Our feral colony-I need to add chlorine in their gene pool

Hi!  If you are a cat lover you have come to the right place!  I not only collect "cat" items but I also take care of homeless & feral cats.  I have always had a weakness for cats and when a few feral cats showed up at my door here in Ohio, well, that was the begining of a whole new adventure for me.  I also want to educate those that are not familiar with (as many people email me and ask me what kind of cats are "feral" cats) feral cats are cats that were born and raised in the wild without any human interaction. When I say "in the wild", I mean in the woods, fields, behind old barns, etc. where the mother cat raised them away from humans and, therefore, they grow up fearing humans.  It takes lots of patience and persistance to get these cats to trust you.

Shortly after moving to Ohio a neighbor moved out and left behind several feral cats she fed on her farm.  I gave them a place to live, food, water, and lots of love.  I work closely with the humane society and have been able to trap, neuter, and relase (TNR) most of these cats.  There were four females in the original colony - they have produced over 300 kittens in the past 4 years.  All the kittens have been hand raised and adopted out to loving homes with the exception of the few that we kept as house pets.  Fluffly Marie McKitten, Furlin Eminem, Fujibay, and Sheesha all joined in as pet cats - all neutered, vaccinated, and micro chipped.  We currently have six pet cats, and our feral colony of 10.

 I love to sell cat items that make cats and their owners happy!  All the profits from my sales goes towards feeding and caring for this colony.  The eight adult cats are too feral and not adoptable.  I will care for them until the end!!  They are loving and caring cats but are too wild as house pets.  Since they were raised without human contact they are afraid of anyone besides my daughter, my boyfriend, and myself.  We are their lifesource (feeders) so they are brave (trust us) enough to come near us but anyone else will scare them away.  They have become our "mission" - to provide them with a good, loving, healthy, and comfortable place they can call home.  They have our heated 3 1/2 car garage as their home and all the food and love they could possible need.

Please spay & neuter your cats even if they are just outdoor pets - a healthy male & female cat can produce over 420,000 cats in just under 7 years.  Yes, that is nearly a half a million cats from one healthy pair of cats. You see once their kittens begin to reproduce (at 6 months kittens can deliver their first litter), then the kittens kittens, then the kittens kittens kittens, begin to reproduce, well, you get the idea.  The cycle never ends, and the production of "unwanted" cats continues to grow at an alarming rate.  If there are strays where you live, check with your county to see if they offer the TNR program, if they do, help that cat by trapping it, taking it in to your local shelter to have it neutered, and release it back where you trapped it.  It will benefit everyone.

I love to chat with other cat lovers so if you have any cat stories, questions, or ideas, please feel free to contact me!!  I can be contacted at i_love_strays-cats@yahoo.com or feral.cats@yahoo.com.  Hugs from Ohio!!  Terri

UPDATE:  As of today, March 26th, 2007, we have managed to capture the last female, who eluded us for nearly 3 years, and had her fixed.  The last 5 kittens born of this colony went to the shelter this past Sunday and all are doing great.  We have finally put an end to this colony by fixing all of the female cats - the feral parents will remain with us for the remainder of their lives and all the kittens born of this colony (nearly 300 kittens) have gone to loving homes and will all be pampered and loved through out their lives.  Knowing this is enough to make the last 3 1/2 years of working with this colony worth all the time, effort, and money to us!!!