These three cats are all connected to the Fort Faulsey community cat colony in Manchester on Pittsburgh's Northside. Oksana and Callie are living in the colony still, Maylee was trapped and taken inside.

All three have unexpected and unplanned veterinary needs. Oksana and Callie both have dental surgeries in the next two weeks. Oksana may have all of his teeth pulled. Callie's teeth aren't terrible, but she has something causing her to chew weirdly so the dental will help identify that source and give her a baseline for her teeth moving forward.

Maylee has been ill lately. She's lost weight, her behavior has changed, she's not grooming herself. She has no other symptoms to suggest it is a respiratory infection so we are concerned this could have a very serious underlying cause. Our foster caretaker suggested it could also be a dentnal issue causing pain when she grooms - that would be an expensive but fixable issue.

She goes to the vet on Thursday. Oxana and Callie went in late November. Callie is in a temp foster home and Oksana is back with his colony until time to go to the vet for surgery.

PLC takes care of the Fort Faulsey cats, but we weren't anticipating all of this. Dentals start at $1000 depending on complexity. We've already spent $950 on the first round of appointments for Callie and Oksana - bloodwork, exams, xrays, etc.

Maylee will get an exam and probably bloodwork, she'll have to be sedated for the appointment. They may start her on meds. Or maybe plan a dental. I'm sure her appointment will be at least $500 for starters.

All three of these cats began their lives outdoors without caretakers. They were sheltered in an abandoned decrepit house where occasionally a neighbor would dump a bag of cat food. They scrambled, scavenged, and survived.

Colony life improved things. Everyone was TNRd. They were few regularly and had clean water. Warm shelters were around them - Oksana sleeps in a heated shelter. They were safer, calmer, began to gain weight. They all tested negative for FLeV and FIV.

Maylee first came to our backyard to eat in 2017. We trapped her in May 2018. She's a pretty little tabby,mostlywhite. She had beautiful sad eyes. She lives inside, but is anxious and guarded. She does spend time with other cats and recently began to sleep on our human beds when no human was around. She loves to chase the red laser dot, enjoy her treats, and sits on the top perch of the cat tree..

Oksana came to us in 2018. He and his bonded companion Mx Pajamas live in our backyard. He's a flirt, visiting all of the ladies along our alley to get treats. He's talkative, friendly, and smart. But we suspect older. Losing his teeth won't hurt him - cats do not need to chew their food.

Oksana is a grey and white cat.

We met Callie in 2020 at Fort Faulsey. She had one kitten that died a week before we TNRd her. She's a beautiful calico who was very shy, but turns out to have a fiery personality. She talks to me when I feed her, but no touching. She likes treats and sitting on the patio table to watch the world.

Oksana and Callie could be socialized, but young ones have to be prioritized for adoption. So we give them a safe home. Our daily routines allowed us to pick up on their health concerns.

Maylee will stay inside and hopefully continue her journey to be a lap cat and enjoy the touch of a human she trusts. They've worked so hard, doing a fine job of taking care of themselves in a hostile situation they didn't create.

The colony is stable - no kittens since 2020. Keeping these three and everyone else healthy will sustain that stability. All of that will help keep our blocks of the Northside healthierand safer for everyone.

We need your help. Several people have been part of this.

Marie S. trapped recalcitrant Callie using a drop trap at 7AM on Thanksgiving. Marie K. helped with trapping, vet visits, and is a regular feeder at the colony. J has been providing foster care without charge. P plugged up holes in the fence to help keep them in the yard. D helped with transportation.

Dental disease impacts 50% of the general cat population and upwards of 90% of feral cats. Some studies show that being spayed/neutered reduces the intensity of decay. If there are no underlying problems, feral cats handle these procedures just fine.

Callie and Oksana will stay with foster home until they heal. Maylee will return to her home to recover.

PLC is already trying to raise money to provide gift cards for homeless LGBTQ adults, get in a store of paper plates and towels for the winter rmonths for the pet food pantry, and pay for administrative support on a new project.

PLC is very small, but mighty.

We believe that the people who most directly benefit from these cats' welfare are the neighbors in the blocks around their colony. This is an investment in those neighbors, too.