16/10/2020
Happy national feral cats day!!! Here is some facts on Community cats and why we do what we do.
“Community Cats” is a term used to describe outdoor, unowned, free-roaming cats. These cats could be friendly, feral, adults, kittens, healthy, sick, altered and/or unaltered. They may or may not have a caregiver. By this definition, the only outdoor free-roaming cats who are not community cats are those who have an owner.
The community cats face many challenges
• They must endure weather extremes such as cold and snow, heat and rain.
• Community cats face starvation, infection and attacks by other animals.
• Unfortunately, almost half of the kittens born outdoors die from disease, exposure or parasites before their first year.
• Community cats face eradication by humans. Poison, trapping, gassing and steel leg-hold traps are all ways that humans—including some animal control and government agencies—try to kill off community cat populations.
If a community cat survives kittenhood, his average lifespan is less than two years if living on his own. If a cat is lucky enough to be in a colony that has a caretaker, he may reach 10 years. Community cats who live in a managed colony—a colony with a dedicated caretaker who provides spay/neuter services, regular feedings and proper shelter—can live a quite content life.
In our colony we TNRM, Trap-Neuter-Return-Monitor.
We trap the kitties, fix them, then we return them to the colony. We continue to feed them every single day; in the rain, snow, negative degree days, and the 100 degree days. We provide adequate shelter and we continue to monitor them for health issues.
Our Colony Cats are NOT cuddly lap cats, you are lucky if they come within 2 feet of you. But we love them regardless, we name them and we mourn the losses. Without us the colony cats would not survive. It is a thankless job but it’s 100% worth it to see our cats gain weight and thrive ❤️🐾