Yes!!!! Lock that kitten in a kennel and handle it!! That is the way!

Taming Feral Kittens - Should You Let Kittens Socialize at their Own Pace?

Ben Franklin left something out here. "Nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes and KITTENS! " It is true. If you get involved in TNR, there WILL be kittens. And what do you do with them? If they are TNR'd with the adults, you have already greatly improved their quality of life. But most trappers end up socializing and adopting out the kittens. Altered cats can enjoy a good quality of life in a colony, but it is hard to beat life as a loved family cat in warm home.

Niko is one of these kittens. Born in a neighborhood over-run with feral cats and free roaming dogs, Niko walked in a trap baited with KFC chicken. Yum. At 8 weeks, he is young enough to be socialized but possibly old enough to harbor a lifetime suspicion of strangers. Kittens like Niko bond closely to their family, but some may not extend that love to strangers. Niko is making fast progress. He plays with interactive toys, allows handling with little fuss and takes food from his foster mom's hand, but he clearly prefers cats to humans. Will that change?

How can foster homes improve the adoptability of kittens like Niko? Some influencers on social media promote letting them come around on their own. They don't recommend touching the kitten at all until the kitten comes to you to be handled. They recommend plenty of hiding spots so the kitten can feel safe and invisible. And some disagree with separating from littermates to hasten the process. Do we agree?

I would agree if the kitten was going to live with me forever. But this passive socialization mind set results in fewer kittens getting into homes. It takes longer and, in some cases, it can be many months longer. This results in fewer kittens being helped. Why?

1- Mixing kittens isn't recommended due to the risk of spreading illness. So, while a foster home is waiting for a kitten to move at his own pace, kittens trapped in later TNR projects will likely have to be returned to site.

2- If kittens aren't actively socialized, they could be in foster for many months. A scared kitten will always choose a dark hiding spot to being handled. Kittens who can avoid human contact indefinitely may not learn to bond with humans during those early critical weeks of life. And hiding can become a hard-to-break habit. Few people want to adopt a cat who chooses to live their life under a bed. Is it humane to allow a cat to live a life of hiding in fear?

3- Kittens with a wilder temperament may not be identified until it is too late to return them to their colonies. It is difficult to predict how quickly an individual kitten will socialize. We have all been surprised by half grown kittens that completely socialized and tiny one pound babies that remained fearful for life. It is important to return kittens to their colonies before the weather turns cold and before their colony mates forget who they are. We know of one "rescuer" who trapped a kitten in August and then returned it to his colony in December. He was immediately chased off by the resident cats who considered him an intruder. For me, the cut off is a maximum of 2 to 3 weeks.

While we don't believe in forcing kittens to socialize, we do think they need a little push. Socializing kittens is an act of kindness that gives the kittens a chance at an indoor home. And if it is done expediently, it will leave a vacancy for other kittens needing a foster home.

The 4 main steps to socialization are C.A.T.S.

-Containment: House the kittens in a small space like a cage or bathroom. If they are scared, its okay to let them chill for the first day or so to get used to their new environment. But after their terror has subsided, remove hiding spots so they get used to your presence. If you have a tall cat tree or can put a cage up high near eye level, they will feel less threatened.

-Acclimatization: Start off with quiet voices and slow movements. As they become less fearful, introduce normal movements and sounds. Keeping a radio or TV on can help. Introduce them to people and cat-friendly animals. Use toys and treats so they develop a positive association with humans. With older ferals, consider feeding canned food or treats ONLY while you are in their presence so they associate you with good stuff.

-Touch: Begin touch with toys or soft bedding and then progress to your hands. Short sessions spread throughout the day are best. Start with brief pettings while feeding wet food, chicken or squeeze treats. As they relax, you can briefly pick up. My first "pick ups" are usually just to place them in front of food. With small kittens, you can watch TV with them in a hoody sweatshirt pocket or inside a covered cat bed. They feel safe while they get used to your presence.

-Socialization: Introduce the kittens to new people. If they are accepting touch, encourage visitors to hold them while feeding treats or hand them a wand-style toy to engage the kitten in play.

Will Niko tame down and find a home? Yes! He approaches for food and toys and accepts handling without complaint. He will be a great companion for a lonely young cat or kitten and will continue to progress. Kittens like Niko can spend months in foster, but I think it is better to get them into their forever homes so they can bond with their new family while they are young. Resident cats are more likely to accept kittens, so getting them used to their roommates while they are young is good.

More information on socialization can be found here: https://communitycatcoalitionwa.org/socialization/

Niko is 9 weeks old now and is already neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for parasites. If you are interested in doing a 2 week foster-to-adopt to see if he is a good match for your family, comment below. Niko is in Snohomish County in Washington State.

13/12/2023

These three arrived tonight. Mama Star, and her two 6-8 month old kittens, Moon and Comet.⭐️🌜☄️

They’ve been hanging out on someone’s porch for a couple of months and are friendly-ish, just need a bit of work. Star is super friendly and will be ready for adoption once she’s vetted. Her mini-me, Comet, is also a sweetheart and purrs instantly, just a little shy about being picked up. Moon is the sassy girl of the bunch and will give you a hiss, but then leans into pets and gives butt hikes (though she strongly dislikes being picked up and will let you know). 😬

Since mama is completely friendly, and the resident had only seen them around for a couple of months, we suspect this was likely a case of dumped or abandoned pets 😞 Can’t know for sure of course, but what matters is tonight they are safe and warm, and these will be mama’s last kittens!

- Abby

13/12/2023

Update 2: we have settled on Uno!!! Welcome to the family Uno! ❤️ thank you everyone for names! There were so many good ones! Winky was a top also.

Update: omg so many good names. We currently have a 5m old black kitten named Jack so I’m not sure if it would cause confusion for “One Eyed Jack” (which might just be my fave) or “Captain Jack Sparrow” - I’m waiting to get Abby’s thoughts and we will pick a name! Feel free to keep sending them. They’re great!

***

I caught this guy at the trailer park this weekend. He was already ear tipped and turns out he’s friendly!

We are going to have his eye removed this Sunday and he’s going to be looking for a home!

What are your name suggestions?

13/12/2023

💯 I’ve never understood why some rescues (in all types of animals) have to hate on each other.

You have the same goal.

This!!! 🙌🏻💗

13/12/2023

Update: adopted ❤️

This is Sox (son of Boots) 😉

He’s the only friendly kitty left at a site we helped TNR and the feeder has gotten him so friendly! He loves attention and would make a good pet! He rolls over for belly rubs and gives great butt hikes.

If you’re interested in giving this young man a home, apply now at FeistyFelines.org/adoption-application.

He’s fixed, microchipped, combo tested, rabies and FVRCP vaccine and flea treated!

Olympia area.

13/12/2023

Update: all great names! I’m going with Sparks. Thanks everyone!

This orange fella was left behind at a trailer park when someone moved. I would love to find him a good home. I don’t have vet records on him but he’s already fixed. I have given him a fresh FVRVP vaccine and flea treatment. He appears healthy and has good 💩.

If you’re interested in this sweet boy, apply now at FeistyFelines.org/adoption-application.

Anyone want to help name him? :)

13/12/2023

Olympia area!!!

ALL APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN FILLED!

Affordable Spay and Neuter Day for cats only with your Feline Friends, MONDAY DECEMBER 18TH!

SHORT NOTICE! Limited space available!

- Healthy owned cats only
- Plastic carriers only
- Co-pay applies for each cat
- Have a question? Call the contact number
- Calls returned in the evening in the order they are received
*Please feel free to share the post but not copy/paste photo

09/12/2023

Update: I ended up with 8!

Trapping in the rain isn’t super successful but these cats are hungry. I’m hoping to have a good turnout. So far 2 caught but one was already ear tipped (yay for the ear tip! I knew it was fixed instantly and let her go!)

There’s 5 traps and these four seem to want to eat out of this one 🙄. Once it goes off it will spook the rest lol crazy cats. Go get your own trap.

-Misti

09/12/2023

Update: the bloodwork came back and it was so bad the vet recommended humane euthanasia. She said no amount of medicine can save him. 😞 💔 rest in peace sweet boy. I’m so sorry. Thank you Liza Deras for being there with him and doing all the legwork to help him. 💔 our bill ended up $748.51 and so far we have received $640. Thank you so very much. 🙏🏼

*****

We joined forces with Liza Deras / Whiskers for Hope to rescue this cat someone dumped on someone else’s property. I didn’t have time or space but wanted to help the cat get help so we teamed up.

He’s so sweet, horrible mucous diarrhea, vomiting all still making biscuits. We have named him Gunner.

We are at the vet now doing bloodwork, parvo (aka panleukopenia testing) and possibly X-rays (depending on what the blood shows). We may have to euthanize him but are trying to see if we can help.

If anyone wants to help us help this kitty, donations would be appreciated but not required.

Venmo -felines
Website feistyfelines.org/donations
Or payments directly to the vet may be allowed.

Otherwise any good vibes, prayers or other is appreciated!

-Misti

06/12/2023

Meet Rudolph the feral kitten! He is from a TNR site in Lakewood. He is around 4 months old, which is an age we would return to the site more often than not. But he seems to be sweet and just very scared, so I am working with him.

- Abby

06/12/2023

Edmunds and Livingston bathing each other. 🥺❤️

We just made another post on how these special diet boys are looking for a home or long term foster! Message if interested. ❤️🙏🏼

05/12/2023

Edmunds and Livingston are still looking for a home. They’re so sweet, calm, gentle and loving.

We are also considering long term foster with a senior (or other) local enough that we can maintain their vet in Lakewood (so maybe like Lewis, Thurston or Pierce County.

If you know of someone who could use the companionship of these boys, has no other pets and will foster them long term, indoors and safe, please let us know. Feisty Felines pays for all the supplies for our fosters. They would love to have more than one bedroom to be in and have more time from someone (than I have divided up so many ways).

Thanks for looking!

05/12/2023

North Carolina

05/12/2023

Or help him with more things and just water.

05/12/2023

Meet Robin and Tuck from the Robin Hood litter! The foster family is keeping two of the siblings, and it’s time for these guys to find their forever homes too ♥️

The pictures make them look bigger than they are. Approx 14 weeks old. These guys are still little and less than 4lbs. The softest silkiest fur ever.

Robin (white streak on nose) is a total cuddle bug. The most outgoing and confident of the litter. Has playful spurts, but is more of a couch potato.

Tuck (white spot on lip) is the more playful, adventurous one. He is curious and playtime is the way to his heart. But once he’s worn himself out he will also cuddle up and purr loudly.

They are not particularly bonded, so can go separate as long as there are other cats in the home for them to bond with. But of course they would enjoy going to a home together too ♥️

Located in Tacoma, WA. Neutered, up to date on vaccines, microchipped, dewormed, flea treated, and combo tested. $150/each or $250 as a pair. Apply at feistyfelines.org