Help Tortie Mama's Clan of Ferals
Donation protected
In February 2013, in the middle of a bitter winter, I started feeding a very cold, hungry, and pregnant feral tortoiseshell cat (Tortie Mama), as well as 7 other feral adults that came by my back porch at random.
My intent was to trap Tortie Mama, let her have her kittens indoors, socialize the kittens to go to new homes, and spay and release Tortie Mama. She foiled this plan by having her kittens the end of March, when I was away on a trip, and hiding her kittens off-property.
I continued to feed Tortie Mama, and 3 younger adult females (Daisy, Zula, and Magda) that I believe are Tortie Mama's litter from last year. Every day, I asked Tortie Mama to bring me her kittens. And, in early June, she did. First 2, then 4, then 6. All tabbies. All with goopy eyes and varying degrees of upper respiratory illness. I fed them all, and tried to treat them with supplies I had on hand, but I needed antibiotics.
In mid-June, Daisy brought me her tortiseshell kitten (named Rosie, shown as our Poster Kitten here). Rosie also had the upper respiratory infection, but weighed only 1 pound and was in worse shape than the tabbies. I rushed Rosie to the vet to get her treatment, and also asked for additional antibiotics to mix into the tabby kittens' food, as some of them were too wild to catch.
Everybody got better, thanks to the medications.
Now, in late June, two more tabby kittens have showed up with the group. I think they are Magda's. Both about 8 weeks old. Both very sick with eyes stuck shut with goop and the same upper respiratory issues. Now I am up to 8 adults and 9 kittens.
I want to do right by these cats, but I don't have a lot of disposable income, and I have 3 indoor cats (2 of them elderly) of my own to vet and feed. Anything you can donate, no matter how small, will go directly toward feeding, vetting, and spay/neutering the colony.
And if you would like to adopt any of the kittens, please talk to me. One of my goals is to get them socialized and get them into indoor homes. I work with these cats every day, getting them to trust me. I've handled 8 of the 9 kittens (3 are quite tame and human-motivated now), and petted 2 of the adults (and the other adults are tolerating me at closer and closer range). We'll get there.
My intent was to trap Tortie Mama, let her have her kittens indoors, socialize the kittens to go to new homes, and spay and release Tortie Mama. She foiled this plan by having her kittens the end of March, when I was away on a trip, and hiding her kittens off-property.
I continued to feed Tortie Mama, and 3 younger adult females (Daisy, Zula, and Magda) that I believe are Tortie Mama's litter from last year. Every day, I asked Tortie Mama to bring me her kittens. And, in early June, she did. First 2, then 4, then 6. All tabbies. All with goopy eyes and varying degrees of upper respiratory illness. I fed them all, and tried to treat them with supplies I had on hand, but I needed antibiotics.
In mid-June, Daisy brought me her tortiseshell kitten (named Rosie, shown as our Poster Kitten here). Rosie also had the upper respiratory infection, but weighed only 1 pound and was in worse shape than the tabbies. I rushed Rosie to the vet to get her treatment, and also asked for additional antibiotics to mix into the tabby kittens' food, as some of them were too wild to catch.
Everybody got better, thanks to the medications.
Now, in late June, two more tabby kittens have showed up with the group. I think they are Magda's. Both about 8 weeks old. Both very sick with eyes stuck shut with goop and the same upper respiratory issues. Now I am up to 8 adults and 9 kittens.
I want to do right by these cats, but I don't have a lot of disposable income, and I have 3 indoor cats (2 of them elderly) of my own to vet and feed. Anything you can donate, no matter how small, will go directly toward feeding, vetting, and spay/neutering the colony.
And if you would like to adopt any of the kittens, please talk to me. One of my goals is to get them socialized and get them into indoor homes. I work with these cats every day, getting them to trust me. I've handled 8 of the 9 kittens (3 are quite tame and human-motivated now), and petted 2 of the adults (and the other adults are tolerating me at closer and closer range). We'll get there.
Organizer
Karen Schnaubelt
Organizer
Beallsville, PA
