A ridealong with the PFA feral feeding team

Last night, I had the pleasure of accompanying two of our intrepid feeders on their friday night route. Pat and Dona feed on route number 2, with ten stops, every friday night. They go out regardless of the weather, the police scene tape surrounding some of the areas where they need to feed, or the heartache that they sometimes go home with. All but one of their stops are in the roughest parts of North Central Regina, in back alleys, housed in broken down garages and sheds. Over the years, our feeders have been chased and threatened, and our shelters have been vandalized. Nevertheless, our loyal volunteers continue to go out for the sake of the cats that they care for.

Dona currently has one foot in a cast, and so she is unable to clamber around the shelters the way she would like to. So, she drove, and I came along to assist Pat at the feeding stations.

The most significant thing I was impressed with was how much work has been accomplished over the last year, since we started the second route. Each stop had multiple insulated shelters, paths shoveled around the areas, and insulated or heated water bowls. Almost every feeding station/shelter location has been established in the back yard of a kind member of the community who have been befriended by the feral team. Our team members have built these relationships to such a degree that people are not only willing to have these shelters and cats present on their property, but they allow us to plug heated water bowls in, they keep track of the cats for us, and often they supplement the cat food that we leave with their own contributions.

The other heartwarming observation was the cats. At many of the stops they would be assembled, waiting for us to arrive. They were all in excellent shape, resembling happy house cats with their thick fur, well fed bellies, and clear eyes. Most of the cats are indeed feral, but a few are tame, and in the spring when we start our trapping up again, we will hopefully be able to catch the tame ones and find them loving adoptive homes. The feral ones will be trapped, sterilized and treated for any medical conditions, and released back to the colonies that we are maintaining. Of course, many of the cats that we fed last night have already been sterilized under the PFA feral cat colony program.

None of this important work would be possible without the support that we receive from the public. The shelters are lined with fleece and pillows that have been donated. The heated water bowls are also donated. The cat food that we use is donated. Many of the dog houses used as shelters are donated. The huge insulated coolers adapted into other shelters are also donated. The shelter space, and power for the water bowls, is donated. The money for sterilizations and medical treatment is donated. Thank you to our supporters. You are caring for cats that would otherwise be suffering terribly through Regina's very cruel winters.

This work could obviously also not happen without our feral team. They put their safety on the line, use their own vehicles, invest countless hours, face untold heartbreak, and pay out of their own pockets for cat food when our donations are not sufficient. It was an honour to spend one evening with them.

-Sarah