The Colony Chronicles
Volume 1, Issue 1

June Fundraiser

In Memory of Bessie Fulk

Saving Katrina Cats

Pilot Program with Animal Control

Notes from a Converted Feral Cat Lover

Volunteers Needed

What's in a Word

Not familiar with feral vs tame? The following definitions help differentiate some of the terminology used in this newsletter.

Feral Cat: A cat that is completely or substantially unsocialized to humans and exists in a wild or untamed state due to birth or reversion to a wild state from domestication. Feral cats typically exhibit extreme fear and resistance to human contact.

Semi-feral Cat: A feral cat that has become somewhat acclimated to human presence and is thus less fearful of humans (often a caretaker), but is not appropriate as a human companion. A semi-feral cat may also be a formerly domesticated cat that has become more fearful of humans, due to lack of consistent contact with humans.

Feral Cat Colony: A group of free-roaming cats that congregates, more or less, as a unit. Although not every cat in a colony may be feral, any non-feral cats that regularly congregate with a colony are deemed to be part of the colony.

By Rebecca Kennedy

A little over 2 years ago Leslie and I started "helping" feed a colony to give the caretaker a break.   She was working long hours on her job and having some health issues.  After a couple of months, she informed us that she would no longer be able to care for the colony…we were suddenly "in charge."  Over the next six to eight months, we trapped and spayed/neutered about 30 cats.  Our colony became fairly stable and now we have the occasional newcomer, which, of course, we work on getting trapped as quickly as possible.

There were a couple of "difficult" members of the colony, but one was the "queen" of difficult.  Meet Belle…she is a medium hair, black and white cat with the cunning of a fox.  She avoided any attempts on our part to trap her.  Two years ago this last April she brought us two kittens when they were old enough to eat on their own.  We continued to try to lure her to no avail.  The following spring she brought us one kitten.  We were able to easily get the kitten, but Belle avoided us like the plague.  Meanwhile, Belle developed huge red, weepy sores on her back.   They would sometimes look a tiny bit better, but overall, they covered her back and stayed raw continuously. In the fall, she brought us another kitten…another easy target for our trapping skills. 

We borrowed a box trap and used it for our feeding station, but were unable to leave the door on it because of its public location.  Belle wouldn't go anywhere near it if we were present, so we still couldn't figure how we would ever catch her.  If she even saw a regular trap, she would run the other way.   Finally, after the box trap had been there for many months, we developed a plan (we figured we had to be smarter than she...).  When we were able to go together, we would take a regular trap and sneak around the corner (being vewy, vewy quiet) and quickly drop it in front of the box trap door.  We did this for months with no luck.  Once or twice we had come around the corner without a trap and she would be in the box trap…drat!  One Saturday night we were on the way to feed and were talking about not doing our stealth move that evening because we had not even seen Belle near the box trap in months.  Since we had a trap with us we decided, "oh well, we'll just try anyway…even though we know we won't catch her."   When I came around the corner carrying the food, water and flashlight, Leslie was sitting on the trap in front of the box trap door and she said, "She's in there!".  I couldn't believe what I had heard.  She was in there and once we secured her, there was much jubilation!  We couldn't believe it for days! 

Belle lives with me now.  She has had 8 surgeries for skin cancer and is much better than she was.  She still has some skin lesions, but she is happy and healthy.   She has a vet who has been kind and generous with her treatment and who continues to work for complete healing. 

Surprisingly, she is not totally feral.   My thought is that she likely belonged to someone in the past, but was abandoned and had to make it on her own.  And make it she did…she has only one tooth, but she took care of herself and her kittens. She has her moments and I must tread lightly in some instances, but she actually seeks us out for petting.  She came and sat on my lap on her own about 2 months ago.  It brought such joy to my heart.  I have loved her for a long time and I'm so happy that we were able to finally catch her and bring her in.  She isn't cold, hungry or hurting any more.

Rebecca Kennedy

Editor's Note: Taming feral cats is a long, difficult process and requires a tremendous amount of patience.  Not all happy endings for feral cats involve the cat being adopted.  Some happy endings are healthy happy cats at the colony where they are accepted and well managed.  Stay tuned next issue for a story about such a colony.