Congratulations to Emily Barclay Ford who won a free outdoor shelter for their colony cats and a bottle of Feral Flower Essence from FixNation board member Jackson Galaxy’s Spirit Essences line through FixNation’s National Feral Cat Day story competition!
I have had kitties my whole life. My family was a rescue family… We always had a cornucopia of rescue dogs and cats in Oklahoma. When I went off to college in California, of course a stray showed up at my boyfriend’s apartment. Because we couldn’t keep pets, I ended up having my mother fly Ollie home to Oklahoma where he lived out his days. Upon graduating and moving in to my first apartment, another very skinny stray kitty showed up on my doorstep. I took her in, and we cuddled that night… I thought, ok, it’s time to have my own cat. I took her to the vet the next day only to discover she was riddled with cancer and was dying. She had to be put to sleep. Devastated, I realized she had come to me for solace for her last moments.
Not long after, I was working in an industrial area of Sun Valley. One afternoon a little stray kitten appeared outside my office, crying at me. I said “well hello!” and she ran to my feet, and we bonded instantly. This became my first pet as an adult – Tiki – a gorgeous Tortie point Balinese with striking blue eyes. Tiki passed this summer at 17 after a battle with kidney disease. She was the light of my life. Tiki gracefully became the matriarch of what was to become a lifelong passion for taking care of the strays that seem to continue to find me.
Next came Snapple – a stray kitten trapped in a Snapple warehouse in Baltimore where my ex-boyfriend was working on a film. He was near death, covered in fleas and rat poison and was skin and bones. I flew him home to California, and he found his way into our family. I then had my first encounter with a truly feral kitty that I tried so hard to tame. I worked with him for a couple of years, but no luck. I started feeding a couple of neighborhood ferals and that was my first glimpse into the world of taking care of ferals. Late one Sunday evening a neighbor came to me and said there was an injured kitten outside. I discovered a tiny kitten with her front leg completely stripped down to the bone, with her paw dangling off. She was terrified and kept running from me, but eventually I caught her and was able to take her to an emergency vet. They amputated her leg and a vet tech fell in love with her and adopted her. She was the first of my ‘injured leg’ strays.
Not long after, I moved to a new apartment, and my neighbors promised to take care of the couple of local cats I had to leave behind. Within a few weeks of my arrival at my new apartment, my boyfriend discovered yet another injured kitty. He came in and said, “I almost don’t want to tell you – but there’s a cat outside with a bum leg.” Enter Norman. Poor sweet Norman, we discovered he had Feline Leukemia and had to be sequestered from my other cats. So off we flew to Oklahoma, where he would live out the rest of his days with my mom.
Then one afternoon, a new young little gray cat followed me home from my car as I had parked down the street after work. “Lil’ Gray” had a limp. I declared, “are these cats spreading the message that if you just fake a limp I’ll take you in?” What is it with all these leg injuries? So eventually I was able to catch her and fix her – AND move her inside with Tiki and Snapple. Lil Gray is a scaredy cat, doesn’t want to be held…I wish I had gotten to her sooner. But she has become part of the family.
Soon after I started noticing an orange tabby, already ear tipped…who was quite friendly. I named him Ed. Then his ‘buddy’, also ear tipped, appeared – a big Siamese with blue crossed-eyes. He became Sam. Ed was an instant friend. More of a tame stray than a feral. But content to be outside. We tried bringing him in the apartment, but it was not a good mix with the other kitties. He would pee/spray and cried to be let back out. Twice he appeared with big gashes in his throat from fighting outside, so I had to have surgery on him twice… He’s my $1000 stray. Sam is super shy. I worked with him for months and months and now can pet him – but only on his terms. He’s never let me pick him up.
Then – from out of the woodwork – appeared Lil’ Gray’s entire clan. Apparently she was part of a brood. Someone else must have been able to trap and fix her brethren as they all had ear tips. At first I noticed a grey and white kitty on my stairs. I would feed it, and off it would run. But one night I came home and realized there were THREE look-alikes! Triplets! And another solid grey kitty! They all pal around together. Then yet another lone gray and white cat arrived.
They became Roscoe, Spot, Scrappy, BIG Grey, and Princess.
Then one day I saw yet another kitty hobbling about. For months I tried to get near this cat but it would scram. I was worried that something was really wrong with it, because it walked so funny. Finally I got close enough that I could see that it was missing a hind foot. Poor thing. So for months I would sit outside, trying to get it to come near me. Food in a bowl next to me. When at long last, one night, it came and ate next to me. I reached down and touched him. And instantly he let me pet him and pick him up! “Smudgey” immediately moved into the house and hasn’t looked back. He went from super scared stray to indoor prince VERY quickly. He is still scared of strangers, but he LOVES me.
Sadly, our building had some construction done last summer. Princess loved to sleep in these lush vines that draped the building. One night she got stuck on the roof because the workers cut the vines… I spent an hour coaxing her down. She disappeared a few days later. I never saw her again. I had been working to try to tame her. She never let me pick her up, but I had petted her. I fear for what may have become of her, but I hope that perhaps she found a home somewhere else?
So today I can sometimes pet Roscoe for a minute or two before he runs away. Spot gives me the occasional moment of a stroke. But Scrappy and Big Gray are holding out. No touching.
This summer I lost my dear grand dame Tiki and was devastated when she passed. But TWO days after she died, I was feeding the outdoor feral cats, when I saw a new kitten at the bottom of my stairs. I tried to go near it, but it ran away. A month of cat and mouse with her, I finally was able to catch her. She’s a beautiful tortoise shell kitten. I have no idea where she came from, because my whole colony is fixed…and I see no signs of other kittens anywhere… “Tortilla Tillie” has moved in the apartment, and fortunately we grabbed her early enough that she is now tame and a love bug. She was a wild thing at first, but overnight she became a house pet. So now we are living with Snapple, Smudgy, Lil Gray and Smudgey inside, and Ed, Sam, Roscoe, Big Gray, Spot, and Scrappy outside. They all get two wet meals a day and dry food is always available. It’s a lot of work taking care of these kitties as you know, but I love them all.
