Help us care for an abandoned cat colony

❤️The Story:

In the middle of August, several cats (13 and counting) were found by Debbie when she went to look at a home that was listed for sale and vacant, just outside Sun Prairie, WI. I got involved when she contacted someone else who is very helpful in the cat community and that person knew that I lived somewhat close to the area where the house was located. While we don’t know the cats’ stories (or the previous homeowner’s story) it’s obvious that the cats call this property home and depended on people for food and they weren’t getting it anymore. When Debbie and I stepped in and started feeding these cats (with the realtor’s permission), they had probably gone several weeks with little to no food or fresh water, just left to their own devices. Sadly, one was found deceased by the realtor not too long before we found the place. Newborn kittens were found after a week of us feeding the colony and they had little to no chances of surviving if left there. Unfortunately despite being rescued, they still did not make it more than a couple days. Another cat was recently found dead by someone else looking at the property and it had been dead for quite some time.

In addition to feeding the cats, we are working on getting the colony all spayed and neutered, through a process called TNR (cats are humanely trapped, neutered/spayed and returned to where they were trapped-usually with a caregiver). Their surgery expenses are being covered by the rescue, Community Cat out of Whitewater, WI. One of the cats was actually already TNR’d (by who, we don’t know) but is very skinny and in poor health. She is currently staying with a temporary foster til we find a rescue to help her. We have TNR’d 9 others. We currently have 3 left to trap and get fixed. Additionally, a 14th cat has started showing up recently to eat, but we know they have already been TNR’d because they have a left ear tip which is the universal sign that a cat has been spayed/neutered. The ear tip is normally used for outdoor or feral cats (although sometimes cats with ear tips get adopted too and may be indoor cats who are lost). Debbie saw a cat farther down the road from this property that looks strikingly similar to 3 cats we are feeding but we have not seen this cat on the property (this is the cat in the last picture of the collage).

❤️ General feeding of the cats:

Debbie and I have taken them under our wings and are providing them with food and water on a daily basis, usually twice a day. This gets expensive, as we are providing them with both wet and dry food and many are underweight. We can go through 5-10 cans of wet food at each feeding depending on how many cats show up to eat. Debbie lives about 30 min away and Megan lives about 15 min away from the property so gas also adds to the expense.

We have been feeding them Mounds brand dry cat food (from Mounds) or Purina One Sensitive Skin and Stomach dry food (from Walmart or Amazon). For wet food, we have been feeding them Friskies (from Mounds, Amazon, or Walmart) or Purina One True Instincts (from Walmart or Amazon). Sometimes we feed churu lickable treat tubes to the cats (from Mounds, Amazon, Petsmart. Walmart also has similar brands). A few like Daddy, Asher, and Gracie will eat them right from our hand or a spoon!

WAYS TO HELP WITH GENERAL FEEDING:

-purchase food, churu, paper bowls etc from our Amazon wishlist to be delivered right to us

-purchase food listed above from Mounds, Walmart, Amazon, etc and drop off at Debbie’s (Madison) or Megan’s (Sun Prairie)

-donate to Go Fund Me for us to purchase items (but remember Go Fund Me takes a portion of each donation)

-donate via Venmo @MeganMolitor for us to purchase items

-donate via PayPal to Debbie or Megan (message for details as go fund me won’t post email addresses) for us to purchase items

-donate gas gift cards

-donate your time and gas by going to feed the cats for us. We would provide food if you’re not able to donate it. Debbie normally feeds in the morning and Megan in the evening. Reach out to one of us for details.

❤️ Raccoon and Possum proof feeding platforms:

Raccoons and possums are stealing dry food at night so I’m currently trying to build some kind of raised feeding platform those critters can’t reach, but the cats can jump to. I found some end tables I can use from a thrift store for the main part, but additional supplies to build it are needed, such as a couple wooden fence posts, 2x4s for the bases, necessary hardware, and aluminum flashing. The items in my online Home Depot cart total about $315. This is to finish making 2 feeding platforms to keep the pesky unwanted critters out of the cat food.

WAYS TO HELP WITH RACCOON PROOF FEEDER:

-donate to Go Fund Me for us to purchase items (but remember Go Fund Me takes a portion of each donation)

-donate via Venmo @MeganMolitor for us to purchase items

-reach out to Megan if you’d like the know the specific items and would like to purchase them yourself or maybe you have something that could be of use.

❤️ Additional vet care beyond their spay and neuter surgeries:

A few of the cats fixed already, need dentals, a couple need some further medical exams and bloodwork, including the already TNR’d cat not in good shape and another cat who has some balance issues and a head tilt, plus all would benefit from complete wellness exams and monthly revolution. The ones that are adoptable may also get testing for fiv/felv and microchips, dewormers etc. Until or unless we can find a rescue to take them in, and/or raise funds, these additional medical needs may go uncared for.

WAYS TO HELP WITH VET CARE:

-donate to Go Fund Me (but remember Go Fund Me takes a portion of each donation)

-donate via Venmo @MeganMolitor

-donate via PayPal to Debbie or Megan (message for details as go fund me won’t post email addresses)

-if you’d like your donation to go to a specific cat’s vet care or a specific expense for all the cats (like a dose of revolution for all the cats) etc please note that on your donation or reach out to us to discuss. We could even have you pay for the expense/vet care directly to the vet when we know what it will be and where/when etc.

❤️Penguin, approx 6 years old, has a suspected flea allergy (and I’ve seen her frequently scratching) and it’s recommended to continue with flea prevention for at least 2 more months, if not longer, plus a dental is recommended (grade 3-4 dental disease: 208 has severe tartar, concern for possible FORL. Otherwise moderate tartar and gingivitis). It was also noted she had a heart arrhythmia for which further diagnostics are recommended.

❤️Panther, approx 2 years old, had soft stool so dewormer and probiotics were recommended and needed. Also had ear mites for which revolution was applied and recheck recommended in 3 weeks to see if additional doses needed.

❤️Asher, approx 12 years old, a dental is recommended (grade 3-4 dental disease: Missing most incisors. 304 is fractured at the gum line, with retained root noted. Moderate tartar throughout.) He has some corneal scarring and anterior synechia in his left eye, likely from an old/healed injury. We’ve also noticed he has a head tilt and sometimes gets off balance. He should be examined further for this. Recently he’s had excessive eye discharge as well. I am working on earning his trust and he has a come a long ways already. Just last night (9/11/24) was able to pet him and wipe some of the discharge from his eyes while feeding him churu.

❤️Max, approx 2 years old, had fleas, was given a dose of revolution (as all were) and it’s recommended to continue with flea prevention for at least 2 more months, if not longer.

❤️Gracie, approx 7 months old, was treated for suspected ear mites and it’s recommended to recheck in 3 weeks to see if additional treatment is needed. She also has a body condition score of 4/9 and only weighs 4.4 lbs. After her current course of antibiotics for a wound, she may benefit from dewormer to be sure that’s not the cause of her body condition. Very friendly and playful while in home for her antibiotics. Super cute.

❤️Daddy, approx 10 years old, was treated for suspected ear mites and it’s recommended to recheck in 3 weeks to see if additional treatment is needed. A dental was also recommended (grade 4 dental disease: Fractured 104, 304 and 404 with pulp chamber exposure present. Otherwise moderate to marked tartar and gingivitis present.) He is super sweet and loving. Follows us around talking to us, lets us pet him.

❤️Harley, approx 6 years old, a dental was recommended (grade 3-4 dental disease: Heavy tartar present over 108 and 208. Suspected FORL present 108. Marked gingivitis noted around upper incisors.)

❤️Beauty, approx 8 years old, has a body condition score of 3.5/9 and only weighs 5.2 lbs. She has been given dewormer to see if internal parasites are the cause of her body condition. She was also treated for suspected ear mites and it’s recommended to recheck in 3 weeks to see if additional treatment is needed. Additionally, a dental was recommended (grade 4 dental disease: Marked tartar present along 107, 108, 207 and 208. Suspected FORL present along 409. Missing all incisors as well as 304 and 404.)

❤️Mittens, approx 4 years old, treated for suspected ear mites and it’s recommended to recheck in 3 weeks to see if additional treatment is needed. Very calm and allowed me to move stuff in her trap while caring for her post surgery. Vet noted she was too feral to examine fully without sedation, but no one likes the vet!

❤️Betty Davis, the older looking cat that had already been TNR’d and hence has not seen a vet yet, is very skinny and may have some issues going on with her eyes. She would benefit from blood work up and a wellness visit. Very friendly talkative girl.

❤️Cow has not been trapped yet so we don’t know their health condition.

❤️Flower has not been trapped yet so we don’t know their health condition.

❤️Ghost has not been trapped yet so we don’t know their health condition.

❤️Snickers has not been trapped yet so we don’t know their health condition, other than they do have an ear tip already so we know they are fixed.

❤️ Winter Shelter:

Their future is uncertain at this point. With their current home up for sale, no rescue to sponsor their care and no fosters to bring them inside, they may be spending this upcoming winter outside still. If this should happen, we would like to be able to provide them with some type of outdoor shelter to keep them safe and warm. We will need supplies to build diy shelters or funds to purchase them. We do have a few shelters already made but may end up needing more. It was noted on Daddy’s physical exam before his neuter surgery that he has curled/scarred pinnae (ears): well-healed, they suspect from a previous frost bite. We don’t want that happening again or to any more cats!

WAYS TO HELP WITH WINTER SHELTER:

-donate to Go Fund Me (but remember Go Fund Me takes a portion of each donation)

-donate via Venmo @MeganMolitor

-donate via PayPal to Debbie or Megan (message for details as go fund me won’t post email addresses)

-donate shelters or supplies to make them. They can be made from styrofoam coolers or from 2 plastic storage totes with one inside the other and a layer of foam board insulation between the totes and then straw (NOT hay!) inside the smaller tote. They should be just big enough for a couple cats to curl up and sleep. If too big, their body heat will not be enough to keep them warm. Message us for more info on making some of you aren’t sure how.

❤️ Foster or Foster to Adopt the potentially adoptable/Find a rescue to take them in:

The majority, if not all, of the cats do not seem to be truly “feral”. They may not have always lived outdoors. After just a few weeks of feeding them we can pet some of them and they are trusting us more and more. They say feral cats don’t meow, but a few of these ones definitely do, which is part of what makes us think some are not really feral. And as mentioned, some take churu treats from our hands! We believe many may be adoptable, especially if people are willing and able to be patient and work with them. We don’t believe the humane society would be a good fit for them however. Ideally, we would like a rescue to take them in, but we know rescues are overwhelmed already.

WAYS TO HELP WITH FOSTERING:

-If you know of any rescues that may be able to take them in, or help pay for their care, etc let us know.

-If you have time and space to allow one into your home and would like to try taking one in (to foster or adopt) that we think has potential to become an inside cat, message us to discuss. It’s more likely a rescue can take them in if we have fosters lined up for them.

-Share our request for people to foster these cats, maybe you know someone who can foster or help

❤️ If you’re not in a position to help financially, please help by:

-sharing our Amazon wish list

-sharing our Go Fund Me link

-Additionally, if you have any tips, tricks, or suggestions for helping in any way, please let us know. Maybe you can help make diy shelters (or have good diy instructions for us to use), or could possibly donate your time by feeding them the food we provide. Maybe you could foster. You can also help other cats by simply promoting for people to have their cats spayed and neutered. Raise awareness so more cats don’t end up like these! Anything is appreciated! ❤️

❤️LINK TO AMAZON WISHLIST: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3NBZ14IPU7G0W?ref_=wl_share

❤️NOTES:

**If you’d like your monetary donation to go to a specific expense please note that when you donate or message us to let us know. Otherwise we will spend the donation on the items we feel are most important at the time.

**Receipts can be provided if you’d like to know exactly where your money is going. I will try to post them even if not asked for. I’m not sure if I can post picture updates on the go fund me. If not, I’ll do it on Facebook.

**Our “goal” is variable. We don’t really have a monetary goal in mind. We just want to be able to continue feeding the cats, provide further vet care for them and adopt out those that really seem adoptable. We don’t know how long this will continue for.

As I recently saw on a Facebook post, “When you see animals in need, please help them, instead of hoping someone else will. You are someone.”

Thank you for any support you are able to offer!

-Megan Molitor and Debbie Lovick