Hi Everyone:

HALLOWEEN COLOUR for our newsletter this time!

The usual busy craziness with all the demands of feral cats and cat rescue throughout the summer and now, into the Fall, but time to update you!   

We know you'll want to read some of the stories that we've been working on so here's a sampling . . .

GOOD NEWS FOR FERAL CATS!

Things are looking up for our feral friends in the USA! The following two paragraphs are from the extensive “Alley Cat Allies – Law and Policy Brief” which was updated in 2014.

BROAD SUPPORT FOR TNR

At least 285 local governments have enacted ordinances and policies supporting TNR. One hundred forty cities and counties support or condone TNR as a valid method of animal control. Out of these, 103 endorse TNR as the only effective way to address feral cat populations. The three states with the highest number of TNR ordinances are: New Jersey (63), Texas (38), and California (34). Major municipalities and counties that support TNR include: San Francisco; Washington; New York; Sacramento County, California; San Jose, California; Palm Beach County, Florida; Clark County, Nevada; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Las Vegas; Broward County, Florida; Cook County, Illinois; Oklahoma City; Dallas; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Paul, Minnesota; Milwaukee; Salt Lake City; Fairfax County, Virginia; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Suffolk County, New York.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The research is clear—TNR is the future of animal control and sheltering. Trap-Neuter-Return is embraced by hundreds of local governments in the United States and is becoming the primary method of feral cat management.

The Brief, in its entirety, is at the link below if you want to read it. Keep telling your friends and family about TNR and its wonderful benefits. We must keep the pressure up so MORE municipalities adopt it. The fight isn't over . . . yet!

Alley Cat Allies - TNR Ordinances and Policies in the United States

And now, for some of our rescue stories . . . .

TOMMY . . . THE POOL BOY (OR SHOULD WE SAY 'POOL CAT')

It's taken quite a while but Tommy finally has his own home! Kari first spied him hanging around her apartment complex in Squamish. He would appear after dark and go hunting for food so she began to leave food out for him and watch to see where he came from. By careful sleuthing, she discovered he was sneaking in and out of the swimming pool complex through a bent metal grid in the fence surrounding the pool. Once inside the pool fence, he even disappeared into one of the change rooms through a hole in the door ! The apartment pool complex was not in use by the residents because it had fallen into disrepair. Smart, safe boy !

Kari tried hard to make friends with him but he would run away and she couldn't get close to him. Feral, she figured. So she contacted us and we loaned her a trap. Almost every night for a week, she set the trap up near the grate opening in the hopes she would get him. Most nights he didn't emerge from his hideout until midnight and poor Kari was sleep deprived . . . with an empty trap to boot! One message said “I gave him smoked salmon last night . . . he's eating better than me!” and then, FINALLY, an email to PAF at 12:56am with the excited news of “SUCCESS”!

At the vet, we discovered he was unneutered and no ID. His long coat was scruffy looking and his nose was banged up, probably from bashing the trap. He was pretty agitated being confined at the clinic so, after neutering, we arranged a temporary safe haven for him at Daniela's to see if there was any possibility that he was just scared and not feral. He hid behind our “tower of perches and blankets” but wasn't aggressive so we just let him be to recover, eat, and calm down.

After a number of days, Daniela could gingerly touch him and he gradually built up some trust with her but was very scared of new people and things. We believed him not to be feral but he had been on the street quite awhile and it would likely take a long time for him to become relaxed enough to be adopted.

Over many months he was introduced to other foster cats and people and gradually he gained some social confidence. But, with no “off button” in his appetite, he began to guard the communal food dishes and, at the same time, scoff ALL the food as well. His weight ballooned and some of the other cats began to chase him (I wonder why??).

Just in time, a very caring woman, named Inge, came along and offered to take Tommy into her home where he would be the only cat so he could have all the human attention he now craved . . . . and his food dish amount could be controlled ! So Tommy the pool boy now has his own 'person, house, and lovely garden' to enjoy . . . all 23 pounds of him! We think with his gradual diet plan and outdoor exercise, he will drop some of those love handles and rolls. A very long journey for him but, thanks to Kari, Daniela and Inge, Tommy has a much better life now.

Click here to see Tommy's journey

SHADOW – FERAL and FREE

He lived life his own way and on his own terms. And he told us it was “his time” on the warm summer Sunday morning of the long weekend in August. As near as we can figure, he was at least fifteen years old, maybe older, and that's a very long life for a feral cat.

PAF first came to help Coleen with the feral cats in January 2002. She had found two kittens and 9 cats living in the easement bushes behind her complex and she wanted to help them. She found PAF through her local newspaper.

PAF and Coleen joined forces and went to work. We easily got 4 feral cats on a cold morning in late January and the kittens within a day or so. After a vet visit, Coleen's family fostered and then adopted both kittens. We set traps depending on the weather and, methodically, we trapped, neutered, spayed and vaccinated our way through the colony. All the adult feral cats were returned to their easement home where we had set up several wooden feeding and sleeping boxes for them. Because there were so many bramble bushes and only a thin pathway to their stations, the cats were pretty safe at their location. Shadow was a full grown, unneutered male, already at least a year or two old when we caught him. Such a handsome cat – a mix of Siamese and possibly Himalayan, as most of the cats were. Likely that colony started from one tame, abandoned unspayed male and female cat as most feral cats are not that mix.

Coleen was totally dedicated and visited the feral stations twice a day, EVERY DAY, leaving food and fresh water. PAF supplied all the food.  Every so often she laundered and changed the blankets in their boxes. She had names for each of them, and they would slowly creep closer to her as she washed bowls and put out food. The occasional new adult cat would show up but no new kittens were born to populate the colony and gradually, over the span of a dozen years, a number of the old adult ferals cats would disappear. But we took comfort in knowing that they had been lovingly cared for and their lives had been greatly improved by the spaying/neutering and daily visits.

In 2013, their beautiful, green oasis was interrupted by nearby development and the easement greenery was pretty much cut down. The cats' houses became exposed and the lack of bramble protection worried us.

It was fortunate that one of our PAF supporters lived on a nearby cul-de-sac that bordered the easement, so we moved the feral houses to her backyard, and encouraged the 3 remaining cats to follow by having Coleen visit by the new route so they could (hopefully) figure it all out. Donna's kindness extended to trying to provide the cats with the best and safest backyard hideaway ever and we all went to work to do that. Several new feral houses were obtained (thanks to Craigslist) and we surrounded them with fencing so, once inside the 'feral complex', the cats were completely safe. In winter at night time, Donna would warm up the microwavable heating disks and put one or two under in their sleeping boxes to keep them cozy.

We thought, for sure, Shadow was going to leave us last year as he seemed to slim down a lot and we noticed he was drooling a bit. We decided to try and trap him to get him to the vet for treatment or a dental but he would not cooperate – he avoided the trap at all costs. So we put antibiotics in his wet food and he recovered and trucked on like a trooper. Same thing earlier this year. Trap – non; antibiotics – oui !

In late July, we noticed he was slower and not eating as much but we were in a heat wave so we weren't sure if the hot weather was the cause or not. Each day we would assess his behaviour but this time, he wasn't improving. Somehow, that little guy would move around the feral houses each day, depending on where the sun or shade was, but we knew he was letting us know it wasn't long.

Early Sunday morning, August 2^nd, Donna called me to say that Shadow was wobbly in the garden and she had just gone right out and picked him up in a blanket. The kennel had been ready and he didn't struggle. Shadow, our little warrior feral, had lasted more than 15 years in the outdoors of North Vancouver – through winters/summers/coyotes and cars and resisting our entreating pleas 'to go in the trap' for more medical care. At the vet clinic, little guy went peacefully, finally being stroked gently by Donna and myself. He did it 'his way'. Heartfelt thanks to Coleen and Donna for their intense dedication.

Summer is our last feral left there now and she is nine years old. She is a stunning beauty but very feral. Thanks to Donna, she has all the comforts in the world.

See dear Shadow and Summer.

FIGARO

Long weekends seem to bring out more urgent rescue calls – why is that? The recent September Labour Day weekend was no different. We received a call from a worried North Vancouver City resident to say that she had a very scruffy-looking long-haired grey cat meowing intensely at her on her sundeck. It was a little scared if she came close but she didn't want to ignore the little thing. I told her I would come over right away to try and assess. Sometimes it's a neighbour's cat and not a stray at all.

I arrived with a tin of cat food in my pocket and, by this time, the little cat was letting itself be touched by Wendy and her two children. It was frantically talking and wandering restlessly. One look at the massively tangled tail fur and mats on the coat told me to be concerned. And with gentle touching under that mass of long fur, I could feel every rib and a back bone that felt like I was touching a skeleton. The hip bones were sharp and pointed ! I checked an ear – no tattoo.

Wendy opened the tin of food and put the kitty in her bathroom while I went and got the carrier. We didn't want him to run off and I didn't want to try putting him in the carrier on the sundeck. He literally inhaled that bowl of food, and little one was light as a feather as I scooped him up.

At the vet clinic we couldn't actually tell whether he was male or female because the mats on his underside were so bad they covered all his private parts and the vet had to shave away before we could tell he was an unneutered male; no ID. He weighed barely 6 pounds and was given food and sub-cutaneous fluids as he was so dehydrated. Months and months of neglect to get a coat that tangly!

We named him Figaro and, after a few days when he was strong enough, he was neutered, vaccinated, tattooed, and dewormed. To get rid of the mats while Figaro was under anaesthetic, the vet shaved a long part of his tail, behind both ears, and at various places in his coat. Willow very kindly volunteered to foster him and get him back into good health.

She soon reported that he was a talkative little kid and, on his first outing from his bedroom sanctuary, he went over to her cats' toy box and chose a catnip mouse to play with! He cried when he was alone so Willow introduced him to her cats and he was not aggressive at all. He constantly followed her around the apartment and loved to sit on the back of the sofa and play with Joey's swishing tail.

After a full month of 'plumping' it was time for a permanent home for the little guy. With a recommendation from Iris, we were very lucky to be connected with a lovely Bowen family with 4 children and an adorable girl cat named Olive. She seeks out other neighbourhood cats to play with so the family thought she might like a male friend. So a recent adoption has taken place and Figaro and Olive are getting to know each other. Nikki reports that Olive warbles at him as he faithfully follows her around the house trying to 'make nice'. She is likely giving him 'her rules'.  Latest Nikki report says - "We have a gate at the top of the stairs because the bathroom is right by the stairs, and we don't want the little ones falling down in the dark on the way to bathroom;  Figaro got stuck in it first time, Olive goes right through it with no noise.  He has it figured out now, but sounds like he's busting through it.  Have to smile - because it's not high. Hope he'll figure to leap over because I bet, based on his structure and paws, he will get much bigger!"

To see Figaro (and Olive) 

ANY CHANCE  . . . . ? 

 . . .  you could help us with a donation . . . . even a small one?  We would be very grateful.  We need your help to continue this vital work.  These little ferals need veterinary care and food and, together, we can do that for them.   If you would like to donate, please visit our home page website - www.pacificanimal.org - and click on the Canada Helps or Paypal icons for online donations or our mailing address is # 735 - 1641 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, BC  V7M 2J5.  We can issue a tax receipt for a donation of $10. or more.  

Lana Simon, Director Pacific Animal Foundation www.pacificanimal.org			Bobby was also one of the feral friends of Shadow.  Feral cats deserve our care . . . .  especially because they can't ask for it Watching a well fed and neutered feral cat  lounge around is heartwarming.  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US. WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP . . . .