The Forgotten Field Project Fund

Who We Are

For more than 20 years, Gandolf's Legacy Cat Rescue has provided rescue, sanctuary, hospice care, medical treatment, and loving homes to homeless, abandoned, neglected street cats.

From fragile newborn kittens to seniors with complex medical needs, our mission has always been the same:

To help the street cats who have nowhere else to turn.

To date, we have helped 3,257 fur babies know safety, full bellies, warm beds, home, and the love every living being deserves. It’s been quite a journey. A life’s work.

While our general rescue fund was created to support the daily needs of the cats already in our care, we have created this dedicated Forgotten Field Project Fund to support the unique needs of a heartbreaking colony we recently discovered.

The need for these fur babies is great.

❤️

Why We Created The Forgotten Field Project Fund

The Forgotten Field Project is one of the largest undertakings in our rescue's history.

This dedicated fund will help provide:

• Food for colony cats and kittens

• Veterinary care and medications

• Spay and neuter services

• Emergency medical treatment if needed

• Recovery and rehabilitation support

Over the coming months, this project will focus on helping more than 30 cats and kittens living in difficult and dangerous conditions.

Regular updates will be posted here for supporters to follow along.

A Simple Errand Changed Everything

What began as a simple errand to the dollar store two weeks ago, became a desperate situation I could not walk away from.

A heartbreaking reality hidden in plain sight.

Movement in the field next door caught my eye.

Six abandoned four-week-old kittens without their mother.

A baby mother herself, barely six months old, trying to care for four tiny two-week-old kittens while clearly battling eye issues. Her head poked out from a makeshift shelter. Her expression seemed to plead for help.

Cats running everywhere.

Kittens of varying ages. Some with mothers. Some without.

Young adults breeding unchecked.

Some terribly thin.

Some appeared sick.

Some with infected eyes.

At least one pregnant.

All ravenously hungry.

Trapped in the cruel cycle of kittens having kittens.

There were obvious signs that someone, at some point, had tried to help.

Old makeshift shelters.

Weathered straw.

Food dishes long dried by the sun.

The heartbreak is deep…knowing that someone knew about this, apparent by what was left there…

where did they go?...

why did they stop caring for them?

But now they are left alone. Hungry. Forgotten.

I hurried into the store to get food and water, and they ate and drank with a desperation that did, and always does, break my heart...to see how hungry they were.

A Colony Hidden In Plain Sight

This is not a handful of cats.

This is an unmanaged colony of at least 30 cats, likely more, living beside a dollar store in an overgrown field thick with brambles.

And despite what some may imagine, this is not a peaceful woodland sanctuary.

The colony field sits between busy roads, parking lots, and a dangerous deep creek.

One side borders a deep creek bed that recently became a rushing river after weeks of torrential Atlanta rain.

I have come across and helped many colonies over the years, and discovering situations like this never gets easier.

Your blood boils. Your gut churns. Your heart breaks.

Because you know these cats have been seen.

You know people have walked past them.

You know someone once cared enough to leave shelters and food dishes behind.

And yet here they remain.

Hungry. Breeding. Suffering. Waiting.

After 20+ years in rescue, one thing becomes painfully clear:

There are simply not enough people stepping in compared to the number of animals being abandoned, ignored, and left behind.

It's why shelters and rescues are overflowing.

It's why situations like this continue to exist.

And it's why walking away was never an option for me.

Why We Stepped In

Perfect timing rarely exists in rescue.

Space is always limited.

Funding is always teetering on non-existence.

You try to plan carefully and budget responsibly.

But when helpless kittens, pregnant mothers, and sick cats are suffering in front of you, you can’t turn your back.

You grab your traps and step in.

Because turning your back would only continue the neglect they have already endured!!

These innocent, voiceless beings deserve better.

Food. Medical care. Safety. Love.

And most importantly, a chance to live.

What The Forgotten Field Project Will Accomplish

Over the coming months, we are taking this colony on as a full rescue and TNR project.

Our goals include:

• Regularly feeding every cat

• Rescuing vulnerable kittens first

• Providing veterinary care to sick and injured cats

• Finding loving homes for adoptable cats and kittens

• Spaying and neutering every cat possible

• TNR for truly feral cats

• Exploring barn placements and alternative safe placements when appropriate. This is not a safe space to return them to.

• Breaking the cycle of reproduction and suffering once and for all !

This will not happen overnight.

It is a massive undertaking requiring time, patience, veterinary care, medications, recovery space, food, trapping, and ongoing financial support.

Progress So Far

The six abandoned four-week-old kittens we first discovered are already safe.

Thanks to generous support, they received their first veterinary visits and are now experiencing safety, comfort, and love.

Their lives have changed forever. They are gorgeous spoiled little fluffy potatoes, eating like voracious velociraptors ~ living their best lives. They all had good health check ups. Adoption to be hopefully right around the corner!

In another section of the colony, six kittens were discovered hiding in thorn bushes near the busy highway.

Of this group, we have successfully rescued three kittens and a mother.

As of this writing, ten cats in all have already been brought to safety, and today, the mother of the two kittens is at the vet getting spayed.

The torrential rains in Altanta have slowed progress considerably, as they hide in the bushes in heavy downpours and won’t come out for food, or wander into traps in such weather.

But we will continue.

What This Project Will Cost

Each rescued kitten typically requires approximately $200 in initial veterinary care, including examinations, testing, 1st vaccinations,

de-worming, and flea treatment. They will return for S/N in a few weeks, when age appropriate.

Adult cats generally require $300 to $350 or more, depending on their condition and medical needs, and they can be S/N immediately, as age is appropriate.

Because the colony is fearful and disperse when approached, obtaining an accurate count remains difficult. Some days we see 24 cats. Other days 32. Other days only a handful emerge.

We are confident there are at least 30 cats, and likely more.

Including food, litter, veterinary care, medications, spay/neuter services, supplies, and inevitable medical surprises, we estimate this project may ultimately cost $25,000 or more.

Street cats rarely arrive with perfect health.

Years of exposure to disease, parasites, injury, hunger, and harsh conditions often leave lasting medical needs.

The reality is that unexpected veterinary expenses are not the exception in rescue. They are the rule.

Therefore, we may need to adjust our goal.

It is best practice and essential for our tiny budget to have funding in place for each vet visit prior to intake.

If not, they must sit in quarantine awaiting funding, and this is not good for them. Vetting must happen quickly for health assessment as they are exposed to so much potential disease.

Undiagnosed illness often = suffering and can endanger their health further, so we must get them in ASAP upon intake.

No matter how good your rescue cleaning standards are, diseases can spread and endanger everyone.

Not what we want to happen!

One Cat At A Time

But we will start the same way rescue always starts.

One foot in front of the other.

Our trusty Trapping Crate to Freedom and sardines in hand.

One cat at a time.

One full belly at a time.

One life changed at a time.

Without community support, it will not be possible for our small rescue to save these fur babies.

We are big on love, but small on extra finances for an undertaking of this size.

We currently care for 18 sanctuary residents, many requiring daily medication, special diets, and ongoing medical care, including one beloved cat, Leo Bear, currently battling cancer.

Our hands are full.

Our pockets are often nearly empty.

But our hearts will always have room for the forgotten souls roaming a field that no one else seems to see.

Along with the kind help from our community of fur lovers, they will finally know someone cares.

Because sentient beings understand love, even when they have spent their lives living in fear.

And Love lives here.

Even in forgotten fields.

The Forgotten Field Project Fund

For the forgotten.

For the vulnerable.

For the cats still waiting.

No donation is too small and no share insignificant.

Many hands make light work ❤️

Please SHARE our project! It is a massive undertaking

And together, we can save them all.

Sending Whisker Love,

Priya Patel

Gandol’s Legacy Cat Rescue of Atlanta