Keep Stray Outdoor Cat Tamerlan Safe

Hi, my name is Rose De Dan, and I am raising funds to help pay for the installation of a cat door to keep stray cat Tamerlan safe from opossums, raccoons, and other wildlife while he sleeps on my catio/porch, and to cover the cost of a recent vet bill.

Tamerlan showed up a few weeks ago. I saw him pulling up grass, trying to eat any crumbs left from what I put out for the crows. He was skin and bones—I could practically count his ribs from a distance. He was also semi-feral and too scared for me to be able to approach him. It took two weeks to gain his trust, but once I did, he turned out to be very loving and affectionate.

As winter approached, he began using my back porch (set up as a catio for my two cats), for shelter and a safe place to sleep. Unfortunately, Tamerlan panics if I close the catio door, and is in danger of injuring himself by trying to tear his way out. He has been an outdoor-only cat all his life, so I have to leave the catio door open, which has become a problem.

Despite my leaving lights on, visiting wildlife has started to come into the Catio. One opossum attacked and tried to kill Tamerlan (truth, the wildlife cam caught the whole thing, see https://youtu.be/mGIVfdcECFc), and recently two raccoons came in to explore (see https://youtu.be/6JkeFkLWocA). My only option to keep wildlife out, and enable Tameralan to be able to come and go, is a dual-scan cat door which is costly. I also need to pay someone to install it, which will be expensive, too.

Once he trusted me and had gained enough weight, I arranged to have Tamerlan neutered and vaccinated through a local rescue that works with ferals, but he did not do well after surgery and I had to bring him to my own vet for emergency care, incurring costs I could not afford even though the rescue paid half.

I had not planned on caring for a third cat. With my health issues, and that of my senior cat, I am already struggling to pay the bills, but I can't turn Tamerlan away. At this point, he has adopted me. He follows me everywhere when I am outside. Someday he may become an indoor cat, but he cannot do that now. I need a way to keep him safe and pay off his vet bill. Can you help?

If donations should exceed the set goal, the additional funds will be set aside to cover Tamerlan's future needs. Thanks for reading!