Hi! My name is Kae, and I am trying to raise money to resolve an ongoing feral cat crisis in my neighborhood, which has resulted in several litters of kittens, fights between outdoor cats, and impacts to local wildlife and landscapes. We are currently caring for one of these kitten litters, with the hopes that it will be the last one.

Within the last couple of years we moved into a new house that came with some outdoor cats that we discovered were being cared for by the previous owners. We already had some cats and thusly cat supplies so we thought no big deal, we'll take care of them, then try to trap them and get them spayed/neutered. With our busy schedules we were unable to trap the female cats prior to her having two separate litters, one born over the summer (vampire litter, all named after vampires), and the more recent group (cowboy litter, all named after RDR2 characters) born at the start of October. We are aware that the mother has had previous litters, but at the time we were unable to intervene as we did not have the supplies nor knowledge about the mother cat's habits or whereabouts. We are unsure what became of those litters, but we are sure some of the feral cats we have seen are from those litters.

Both litters that we have been responsible for have consisted of 4 kittens, and we have found forever homes for 3/4 of the vampire litter. We are continuing to foster the last kitten of the bunch, as she has required some additional time to get comfortable with humans before she is adoption-ready. The cowboy litter, all just slightly over a month as of writing this, we are working with a rescue to adopt them out, saving us the costs of vaccinations, but we still have to provide care, supplies, and vet visits.

Both litters have required us to seek urgent care due to one from the vampire litter sustaining a soft tissue injury before coming into our care, and another from the cowboy litter dealing with constipation and lethargy that required an enema. Those visits cost us $910.51 and $611.15 respectively. We have an upcoming visit with our vet for the cowboy litter that is estimated at $250-$350, as one has some lasting effects from a botfly infection and is developmentally behind the others, while another is having breathing impairments.

Medication and vaccinations for the vampire litter totaled us $1308. In addition to this, there are other costs we have had to cover, such as food, formula, toys, and supplies for the kiddos, which we have not included in any of the cost breakdowns thus far, but certainly totals a few hundred. We had no assistance from a rescue with the vampire litter, and paid all of the listed costs ourselves. During this process, I was laid off as a federal contractor for 3 months due to changes made by the current administration, my spouse had to put down their family dog, and some other unforeseen costs that have limited the amount of money we have available to support the litters and the outdoor cats. My spouse has also been unable to work consistently while taking care of the cowboy litter, due to having to bottle feed them around the clock.

While we have had the funds to cover their costs so far, it is becoming unsustainable. The sooner we are able to recoup some funds, the better, as we want to take advantage of the winter months (when the female cats will not be reproducing) to capture and spay them ASAP.

We have not asked the adopters of the vampire litter to pay us a penny for the kittens, as taking in a new animal is expensive as it is, and the delay would have prevented us from taking in the cowboy litter at all. Should they wish it, this GFM would provide them an avenue to contribute as well. We covered the kittens' initial rabies and distemper shots, which meant that the adopters would only be responsible for any further necessary boosters and the cost for spay/neuter. Our priority was placed in making sure that the kittens found the right homes for them on a timeline that allowed us to make the cowboy litter the last.

The goal for this GFM is:

We want to resolve our neighborhood cat problem, as outdoor cats bring disease, parasites, ecosystem imbalances, and can very quickly reproduce and overwhelm the neighborhood without intervention. Unfortunately, we have also recently seen a feral cat with life-ending injuries whom had been hit by a car. We are concerned for the safety of both the cats and the drivers whom have to keep an eye out for them, and have concerns for the children and other pets who live here, as some diseases such as giardia are very contagious to dogs and humans with compromised or young immune systems.

We know of, at least: two unspayed female cats, both of whom were mothers to the vampire and cowboy litters, one unneutered male tom, and a potential second unneutered male tom. We have also briefly seen two or three other cats that we are unsure of their genders and no clipped eartips to indicate that they have been TNVR-ed.

We understand that it is a huge undertaking and responsibility to handle a population of cats of this size. Without our intervention, there would be at least 4 intact females and 4 intact males which would have exploded their numbers had they been running around freely. We have attempted to get animal control involved, but they will not pick up any cat that has not already been trapped. At minimum, we want to take care of the two unspayed females that the previous owners of our house were taking care of, since we have built a rapport with them, and will be the easiest way to curb the population issue for the time being.

If a monetary contribution is not feasible, or you would prefer to donate in supplies instead, we will be working on an Amazon wishlist.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and any/all donations are sincerely and greatly appreciated!