Feral Friends

I have always been a huge animal lover ever since I was a child. Throughout my lifetime many strays (dogs and cats) have crossed my path ... some right up to my front door. It really is like they knew where to go .. they knew I would help them in any way I could.. whether it be taking them to a shelter in hopes of being re-united with their family or finding a their first family because they were strays that were born in the wild.  There were those who may have been too skittish and would not let me close enough to them but I could at least provide them a meal to fill their tummies.  
I happened upon a feral cat colony (adjacent to my previous place of employment) a few years back and even though a wonderful older man had been tending to their meals for quite some time it was very clear that they needed much more than that.  When I first started helping him there were about 18 adult cats ..  3 of them being females that were pregnant.  It wasn't long before they had their litters . The colony was now at over 20 cats. I was extremely overwhelmed but I didn't give up . I knew something big had to be done in order to get the colony under control and hopefully find homes for these kittens. Before all was said and done ... over the course of about 15 months ..with the help of a good friend .. and an amazing organization in my area called "Forgotten Cats" we were able to trap all of the kittens and adult cats.  During those 15 months more litters were born due to not being able to trap the females before they got pregnant again. All in all there were approximately 25 kittens born. Quite a few of them wound up staying with me and becoming a part of my family..10 in all .. the rest were taken in by my veterinarian who adopted them out to loving homes.   It was a huge relief when we had finally gotten all of the adult cats spayed/neutered and we knew there wouldn't be any more litters of kittens. I am still most thankful to Forgotten Cats for doing what they do day in and day out ... and asking such a reasonable fee of only $35.00 for the spay/neuter, ear tipping and rabies shot.

Now ... 5 years later ... there are 12 cats left in the colony. I am still feeding them daily and making sure their outdoor shelters are in good condition and filled with hay to keep them dry and warm in inclement weather. Over the years there have been a few who have passed away on their own and a few that became very ill that I had to catch and bring to my vet so that they could be put to sleep. My heart broke each time but I was at least thankful that they did not suffer and die alone.
I no longer work across from where this colony resides but I couldn't stop taking care of them just because of that reason. Thankfully my current employer is not very far but the extra gas still puts a toll on my wallet.  The cost of their food (168 cans of wet food and 2 bags of dry) approx which is about $120.00 every 2 weeks makes for a difficult and sometimes stressful financial situation.  

I decided to start this GoFundMe site in hopes that I could receive some help in the form of monetary donations or actual food donations. My goal amount will help greatly with food, shelter maintenance, and vet care for the next 5 years. 

I am currently working a full time job and a part time on the weekends so that I can afford to keep this colony fed and taken care of.  If you are an animal lover and would like to help me please donate what you can .. or .. email me regarding food donations.

Thank you in advance for whatever you are able to provide!!