Friends Of Felines
Caring For The Homeless And Forgotten Cats In Our Community
Majong, one of the cats rescued from the foreclosed property, has been adopted!
Christopher, one of the cats rescued from the abandoned housing complex, has been adopted!
Winnie & Seamus, two feral cats
from the abandoned housing complex, have been relocated to a barn home!
LEFT BEHIND
The driving force behind Friends of Felines has always been the homeless and forgotten cats in our community. This often goes beyond helping friendly cats find homes. This year, we were asked by Greenwich and Stamford Animal Control to help 2 large groups of cats that were left behind by their owners when they moved.
The first situation was a foreclosed property in Greenwich. The owners were forced off the property and left their cats behind. It was months of freezing temperatures before anyone knew of their plight. The second situation was an abandoned housing complex on the East Side of Stamford. When the residents were forced to move out a year ago, they left behind many cats. All that was left as shelter from harsh weather and hostile humans were small crawl spaces leading to rat-poisoned basements with food occasionally provided. Making the situation more dire was the looming, scheduled tear-down. In both situations, these cats had a very difficult life and their outlook was bleak.
We rescued 40 cats from both properties, including 8 surviving kittens. All were malnourished and overcome with fleas, intestinal parasites, bacterial infections and injuries. Not one cat had been altered.
Now that we’re nearing the end of these projects, we’re delighted to report we welcomed 16 wonderful, tame, young cats into our adoption program. Many of the remaining feral cats have already been rehomed as rodent control specialists on barn-like properties. Some are still desperately searching for safe, outdoor homes.
It was heartbreaking to find cats living in these conditions through no fault of their own. We knew we could make this right. It was your giving that made it possible.
FERAL CAT OVERVIEW
WHAT IS A FERAL CAT?
Simply put, they are the wild offspring of unsterilized, lost or abandoned companion animals. They tend to form social groups called colonies, and spend their lives struggling against hunger, harsh weather, and often, human cruelty. Biologically driven to breed, females can have two to three litters of kittens per year, while the males become caught in a cycle of roaming and fighting, often leading to fatal injuries and the spread of feline disease. It is anyone’s guess how many of these unfortunate animals are out there, but we do know their numbers, and their suffering, are increasing.
WHAT THE FERAL CAT PROJECT DOES
Pioneered in the UK almost 50 years ago, and now established across the US, TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) is a humane, cost effective and efficient solution to the problem of feline overpopulation. The cats are humanely trapped, sterilized and vaccinated for rabies. Whenever possible, kittens that are young enough to be socialized are removed from the colony and placed in homes. The adult feral cats are returned to their environment, often with a caregiver already in place.
WHY TNR WORKS
No longer using so much energy to reproduce and care for their young, these cats can be happy and healthy. Naturally territorial, their population stabilizes and gradually decreases over time. Vaccinated for rabies, the cats become a buffer between humans and the wildlife that primarily carries the disease.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Feral Cat Project is run by volunteers and funded only by donations from you. To keep this project going, we need more of both! For more information on The Feral Cat Project, or on how you can help us to help, please send us an email at cats@fofct.org