Three less kittens on the street

PFA received a call several months ago from Leah, a caring and capable woman living in North Central Regina. The lot beside Leah's home is full of abandoned vehicles and other junk, and it had become home to several momma cats and their respective litters of kittens. Leah wanted to stop this colony in the making from reproducing, but she needed help. First, Leah was able to bring the tamer mother cat and her young litter of kittens into her home. She tamed the kittens, and had the mother cat spayed. PFA was able to help adopt out some of the kittens, and we moved the two remaining ones into another foster home. The mother cat was re-released into the vacant lot, as she was too wild to be happy as a house cat, and she has shelter, food, and water provided by Leah. Then, Leah took on the much harder task of catching the much wilder mother cat and her three older kittens. She used a large dog kennel, and enticed the kittens one by one into it with food. Then she would grab them and bring them indoors. She also did that with the mother cat, and we had a very interesting evening transporting her to the vet clinic in the back of a truck, as the kennel was too big to fit in a car!

Now, the second mother cat is spayed, and is also back outside with her buddy. They are content, and will never have another litter of kittens.

Leah has the three kittens in her home with her now, and they are taming up beautifully. They are sweet, and playful, and affectionate. they will make wonderful pets! These girls are listed on our adoption page on our main website now, ready to go to their forever homes. We are so grateful to have brave and industrious people like Leah in our community, who are willing to do their part to stop cat overpopulation on our streets.

-Sarah

Sophie is safe and happy!

Sophie is a one year old female cat that People for Animals rescued this past June. She was living in an abandoned shed, having just given birth to five kittens. Sophie was extremely thin and worn out trying to care for her babies. Sophie came to my home with the kittens to be fostered, and quickly became the princess of the house. PFA spayed and vaccinated her as soon as she was done nursing her babies. Sophie was outgoing and chatty and very friendly, along with being so relieved that she had some help with her rather demanding kittens!

One by one the kittens were adopted to good homes, but Sophie continued to wait. It took several months for the right family to come along for our sweet girl, but it was well worth it. We just received an update from them today, with the photo above. Tiffany, Sophie's new momma, says:

"we got a little friend for her... after two days Sophie and him became best friends, they're so cute together. Now they play and chase each other then at the end of the day lay down and nap together. She's a much happier cat, she's grown a little, well chubbied up alot but still is a small cat. She comes to bed with us each night - it's so cute! They cuddle together at the end of the bed, and then 7am every morning she's squaking for her mushy food. We love her so much."

The above photo is of Sophie at home with her new little buddy. Yay for Sophie!
-Sarah

Bob the bob tail

Bobbie the bob-tailed tortoiseshell cat was abandoned by her previous owners when they moved out of their neighborhood and left her behind three weeks ago. This sweet young female was left to fend for herself as the weather grew colder, with no shelter, food, water, or love.

One of our volunteers who lives nearby noticed Bobbie, and began feeding her and checking on her. We made Bobbie a priority on the foster home wait list, and on Wed night we were able to scoop her and take her in to the vet. Bobbie was spayed on Thurs, and as of Thurs night is now in the loving arms of her foster mom, Dariel. She is an incredibly loving and purry girl, and is so grateful to be warm and well fed.

It's so sad to think that there are people in our communities who think that it is acceptable to abandon their companion animals when they become inconvenient. Thankfully, Bobbie didn't suffer from that choice for long.

-Sarah

inspiration

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead

Uptown... I mean Downtown, Girl

Finally, a photo of one of our downtown feral cats after being trapped! She will be headed shortly to one of our screened and approved farm homes, along with some other adults in her family.

Downtown cats in the news!

The story of the downtown cats, along with some information about People for Animals, was featured in the Regina Leader Post today. To read the story, and see the photo of the "King" of the colony, finally trapped, click HERE

More downtown kittens that were scooped last week

One of the babies with their foster mom, Laurel
Playing peek-a-boo

One of the many tortie kittens that we have saved

Two of the adorable tabbies at Laurel's

All of these babies are coming along well, and we are pleased with how sociable they have become already. We hope to make them available for adoption in the coming weeks.

-Sarah

Lost cat found after THIRTEEN years!

Read about this happy reunion HERE

Content from poster that PFA is putting up downtown to try and help the kitties

Over the years, a colony of wild cats has developed downtown, here in Regina. You’ve probably seen them, eating the food that people in the downtown community leave out for them, grooming each other, and sleeping in sun puddles in the alley.

However, this feline family is in great danger now, as the buildings that they use for shelter are slated for demolition.

People for Animals is a local animal rescue organization, and we work extensively with feral cats in the city. Downtown residents alerted us to this situation, and we have been working hard to assess the site, find safe rural locations to move the adult cats to, and recruit foster homes to tame and house the kittens.

We have already begun trapping the cats, and so far we have caught, sterilized, and relocated 12 adult cats. We have also caught 12 kittens who are currently warm, well fed, and safe, and will be adopted out to loving homes. Please check out our blog at www.pfasask.blogspot.com for more stories and photos of the downtown cats.

However, we are not yet done. We estimate that there is anywhere from 7 to 12 more adult cats, and 5 to 10 more kittens who need to be relocated. Also, this effort takes a great deal of money to support, as we are committed to sterilizing each adult cat in the process of moving them. Regina and area is overrun with cats, and spaying and neutering is an essential tool to help reduce the number of unwanted cats in our city.

Can you help us? Donations can be made on our website, at:
www.people4animals.ca

If you are interested in becoming a member of People for Animals, or making a donation by cash or cheque, please contact
Mauri at 531-6882 or email badbunnygirl@hotmail.com

People for Animals of Saskatchewan Inc. (P.F.A.) is a local, non-profit, volunteer-run animal welfare organization which works to assist companion animals in need and to educate people about the humane treatment of pets and other animals.

Some very educated kitties

Last weekend, we paired our wonderful trapper Tammy up with a kind man called Steven who had discovered two older kittens who were sheltering under some concrete steps at the University of Regina campus. Between the two of them, they managed to trap both cats, and they are now at Tammy's in foster care, being socialized. These young cats will soon need to be sterilized, and Steven is undertaking a fundraiser to help pay the vet bills.

Please click HERE to read about the limited edition Robert Bateman print that Steven is selling.

Cheeto, a downtown kitten rescued

This is Cheeto, at his new home. He is adjusting well to being off the street, and is slowly being socialized.

One more foster home needed for Downtown Kittens

Our efforts to relocate the colony of feral cats at the downtown location that is slated for demolition are going incredibly well. We have moved 11 adults, sterilizing them, and taking them to screened rural homes. Many thanks again to Dianne and Mauri, who have funded all of the vet costs so far! And we now have 11 kittens in foster care, being socialized and well loved by their foster parents. Many thanks to Ken, Laurel and Sandy for their willingness to help. Once these kittens are socialized, they will be listed for adoption.

There are about five more kittens and five more adults that we hope to move to safety. But, we can't move them until we have a great place to move them to. Can you help? We have a few leads on farm homes, but we are out of options for kitten fostering. We need one or two more loving spaces for these very special babies.

Please email Sarah at badbunnygirl at hotmail.com for more details.

A few of the downtown kittens in foster care

Skippy the challenging cat

Skippy is an incredibly sweet young male cat who was heartlessly dumped out at some cottages over the summer. A caring family found him, scraping by, and brought him into the city with them this fall. As much as they loved Skippy, the couldn't keep him, as the entire family was allergic. We were able to place Skippy in foster care, his rescuers generously covered the cost of his neuter, and the Lumsden vet clinic donated the cost of his vaccinations. We thought Skippy had it made, and expected that we would be able to find him a loving home in short order.

However, Skippy had other ideas. He "forgot" how to use a litter box! His foster mom took him to the vet, and eliminated any physical reasons for this smelly issue. The vet suggested that Skippy was reacting to the other animals in his foster home, or missed going outside, or needed to be re-litter-trained. We didn't quite know what to do with this well-loved boy... until I remembered Sandy. Sandy is a wonderful friend to PFA who adopted one of our rescued cats several months ago to be a housecat. However, I knew that Sandy also had an outdoor cat on her rural property, and that she was a very caring animal lover. I contacted her, and she immediately agreed to adopt Skippy and offer him an outdoor home with warm shelter and lots of good food and water.

Sandy picked Skippy up on Sunday, and I have already had an update from her: "Just thought I'd let you know Skippy is settling in just fine. He followed me around the yard all day yesterday and he comes when you call his name. He is a very affectionate cat. He was having big adventures with all my animals as he's not quite sure what to make of it all. The horses made him a bit nervous. Skippy got cornered with my ducks and guinea hens. They were checking him out. He had to make a run for it. It was funny to watch. Skippy and the new stray black and white cat ( we call him number 5 as he is my 5th cat) seems to have become buddies. That is good."

We agree :)

-Sarah

Ps The photos above are of Skippy at his new home.

Downtown cats are marching on

This weekend was the third trapping expedition at the downtown site. Our intrepid team was able to catch six adult female cats, and five of them were tortoiseshells! We have found an inordinate number of torties at this colony.
We are pleased to catch any cats, but there is always a special feeling of satisfaction to be able to sterilize a producing female, never mind six of them, all of whom are capable of bearing 3-4 litters of kittens every year.
So, we have now trapped and relocated 19 cats and kittens, the adults going to two farm locations, and the kittens being tamed and socialized in multiple foster homes. We are so grateful for the help and financial support of Dianne and Mauri, the two wonderful ladies, now our friends, who have worked so hard to save the lives of these great cats.
But, the work is not yet done. Our team estimates that there are still between 12-15 more cats and kittens left to trap and move. And, I am still in the process of trying to uncover the owner of the buildings in which the cats currently reside, to find out the expected demolition date.
We are still in very great need of kitten foster homes, and financial contributions to cover sterilization costs. Please consider pitching in!

Angel in Heaven

Angel was found on the streets in North Central Regina by our feral cat team. She was literally just skin and bones, and so weak and emaciated she was barely able to walk. Angel was very timid, but something about her made the team think that she had once had a home and was tame.

They began making a special effort to seek her out, bringing her food, and trying to win her trust. After a month or so, the team trapped Angel and took her to the vet clinic to be examined and spayed. One feral team member, Sandra, was able to find Angel a loving foster home in her own building with a lovely woman. This foster mom quickly won our Angel's trust, and Angel has thrived under her care.

We received the joyous news today that Angel's foster mom has decided to adopt her permanently. Angel will never know starvation and cold again, thanks to the very hard work of the feral cat team, and to the devotion of her foster (now adoptive) mother, Sylvia.