My Feral Cat Colony

I discovered a small colony of feral cats living in an overgrown brush area behind the building where I worked in March of 2006.  I began to feed them and wanted to get them vaccinated and spayed/neutered to prevent further litters and spread of diseases.  I had problems getting the property owner and building manager to understand what I was trying to do and they called Animal Control to come and eradicate the colony and I was told I would be fired if I continued to care for the cats.  In the meantime I began to trap all of the cats for relocation. Things did not go as planned, but in the end I rescued as many cats as I could. There is a much longer,  more dramatic and heartbreaking story behind this colony, but there's not enough time or space for the full story.
Caitlin, Cameron, Clara, and Will Feral were part of this colony.  You can view their pages by going back to the home page and clicking on their photos.

Here's the story of what happened to the rest...



Mom is the mother of Caitlin, Will Feral, and Cameron.  Caitlin and Will had 2 other siblings, but they got stuck in a dumpster behind our building and a well meaning person put them in a box to take them home as pets. They were about 4 months old when this happened.  Both kittens escaped the box when they got to their home and I was never able to find them again. Cameron was from a younger litter.  He was the only surviving kitten of that litter.  Two siblings vanished and 1 was hit and killed by a car in the parking lot where I work.  
Mom was trapped with Cameron on November 23, 2006.  She was probably dumped or lost a long time ago.  She was full of attitude and would hiss, growl, spit, and swat at us every time we cleaned her cage.  I don't think she was a true feral.  Mom was spayed, fully vaccinated, and dewormed.  She tested negative for FIV and FeLV and found a home with a lady that takes negative feral cats into her home.  I never had direct contact with the person that took Mom.  I had to go through another person that works with feral cats.  I trust that she is in a good place and thriving.  The last I heard she was doing great but will never tame down.


Dad was trapped on November 28, 2006.  He was just as aggressive as Mom and he's the father of Will Feral, Caitlin, and Cameron.  He had a broken front leg that healed bad and could not be repaired. He was neutered, fully vaccinated and dewormed, but tested positive for FIV.  I thought I was going to have to put him to sleep, but I was fortunate to find a sanctuary that normally only takes FeLV cats.  The lady the runs the sanctuary was sympathetic to my situation and took Dad for me.  That last I heard Dad was doing very well at the sanctuary.


Mr. Meanie Pants was trapped in December 2006.  He was unexpected because I had never seem him before and he was not who I was trying to trap.  By all accounts he is a  true feral. He was terrified of my husband and I.  Mr. Meanie Pants would try to get away from us as quickly as possible and hide behind the carrier in his crate.  One time we scared him so bad (not on purpose) he literally jumped to the top of his cage and hung from all four legs slowly swaying back and forth upside down.  I felt so bad. He's never been around people in his life. He only made threats when he was ready to make good on them.  We knew if we pushed him he would defend himself full force. We were extra careful with him.  Hence, his name.   He was neutered, fully vaccinated, and dewormed, but tested positive for FeLV.  He went to the same sanctuary that took Dad.  They also have to be careful around him at the sanctuary, but he is otherwise healthy and thriving at this time.


Charlie was trapped on January 14, 2007.  He was also unexpected.  Once again I was trying to trap another cat.  Charlie was in bad shape.  He had an abscess on his neck and his health was withering.  He was filthy and lethargic.  He never gave us any problems.  He was quiet and withdrawn.  He was  terrified of us, but never hissed or swatted.  More than likely he was another dumped or lost cat that had been on his own for a while.  We actually got attached to Charlie.  He was neutered, fully vaccinated, treated with antibiotics for his wounds, but he tested positive for FIV.  Poor guy.  I was having a bad run with these cats testing positive.  We kept Charlie here while he was on antibiotics and he began to perk up and his wound healed.  He began to groom himself again and was on his way back to good health.  Luckily Charlie was able to go the sanctuary that took Mr. Meanie Pants and Dad. The last I heard, he was doing just fine.  

Will Feral was originally trapped on August 26, 2006 and neutered through the Homeless
Cat Management Team.  He was also vaccinated for rabies.  We kept him in our home for a couple of days to make sure he was healing well and then he was placed back in his colony. This was before Animal Control was called.  We finally re-trapped him on May 28, 2007. We had a rough start with Will, but he is slowly coming around and has become quite relaxed in his new environment.  See Will's page for updates.