The Auto Body Shop Kitty Crew...

I will post an update about the big mobile home TNR weekend soon! It was a huge success! In the meantime, I just wanted to share a fun photo I took on Sunday while I was feeding the auto body shop colony. They now know my car and all come running when I pull up. Two of them climb up into my lap and the others circle around my door anxiously awaiting their canned food buffet. They are the BEST greeters ever!

The adorable dilute torti is Wendy. She used to never let me near her and now she is one of the boldest! The darker orange one is Speedy. He is a lovebug...purrs and climbs right up onto my legs.

Huge TNR trailer park project!

The TNR group I volunteer with is doing a massive feral cat spay/neuter round up at 3 trailer parks in Lexington. It has been in the works for awhile and tomorrow is the big day! I am in charge of one trailer park...will be the largest trapping project for me yet....daunting but exciting! I just finished prepping our garage. 18 traps, 6 carriers and a whole lotta towels, blankets and tuna. When I visited the park today, one of the kitties was curled up in a baby stroller...he was quite a friendly little greeter. It was rainy so most of the cats were hiding under the trailers. I hope to get some good action shots tomorrow if the weather is nice and sunny...paws crossed for that!

This project is so important not only for the cats but also for the people feeding and caring for them. They have a hard enough time making ends meet, yet they still manage to feed many cats. That is true compassion, kindness and generosity.

The goal is to get 20+ cats at each location. Stay tuned for an update this weekend!

All ready to go...



The recovery area...

Home Makeover for the Auto Body Shop Cat Colony

I wanted to update you on my progress with winterizing the auto body shop's cat colony. Many thanks to Susan who purchased two of my Halloween circus animals which helped fund this project!! The kitties and I are so very grateful. I ordered feeding stations and feral villas a few weeks ago. I assembled them last weekend and was able to get the colony "makeover" underway this past Saturday. Most of the kitties were not sure what to think, but as you will see, my buddy, Jimmy, was a wonderful assistant through the whole process. When I arrived on Sunday to feed the crew, I could tell that they had been exploring their new shelter and had been nesting under the tree in their new straw bedding.

Assembling the insulated villas and feeding stations on my back patio.



Hugging Jimmy as we unload everything.



Raking out the trash from under the tree to prepare for the straw bedding.



Adding straw to an existing shelter. They guys at the body shop put this out for them. It's one of those luggage carriers you attach to the top of your car with a cat door cut out...very clever and purrfect for a large, multi-cat shelter!



Jimmy testing out the straw. I think he approves!



Spreading straw under the tree.



Feral villas tucked under the tree on top of the straw....should be lots of cozy, dry places to snuggle this winter!



Diesel enjoying the view from one of the villa's rooftops.



Feeding stations in use...the larger raised one will be great when it snows.



Tip for all you feral cat caretakers...straw is the cheapest, BEST way to keep kitties warm and dry! It reflects their body heat and will not mold, mildew or freeze when wet like blankets and fabric beds. One bale of straw cost me $8 and it goes a long way.

Halloween SnipPets to help cats in need!

Last January, some friends of mine and I started TNRing a colony of feral cats at an auto body shop nearby. This colony has really captured my heart (as they always do!), and I am now feeding them on the weekends since the shop is closed and the weekday caretakers aren't there. As winter approaches, I am already feeling anxiety about keeping them as warm and comfortable as possible. Right now, they only have one small shelter and that just isn't adequate for 11 cats. They also don't have a covered area for food and water. So, I want to purchase 2 insulated feral cat villas and 2 feeding stations from www.feralvilla.com. I have two of their villas at my house for our stray crew and they really love them. I also want to get several bales of straw and a few more small shelters to put under a big pine tree that the body shop kitties stay under. Once I get everything purchased, I will spend a day over there cleaning up and creating the coziest, driest environment possible. These kitties are most likely FIV+ (3 have sadly died over the past few months and one tested positive), so it is imperative that they get as much care and comfort as possible. The group of 11 is doing well right now (no sniffling noses or runny eyes) and they have huge appetites.

The sales (100%) of my newest Halloween circus dolls will fund this project. I have completed the giraffe and owl piece and it will be available during the Pfatt Marketplace update this Saturday. I am finishing up the other two and they will be up for grabs for the Spookytime Jingles update at midnight on the 12th.

Jimmy, Calvin, Diesel, Webster, Sarah, Emily, Jenny, Wendy, Speedy, Pete and Lisa thank you for reading about their needs :).

Halloween Giraffe and Owl





Diesel



Speedy



Calvin



Eating in the snow last winter....they now have bowls but they REALLY need the covered feeding stations.



Once I get this project underway, I will post lots of "before" and "after" photos!

TNR Update...Body Shop Cats

I realized that I never reported on our second round of trapping at the body shop down the road. We TNRed 7 cats awhile back and then returned 2 weeks ago to try to get the rest taken care of. We headed out on a Friday afternoon and within an hour, we had 4 cats trapped. After that, went to a second location...an apartment several exits over, and managed to quickly trap a female that desperately needed to be spayed. We returned to the body shop and trapped a new little guy that had been hiding in a drain. Unfortunately, we were unable to get the final adults (the torti queen mama and a wary black male kitty). My car battery died while we were sitting back there in the pitch dark so we thought that was our cue to head on out. Never a dull moment during our cat trapping adventures!

I checked in on the cats last weekend and noticed another new cat....a thin, scared brown tabby who appeared out of nowhere when she smelled the canned food I put out. So, 3 more kitties to fix before we can move on to another crew. We will probably be heading out there this weekend with our trusty drop trap....a MUST for those hard to catch kitties!

The release! Run free, sweeties....



Cute little guy at the top of the drain...

TNR 2011: The Body Shop Cats

Our first TNR project for the year is supposed to start today. It is snowing, so I am not sure if we will postpone until tomorrow....but the plan is to begin trapping this afternoon. I was informed about a colony of cats living at a body shop a few miles from our house. I have been going there on Saturdays for about a month to assess the situation and then my cat lady friends and I finally went to meet the owner yesterday. Thankfully, he was extremely receptive to the idea of TNR and was really grateful to know they will FINALLY be spayed/neutered and fully vetted. You could tell he was exhausted from worrying about them and trying to rescue and find homes for all of the kittens. It all started with one stray torti girl 4 years ago. There are currently at least 12 adults. They are very well fed and have shelters but several of them are quite matted and a few are very sniffly and congested. It is certainly time for them to get proper vet care. I love seeing TNRed kitties blossom into healthy, hearty cats once they are snipped! Our main target is the torti queen mama...she is obviously already pregnant so we gotta work fast!

Paws crossed that we can get them all taken care of this week!

Cat Craziness! Trap, Neuter, Return....Raccoons...Kitten rescue

First and foremost, THANK YOU so much for your kind and loving words about my Rosie!! Your comforting thoughts are extremely appreciated.

Over the weekend, we went on a trapping adventure behind a nearby cafe. There are 10 cats and kittens being fed and cared for by the owner of the cafe. He was extremely nice and concerned and desperately wanted help getting them spayed and neutered. We were able to trap 7 of them (and a possum) on Friday night and get them to the monthly clinic on Saturday. Thankfully, 2 of the 7 were the constantly reproducing females!! Yaaaahoo!! I also brought home a tiny kitten to keep him safe while his mom was being spayed. Then, on Sunday night, we headed back out and trapped 2 more (and another possum :)). 9 out of 10 was definitely a BIG success! The remaining cat is a male and was just too smart for us. 2 of the kitties that we trapped are about 4 months old and were both born without one of their back feet. Thankfully, the cafe owner is going adopt them!!!!! He is also adopting the little kitten that we brought home. Yippee!! Here is a photo of the cutie sweet pea....


When i delivered this little boy yesterday, the man at the cafe told me about a couple that needs help TNRing 27 cats at their home. Yikes!!! That is going to take some serious planning and manpower. When is the city going to understand that we need a full service, full time, TRULY low cost spay/neuter clinic??? Well, we just have to take it one step at a time, one colony at a time, one cat at a time.

I have been feeding 3 colonies nearby while their regular caretaker is out of town. One of the locations is in the bushes by a warehouse. There is a mama raccoon and 3 babies who frequent the feeding spot. The other night they came out early and got SO close to me. They are so cute and funny, but i am a bit wary of them!

One of the other colonies is at the stockyards. The 6 cats who come regularly are all bobtails. The orange one is named Mama Snuggs....she had many little snuggs before we came along and "snipped" her last fall!! We have snipped all of the others except one of the torti girls. She has been impossible to trap, but we are going to try again soon.





Last night, while we were feeding at the stockyards, we unexpectedly had to rescue 4 kittens....that is a story for tomorrow. They are in really bad shape, so we are headed to the vet this afternoon. Keep your paws crossed that they will be ok!

OK, i have GOT to get to the art table for a few hours and try to get some work done! See you guys later!

An angel named Little D......

I wanted you to meet our Little Debbie (small chocolate snack) aka Teddy Dee. This sweet girl died of a stroke last April, and we miss her every day. I have been thinking about her so much this week for some reason. So, I figured I should write about her...might be a bit therapeutic. Little D was abandoned on the rough streets of midtown Atlanta and became the loner in a colony of feral cats. Brian and i had begun to trap and spay/neuter her feral companions and noticed how sad and lonely she always looked. A guy who had been feeding the cats for a few years told us that she was friendly but timid and that her jaw had been broken at some point...her tongue tended to stick out. He also said that every summer her face would swell up like crazy...most likely due to a flea/mosquito allergy. That was IT. I couldn't take it. She HAD to come home with us. I think she slept for the entire first week we had her. It was like she finally felt safe and comfortable. Oh, how we loved this skinny old girl. We always joked that she looked and acted like she was 90 but she had this funny little spirit that kept on truckin'. She had a few health issues, but she plugged along anyway. Her fur was like a teddy bear's hence the nickname, Teddy Dee, and she had a strangled meow that was particularly loud when she wanted some rotisserie chicken. I don't normally feed my cats human food, but toward the end that was all she would eat. We deemed every Tuesday night "Teddy Tuesday" and Brian would pick up some KFC for her on the way home. I could go on and on about my beloved Teddy, but i'll leave it at that. She was one-of-a-kind, and thank goodness we were lucky enough to be blessed with her presence for a few years! Love you so much, Teddy Dee!