R.I.P. Champ

I'm back dating this to when he passed...

It is hard to believe it has only been three years since Champ joined our crew at the farm.

Champ came into Tabby's Place while I was still working there from a local business, Champion Tires. The business was already caring for several ferals and when two more were abandoned there, it was just too many, so they brought the two, one boy and one girl, over to Tabby's Place for us to intake. The boy, however, tested positive for FIV and the room their for FIV babies was already full (one cat too full, actually). Norman, my FIV+ feral, had recently lost his best friend, Buddy, and I thought maybe the FIV status and no room at Tabby's Place was a sign I should take this semi-feral boy to be Norman's new friend. With the permission of my mom, that's exactly what I did and I named the rough looking white cat with gray spots "Champion".

Ever since that day in June of '08, Champ really has been Norm's best bud. It was often pretty common that if you saw one, the other wasn't far away - in the leaves by the drive way, under a bush in the garden, in the garage or wandering the property - they really did become good friends.

This winter, I thought we were going to lose Champ. He was really snotty and although he was never a stunning cat, he seemed extra rough looking - not cleaning himself, gross nose, etc. However, I got him on some antibiotics and he really turned around. Since then, I'd be steadily pulling his mattes out. He'd talk sometimes in protest, but that was rare. He really was such a good boy...

Recently, Champ had been spending time in the leaves keeping cool with Norm, wandering the property, eating a lot and following Weenie around (she didn't appreciate his "puppy" love and would often smack him). I will say that having Weenie out during the day gave me some really good nights recently. I'd go out to find her and in order: Diamond, Champ and then Norman would show up. I'd give them all an extra handful of food and some pets if they wanted them. I loved this nights (aside from the moments of worrying where Weenie was until she'd show up to go in).

Champ got slow his last week or so. I thought his mouth was bothering him and I was really unsure of what to do. I couldn't decide if I should put him through the stress of taking him to the vet or just letting him be. He was so happy with Norm. I didn't want to upset him, stress him and maybe make things worse.

I found Champ's body under the pines on the hill down to the lake. Although I hate the thought of him passing without me assisting him by mercifully putting him to sleep, I like to think Norm was with Champ to the very end and he didn't pass alone.

Here's a collection of photos of Champ...

R.I.P. Champion...

National Feral Cat Days

Not only is it Caturday, but today is National Feral Cat Day! Every year on October 16th I celebrate this day whether it is by being out at an event or just keeping the special day in the back of my mind.

11,000 animals (like Cooper on your couch and Oscar on your window sill) are put to sleep every day in shelter. There are simply not enough homes for all of them, let alone the countless others born outside and raised as ferals.

Leaps and bounds have been made over the years to help feral cats and the cat over-population problem. These cats have learned to be afraid of people, so they cannot simply be brought to shelters and adopted out. Removing them to be euthanized is not an option either because cats are there for a reason: warmth, a food sources, other cats to mate with, etc.

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling feral cat population growth.

Even Disneyland embraces TNR!


More information and facts on TNR can be picked up on these websites for those of you that love cats (or hate them) and want to know how to better manage them to prevent more

- Alley Cat Allies
- Feral Cat Coalition
- Neighborhood Cats

Here are two great events to keep in mind to help celebrate this day:

What: STAF's 13th Annual Paws in the Park
When: Saturday, October 16th, 2010. Registration Time is at 10:00 AM
Where: Fasola Park, Delsea Drive, Deptford, NJ
Why: A great event for a wonderful organization and cause. Also, Joa's Arc's Nennee and Minenn will be there with some of our best volunteers!

What: TNR Workshop
When: Wednesday, October 20th, 2010, at 7 PM.
Where: the Cherry Hill Library in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Why: A wonderful opportunity to learn about TNR from some of the best feral, TNR, spay/neuter clinic experts and volunteers in the South Jersey area.

Have a wonderful day, friends, however you might be celebrating!

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Can you fire aunts???

I'm thinking I'm going to have to fire my aunt. Can you do that? Can you fire aunts? Seriously. "Ahahaha. Call me when you're awake. I have a cat story for you," she wrote in a text to me this morning ... and I'd been up since before 7 AM, by the way, when she sent that at like 9:30!

When I call her back, it's not a funny cat story though. No, no, no , no, no. Of course not! No, it's, "Oh, we heard Lizzie (my aunts' MALE feral Maine Coon mix) coming through the woods this morning to eat and we were shining our flash lights around in the dark as he approaches from the woods. We spotted Lizzie's eyes and then we saw Joanie (another feral - the sweetest weirdest feral you'll meet) ... and then the flash light goes across more eyes." Um, what?!! "Kittens. Kittens!" she says to me all excited.

Shoot me.

First off, I had this lick your face, chew on your hair, bit your toes through your blanket if you dared to shift your legs while sleeping, hide in the Christmas tree and attack you brat for months this past Fall/Winter until she was finally adopted. And when she was, I was sure my aunt was going to hate my forever for not keeping her ... because, you know, I need a 9th cat and that love hog of a kitten wouldn't have been happier in a home where she got all the attention on her instead of her and 8 others. (<--- that's sarcastic by the way. She loves her new home where it's just her and one other cat who's more independent, so Olive, now Olivia, gets to hog all the attention she wants from their mom).

Also, this will be kitten number 2 and 3 that my aunt has had just stroll into her backyard in the last 6 months. I do not like those odds ... and it's not even kitten season yet! Ugh. No more kittens, please!! I don't care how pretty or nice they are. My mom is going to kill me if I bring these two home. If they're as nice as my aunt says they are, I'm seeing if someone else can foster them or something. My big cage is already occupied "re-socializing" one of my own cats. Even if I had another cage, I'm heading off to Florida soon to visit friends and I'm not leaving my mom more work to do/animals to care for. No way!

And my aunt tells me they just strolled right up to her and started head butting her hand. Great! So they're definitely social and not ones we can just catch and fix and leave in my aunts' yard for them to continue to feed & care for. No, no. They're sweeties, my aunt tells me, sweeties shouldn't stay outside!


Not to mention, who leaves babies out in the cold?! Stupid neighbors who probably let these little munchkins out this AM to wander over to my aunts' (my guess since I haven't seen them outside yet while I've been here). Silly aunt for not snatching them up this morning and calling me. In case you don't recall, we have a ridiculous amount of snow right now and more coming! My aunt is lucky I love her, otherwise I'd consider spitting on her too like I want to do to the dang neighbors of her's who keep letting their cats out UNFIXED to reproduce and sneak into my aunts' yard for all of us to spot and then start worrying about. Ugh

Caturday: Tilly

Tilly is a cat I found out about last Caturday and spent several days returning to a pig farm to look for her. I was giving up after my third visit, when I randomly went back and spotted her! I'm not sure I'll be able to forget her big eyes and then the moment she got up and took off, dragging her back end in an attempt to get away from me. She's a Joa's Arc kitty and I wrote Tilly her very own post there. Tilly is just another example of the amazing spirit and drive to survive that these special needs animals prove to us that they have. The things we can learn from them!

Enjoy the post and enjoy your Caturday! :)

Ferals...

I'm sure from reading this, you know my experience with feral cats - that's how I've gotten several of my own house kitties (socialized feral kittens) and, of course, my barn and garage cats. Then there was the post I added here about my shock over the gang of feral chickens that took up living on my parents' farm. Well, over the weekend, I came in contact with ferals of a different sort ... feral goats!

I kid (no pun intended) you not - feral goats!

In search of a disabled kitty that my friend spotted over the weekend, we found ourselves at a pig farm talking to a nice older man who worked there. He told me that there was an older man who bought a bunch of goats about 20 years ago. This man passed away a few years ago and since then, the goats he still had have just been roaming around the area. I'm not sure how many there originally was, but the man said several had died from age and the cold. There are 5 now.

Now, it's not very common knowledge, but goats freak me out. Don't ask me why because I'm honestly not sure, but it's a fact - goats = creeeepy!!! Not to mention, these goats are like the size of dogs too. Oh my goodness!!

I've been to the property several times now and these goats always seem to be there, curled up together next to one of the pig buildings or running off together as soon as I get within 15 or 20 feet of them. They're more skittish than the feral cats on the property! It's so weird. I guess this is better than them approaching me. I might have a heart attack.

Another new cat...

I am up early to take care of my parents' place while they are away and I have this nasty habit of not being able to fall back to sleep once I'm awake.

Speaking of the farm, yesterday afternoon I released Zeus, another new barn cat for my parents' farm. She (yes, a female named Zeus - made no sense to me either, but I wanted to keep the name the shelter gave her) has been locked up since right around Christmas. I should have known she might need more time, but truly I don't think it would have made a difference. After being frozen in place for weeks now, she shot out of the cage and I'm not sure she'll be back or if we'll even know if she is since she's like a statue with people around.

I could have simply opened the crate door and let Zeus come out in her own good time, but no, I tapped on her crate to get her out. I wanted to see what direction she ran in when she realized she was free. Zeus crept out slowly, found her way to the wooden planks where we have two horse feeders attached, then she bolted across the entire horse pasture and into the wood's behind our neighbor's.

I hope she returns, but I'm really not sure.

FeralStat

Recently I’ve been doing some research regarding feral cats. When I posted this fact out to some rescue/feral networks I know of asking for advice, I got back one particular email that I thought was interesting, informative and definitely sparked my curiosity as I had not heard of the sterilization drug before – one would think, as I did, that if there was such a “wonder” drug out there, it would be very popular and well known … even if it was really expensive for more independent trappers or colony caretakers.

Here is the email I received so you know what I’m talking about: (Note- I’ve altered some of the email to protect the person it came from just in case they’ve sent out the same email to other people)
FeralStat is a medicine which stops the females from going into heat. You just add a small amount of FeralStat once a week to the wet food when feeding a colony to stop the females from going into heat. FeralStat does not harm males or kittens that eat it.

FeralStat is great for situations like if you have several females in the colony which you cannot catch to spay or if is simply overwhelming or impossible to get someone to trap/neuter/release the colony. It cost about $65 for a 4-month supply (cheaper than feeding more cats). Sometimes it is impossible to get someone to help with trapping and releasing so FeralStat is a good option to prevent more kittens.


And the attached information went on to say: “FeralStat™ is a synthetic progestin that has FDA approval for off-label use as a feline oral contraceptive to postpone estrus in cats. In other words, it keeps female cats from coming into heat … Although it is designed for female cats, FeralStat™ has been given to male cats, pregnant females, and kittens who are sharing the food supply with no report of negative side effects.”

Again, my initial thought was: ingenious! Followed by: why haven’t I heard of this before? So, with the question of a sterilization drug in mind, I emailed our senior veterinary technician at my place of employment. I asked if she could please provide me with whatever information she could on the subject since I did not know anything about the drug.

She wrote me back saying:
I have never heard about this drug before and am in the process of researching it. I will also talk to Dr. C about it on Monday. So far, all I can find is a lot of mixed reviews. It has not been approved for cats by the ACC&D yet and there is not enough research on it to provide a lot of medical data. There is the belief that it can cause some long term problems in feral cats such as diabetes mellitus, mammary swelling and tumors, uterine disease, pyometra, and skin disorders. Contrary to the article sent to you, the ACC&D states that it has also not been FDA approved. There is also the argument out there that the long term risks are worth it to help lower the population of feral cats by not allowing reproduction and keep them from suffering death by starvation, weather and environmental changes, disease, hit by cars, etc. Here is the statement issued by the ACC&D and one other article.
http://catsinthenews.blogspot.com/2008/07/feralstat-contraceptive-accd-statement.html
http://wildrun.blogspot.com/2008/07/neighborhood-cats-on-feralstat.html

I was also a bit disappointed that this information promoting FeralStat happened to come from an individual that works with a shelter and a spay/neuter van. Yes, such a solution is most definitely a step up from simply trapping and killing, but is it really safe? Is it really a good option to use, let alone advise people of? I mean, according to what my vet tech friend said (“ There is also the argument out there that the long term risks are worth it to help lower the population of feral cats by not allowing reproduction and keep them from suffering death by starvation, weather and environmental changes, disease, hit by cars, etc.”), their very excuses for using it despite the suspected side effects are the same vague, silly excuses used when trying to argue why trap & kill is better than letting the cats continue to suffer living lives outside – they’re just going to die awful, painful deaths anyway, best just to kill them now. Bull$hit!

As a victim of a vaccine that has continued to be used because “well, it’s good for most”, I felt a need to write a blog entry about this in case anyone else was given this disturbing, possibly very off-based information. It sounds like that this drug, in the long run, may be wonderful for colonies and colony caretakers (especially ones that have the “un-trappable” cat running around like most do), but dangerous for the individual cats long-term well being. Just because it’s good for most, preventing heat cycles and thus litters of kittens, doesn’t mean that it should automatically be sought out or given out.

Should I get any more updates from our senior tech at work, I’ll certainly share them. For now, I hope anyone considering the pros/cons of FeralStat gives this entry and the information provided to me some very good thought.

Oh, what a weekend!

Daisy, my most recent rescued dog from GA, was adopted out last weekend. Sounds like she's doing wonderfully, aside from missing me. She's been abandoned before though, so the girl is allowed to be a little anxious. Pretty much as soon as Daisy is out of the house, I've got more "visitors": Finn & Jack came for a sleepover while their parents went to NY for the weekend. Here are my much-missed boys begging for post-Thanksgiving food:


I can't tell you how much I love them ... even though they bark like lunatics way too early in the morning!! Ah! They are beautiful boys. All my mom kept saying is, "You are so pretty, Finn." And their mom was nice enough to bring me really nice photos of them. I wish every adopter was as amazing as that couple. They're phenomenal to their dogs and so kind to me long past the usual time period. Normally, after a couple months (or even days), people forget about the rescuers and I love my animals. I let them go to the best homes I can find for them, but it still hurts every time.

I noticed it first when Daisy was sometimes with my parents during the week and now that she's officially not here, I can't deny my cats new, snugglely spot to nap. My beautiful baby boy, Little Dani, has taken to curling up in my now empty dog crate! Makes no sense to me since he hates his carrier and feeling cornered, but here he is:


He is such a cutie! I really do just flat out adore him. He makes these sweet little chirping noises and today he was just so excited to see me that he was running all over the place, following me and maybe almost breaking my neck as well while darting around my feet.

Flashing forward to something different: my family! Every weekend there is something different at that house. They've been expanding their farm all the time and over the summer, they decided to get chickens - hens to be exact. My parents got several hens in order to have their own fresh eggs. I don't think any chickens can be considered spoiled after what my aunts did for theirs, but these chickens are definitely well off! Ok, personally, I'd love for them to be free-roaming, but there are too many predators - owls and hawks especially (the barn cats have shown them no attention). Anyway, shortly after my parents got the baby chicks and they grew big enough to be outside, something else showed up ...

I can't help but laugh every time I recall this fact, but the fact remains the same - my parents have feral chickens!


That's right, my parents have feral chickens! It's a gang of chickens that just randomly showed up. First they were by the road, then the front field, then they found their way around the lake and now they live in the front field. It's just too weird that they showed up. Stranger in general is how they really are wild - beautiful, but not domesticated. They eat on their own, roost in the trees at night and are their own pleasant, little family. There is even a rooster! A rooster that I freakin heard crow loud as heck the other morning ... I don't like rooster, but he is handsome though.

FIV Facts - It's Not A Death Sentence

I am an animal lover. I am a big mush for cats ... any type of cat really deserves to live, in my opinion, unless suffering horribly in a manner that can no longer be reversed or healed. In saying this, I am admitting to having not one, but two FIV+ barn cats at my parents' farm. Would inside homes be preferable? Absolutely ... but when the popular alternative is death, I don't think I'm doing much of a disservice to them. I mean, Norman, for example, was living in a beyond dangerous area where he needed to be relocated from, but he was feral as well. An FIV+ cat is hard enough to place, let alone a feral one!

My love, my beast, the other half of the former odd couple of Buddy & Norman before Buddy passed away - I cannot express how much I love my man, Norman. Norman was one very hard to trap boy that I had agreed to take before we even got him, I believe. I had a new kitty, Wilson, who had come to me after his owner passed and the house he lived outside of forever was being sold. There were 5 other cats he had lived with, but Wilson had always been the outsider of the group so we assumed there would be no problem of him settling in solo ... however, that was not the case. He refused to eat for weeks! Though I believe Wilson was named for the volleyball in Castaway I always thought of the neighbor with the constantly covered up face on Home Improvement and just like that neighbor, I'd grown up with a neighbor who said "Hi-dee-ho, neighbor" when he was out in his yard and saw us - Norm Sanger. So, that's how Norman got his name when we took him in hoping that some company would perk up Wilson and his appetite.


Norman was best friends with my Buddy and has been quite lost it seems with Buddy now gone. It breaks my heart. I have not been able to touch him since Buddy passed away though he's always close by and never that hard to find around dinner time.

Champ came into my work when a contact said that two cats had been abandoned at their place and they just could not handle taking on anymore: they were going to take one and wanted us to take the other one. He was friendly enough, they said, but after they left him with us, he turned out to be positive for FIV when we tested him. Our suite here was full and with the rumors and assumptions about FIV+ cats being so unfair, I doubted a place that didn't want this cat when they thought he was healthy certainly wouldn't want him if he was FIV+. I said I'd take him. Here's a photo of Champ while he was laying around, caged, getting used to his new home:


Could Champ be an inside kitty? Perhaps. But he's very happy outside, runs as soon as he sees us getting to close and though he's outside, he's alive and well watched over. He spends most of his time in our pole barn about 20 feet away from the house.

I keep them as happy and healthy as possible. They are seen at least twice a day during meal time. My boys are probably overly fed, are neutered and vaccinated. All the cats not only have the outdoors to play around with, but toys too. I've seen them enjoying naps in the sun or curled up in the leaves. I keep them healthy with extra nutrients is they seem a little down, I apply Revolution to them monthly when they let me. They have 4 barns to pick from if weather comes up and every winter they're offered not only the usual comforts of old sofas and comforters in their barns, but our side porch is set up for them with heat lamps for when it's super cold, extra blankets and a heated cat bed to sleep in.

Aside from just having two FIV+ barn cats, they live with other cats too. FIV is not as contagious as rumored and feared. Wilson is NOT positive for FIV, Irish Momma tested negative as well and the cat who just emerged from the woods and never left is one very healthy cat too!

I stole these below well known facts from my friend's website: Paws For Life Coalition. She's got various other great tid bits on there too, so check it out!

THE FIV FACTS - IT'S NOT A DEATH SENTENCE:
1. The Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is a lentivirus, meaning that it progresses very slowly, gradually affecting the cat's immune system over a period of years.

2. FIV is a cat-only disease and is not transmissible to dogs, children or other humans in any way, so there is not a threat to families even if an FIV cat scratches or bites you. In fact, the only thing about FIV that you can catch is a bad case of deadly rumors.

3. FIV cats most often live long, healthy lives and never suffer any symptoms at all.

4. FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls or when snuggling, grooming and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens, although some kittens can have a false positive reading due to the mother's antibodies passed on to them. It is best to have the kitten retested every 60 days up to 6 months of age.

5. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions or serious penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, un-neutered tomcats.) So unless your cats at home routinely tear each other to pieces, it should not be a problem.

6. A neutered FIV cat in a home is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced. Proper introduction should always be made when adding any new cat into your household. It is not necessary to isolate an FIV cat in a multiple cat household unless the FIV cat is likely to fight with the other residents.

7. Many vets are not up to date about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago. A lot of vets did not want to take a chance and the rule of thumb was to totally separate the cat, find a sanctuary or have them euthanized. If we went back 15 years ago, before anybody tested for FIV, all of these cats would be in regular homes living normal lives. But researchers now discovered something they could put a name to, even if the cats never got sick.

8. FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible (as with any cat). Keep them indoors, free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.

9. It is our strong recommendation not to consider vaccinating your cat with the current FIV vaccine. All cats just vaccinated with the FIV vaccine will test positive for FIV. If your cat was ever lost and then found and taken to a shelter, they may be euthanized as a result of this false positive test. There are no current commercial tests available to distinguish between a healthy vaccinated cat and one that truly has FIV. The vaccine only covers 2 (A & D) out of 5 subtype strains of FIV (A, B, C, D & E). The A subtype is seen mainly on the west coast and D subtype is in Asia. Most cats in the US test positive for subtype B and is most prevalent on the east coast.

For more info on FIV & vaccine information, visit: http://www.baypathhumane.org/care_fiv.html
http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/fiv-vaccine.htm & http://www.theanimalspirit.com/ginger.html

SUCCESS!

I was on the phone earlier and just wandering around my apartment chatting. I can't honestly tell you what caught my attention: maybe I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, subconsciously noticed something amiss or felt myself being watch. No matter what it was, I found myself staring at the elusive, long-haired black cat who was sitting outside about 15 feet from my bedroom window - staring right back at me!

Oh, I jumped right on that since thankfully I made my parents bring up my trap the other day when they came to visit. I ran into the sanctuary, got some super smelly wet food, found a blanket to throw over my trap and got a piece of paper to lay down at the bottom of the trap as well and went out into the cold night. Of course, the cat was gone ... but I set my trap anyway because I was tired of NOT having this cat, but seeing him/her all over the property. Nights the best time to trap cats, or at least this one since it's quieter here then and I've seen the cat more after dark. And just because I'm the only one here at night and I'm off the clock doesn't mean I can't be trying to get these kitties. AND I GOT THE CAT!!!

Oh boy was I nervous since I am alone here now. I got the kitty out of the cold and it didn't lunge, hiss or spit at me. I then set up a cage in quarantine and openned the trap up so the cat would walk into the cage. S/he didn't seem to want to ... until the cat saw the yummy food I had put in the cage too. It was then I got to pet her/him, pick at him/her a bit (the cat has some mattes) and feel the kitty ... feels like a solid kitty, definitely not starved but still a bit thin, I think. I think I caught a good kitty!

Woo hoo!