Caruso's Photo Slideshow

Caruso was always a special cat to me. He came to me sometime around May of 2006. Thought to be feral at first, Caruso may have just been a very scared kitty, but his ear got tipped (sign of a neutered feral cat in a managed colony) at the time he was neutered. He had been living on the street and was being fed by a man who didn't want him back after he was trapped and fixed. Caruso was originally with another foster parent but she asked me to take him and work on socializing him. So I brought him home, caged him, and started socializing him. Over time, Caruso let me pet him more and more. He had a chance to see the other house cats interacting with me and got to know them through his cage, although he never seemed that interested in them. Eventually, I let Caruso out of his cage to find his way in the household.

During the year and a half that Caruso was with me, he remained mostly a solitary cat. He wasn't that playful but would occasionally chase one of the black cats for exercise. I convinced my father, who lives alone, to take Caruso and foster him for awhile. I thought that if Caruso was around someone else, he might come out of his shell and not be so shy. As the only cat in my father's house, Caruso did start to develop his personality somewhat. Once, when I was visiting, I was able to coax him into my lap. This was something he never did at my house. Alas, Caruso eventually came back to live at my house until he was adopted.

I always had a great fondness for Caruso. He was never any problem for me, just aloof. And with all of the other crazy cats in the house, I greatly appreciated Caruso for who he was during the time we spent together. Katie and Jacob adopted Caruso on January 11, 2008 and from my follow-ups with Katie it sounds like he's doing great. Take care of him, guys, he's a special kitty!

Boots' Photo Slideshow

Little Boots (or Bootsie, as I called her) went to her forever home on January 9, 2008. She was adopted by Amy, a young lady who worked at Petsmart.

Boots came to me by way of my sister on 10/16/07 (thanks, Sis, just what I needed - another cat!). She saw a tiny kitten scurry across her driveway and into her neighbor's bushes. My sister grabbed a towel and was able to throw it over the kitten and stuff her into a pet taxi, then called me. When I arrived at my sister's house, I saw a very small and emaciated little black and white tuxedo kitten cowering in the pet taxi. She was about five weeks old and all skin and bones. My sister had already named the kitten - Boots - because of her little white booted paws. In addition to her little skinny body, Boots also had the beginnings of mange on her ears. I took her home with me, calling our rescue vet enroute for an appointment to get her checked out.

At the vet clinic, Boots weighed in at 1 pound, 1 ounce. She tested negative for Feline Leukemia / FIV, but she had mange, Coccidia, and ringworm. Over the next four weeks I used LymDyp on her to get rid of the mange. Boots had a heck of a time with her digestive system. She went through a couple weeks of severe diarrhea and had a hard time putting on any weight. On 11/24/07, she was about 10 weeks old but still weighed only 1 pound, 10 ounces. I finally got her diet stabilized enough that she started to finally put on some weight and become healthier.

After about a month in quarantine, caged in my garage, Boots showed no more signs of mange and I declared her healthy enough to bring inside. I started her off in her own cage inside the house but eventually put her together with Gabrielle, another kitten who had recently showed up in my foster home. Boots fit well into the cavalcade of house cats and was a very loving kitten. She would climb all over me in my recliner and loved to curl up on my chest and snooze when I reclined. Once she was over the digestive problems and her health improved, she became a very playful kitten. Boots also became good pals with Tapestry, one of the Tortie kittens and they loved to play and wrestle together (often on top of me in bed).

It's always a great feeling when one of your fosters goes to a good home. Amy sent some photos of Boots now settled into her forever home. Thanks, Amy! It looks like Boots is getting along just fine with her new doggie companion.

Been behind on adding posts about cats that got adopted recently, so I'm catching up.

Adam's Photo Slideshow

Adam got adopted the other day (Jan 2, 2008). This little guy had been with me almost two years. I trapped him (along with Basia, another foster cat) on January 10, 2006. He was being fed (with Basia and some other cats) at an apartment complex in town. A lady who had been feeding cats at her apartment called for help a few days prior to my trapping. She was limited in her ability to care for the cats, being limited to a wheelchair, and her neighbors were hassling her about feeding the cats. Little Adam and Basia were the lucky ones who ended up in my traps.

Adam was estimated to be about four months old when rescued. He had mange all over his head (Basia had it too). I quarantined him in a large dog crate in my garage until he got over the mange (about a month and a half). This gave me time to socialize him and get to know his personality. He never really acted feral, but just seemed to be very skittish and afraid. It took me a long time to earn his trust, working with him for several months, before he seemed to be comfortable with letting me pet him. Indeed, it was until just a few months ago that I could pet him on his head without him flinching and ducking his head away from my hand.

Adam loves to play. His favorite toy was the small fuzzy mice with a rattle inside. He would become instantly alert when I shook one and tossed it to him to attack and run off with it. I'm still finding the little toy mice all over my house. About once a day, he got that "I've been possessed by a space alien!" look and would run around the house making silly noises. I hope he keeps that up in his new home once he gets settled in.

Adam had a major breakthrough a few weeks before he was adopted when I was able to coax him into jumping on my lap. Nearly two years had passed and he finally jumped into my lap! Just the week prior to being adopted he jumped up on my lap without any coaxing on my part and lay there for a few minutes. I was thrilled.

Adam is a very sweet kitty and was one of my favorite fosters. I will miss him tremendously and thank Karen, his new adoptive "Mom," for taking Adam into her heart and home. I know he will be well cared for and have a great life.

Christmas is a time of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, a time of year when family and friends gather together and exchange gifts to commemorate this Christian holiday. Today is Christmas day, but it's almost over now and even though the holiday season will linger for a few more days ...

Christmas died today.

Today is Christmas and an old friend called from Virginia just to day hi. We had a good time catching up with each other's lives, talked about cats quite a bit, and gave each other a virtual hug before saying goodbye.

Christmas died today.

After the call from my friend, I left to go visit my father. Dad lives alone now and I wanted to spend some time with him on Christmas so he wouldn't feel too lonely.

Christmas died today.

It was about 4 pm when I left the house to head over to Dad's place. As I made the turn from my street to the main road out of the subdivision, I noticed a stray cat on the sidewalk across the street.

Christmas died today.

The gray tabby and white cat had an ungainly walk, almost as if he was drunk. As I started out of the subdivision, something told me to turn around and take another look at the cat.

Christmas died today.

I made a u-turn and drove back to the intersection where I had seen the cat. And there it was, still walking funny and as I drove closer I could see a reddish-pink area on the right side of his head that I hadn't seen before.

Christmas died today.

Thinking he must have been hit by a car, I quickly turned back onto my street and made a dash to my house to pick up a pet carrier out of my garage. When I got back to the intersection, he has heading back across the street, away from me (as if he had started to follow my car and then turned around?) to where I had first seen him.

Christmas died today.

I stopped my car, grabbed the pet taxi, and started walking toward the cat. I know, it was really stupid to walk up to an injured stray (feral?) cat and try to grab it and stuff it into a carrier, but I was way more concerned for the cat at that point than any possible repercussions to myself if I got bit.

Christmas died today.

I was able to get close enough to the cat after it briefly tried to run away but it stopped and waited for me to approach. He was like a sack of bones covered by scrawny looking fur and knowing I probably had only once chance I quickly grabbed him by the scruff, avoiding his flailing legs in a feeble attempt to escape, and dropped him into the carrier.

Christmas died today.

It was Christmas day, a day when all veterinarian clinics were closed. Off to the 24 hour Emergency Pet Clinic for a healthy wallop to my credit card.

Christmas died today.

The cat didn't complain too much on the way to the emergency clinic and looked at me a few times with his head cocked to the side as if that was normal to him. At one point, his eyes locked onto mine with a pleading "help me" look, a look that I won't soon forget.

Christmas died today.

At the Emergency Pet Clinic, I completed the check-in paperwork and took a seat to wait. A few minutes later, I was ushered into a waiting room, carrier in hand.

Christmas died today.

A vet technician came and took the cat in the carrier into the back of the clinic to get the cat's vital signs. I cautioned her that I wasn't sure if the cat was friendly or not.

Christmas died today.

In the waiting room, I waited. All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind: How bad was the cat's injuries? How long would his recovery take? Would he be adoptable after he recovered?

Christmas died today.

The veterinarian came in and informed me that the cat had not been hit by a car, but that it was an old cat (about 12 years old) with a carcinoma growing out of its head by his right ear and he had also felt a large mass in the cat's abdomen. The vet assured me that even if the cat underwent surgery (after biopsies could likely prove the growths were indeed cancerous) that its quality of life would never be good and recommended humane euthanasia to end its suffering.

Christmas died today.

After questioning the doc for a few minutes, to exhaust all possibilities for saving the cat, I reluctantly agreed to the euthanasia. I requested to be present so I could comfort the cat in his last few minutes of life.

Christmas died today.

While the vet got things ready, I had a few moments alone with the cat in the waiting room. I petted the cat while talking soothingly to "him" and wondered to myself when he had last been treated kindly (the vet and I had been referring to the cat as "he," but neither of us really knew that cat's gender until the end).

Christmas died today.

The vet returned a few moments later to administer the sedative to put the cat to sleep. Just before he slipped away, I gently spoke to the cat and told him that his name was "Christmas."

Christmas died today.

San Antonio City Council unanimously approved changes to Chapter 5 of the City Municipal Code yesterday (see story at http://tinyurl.com/2jtfyb). The ordinance change modernizes and cleans up the entire code, legalizes progressive life-saving techniques like Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), closes loopholes in the state's cruelty laws, makes licensing free as a way of collecting information to reunite lost pets with their families, creates an Excess Animal Permit to allow families who take good care of their pets to keep more than the limit, and a whole host of other important improvements. The revised code that was approved is published at http://tinyurl.com/2kf4t7.

A significant change that the code revision added was to introduce Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the method for controlling free-roaming cats (not mentioned in the news article cited above). Last week Houston city council approved a similar ordinance change. Now, San Antonio has joined the ranks of progressive cities to address the feral cat population control problem in a humane way. This is huge.

Portions of the code revision that relate to feral cats are as follows:

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

Sec. 5-1. Definitions.

Cat colony means a colony of free-roaming (homeless, stray, wild or untamed) cats that has been registered with the Department and is maintained by a colony caretaker (who provides food, water and shelter) using trap, neuter and return methodology.

Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) program shall mean a nonlethal, humane alternative to deal with the stray cats which are captured, altered and returned back to their location in order to encourage the stabilization of the free-roaming cat population in the City.

ARTICLE V. ANIMAL LICENSES AND PERMITS

Sec. 5-108. Litter permit.

(e) This Section does not apply to caretakers of feral cat colonies and rescuers affiliated with recognized rescue organizations registered with the Department.

Sec. 5-115. Cat colony permit and registration.

(a) Each cat colony will be registered by the caretakers with the Department or its designee which will serve as a clearinghouse for information on current caretakers, education for new caretakers, and assistance for persons found in violation of this Section. Cat colonies with eight (8) or fewer cats are not required to be registered as a cat colony.

(b) Any feral cat picked up by the Department which has an appropriate ear tip will be returned to that colony unless veterinary care is required or the criteria listed in subsection (d) apply.

(c) Caretakers of feral cat colonies shall obtain a cat colony permit and implement proper management and sterilization practices as required by the Department. Any person or caretaker determined to be in violation of proper management and sterilization practices required by the Department shall be issued a written warning and be allowed a period of time to come into compliance, or provide satisfactory evidence of working to achieve compliance. That period of time shall not exceed ninety (90) days from issuance of the initial warning notice. Failure to comply shall result in a violation of this Chapter, which may result in the issuance of a citation.

(d) The Department has the right to immediately seize and remove all, or parts of any colony for the following reasons:

(1) Public health and public safety concerns including rabies, other epizootic and certain zoonoses identified by the Department of Health; or

(2) Animals creating a public nuisance as defined in Section 5-150.

ARTICLE VII. OWNER RESPONSIBILITY; NUISANCES; IMPOUNDMENT

Sec. 5-154. Impounding abandoned or unrestrained animals.

(a) The Director may order the seizure and impoundment of any abandoned animal as defined in this Chapter. Disposition of said seized and impounded abandoned animals shall be in accordance with Sections 5-157, 5-158, and 5-159 of this Code. Any trap, neuter and return (TNR) program that has been registered with the Department shall not constitute a violation of this Section.

Sherbert found his forever home on Saturday at AAPAW's (http://www.aapaw.org) Home 4 The Holidays Super Adoption event. This was a bittersweet parting from a very special foster kitty. I am overjoyed that he has gone to a good home, but letting him go was a very emotional thing for me. Saying goodbye to little Sherbert opened a huge hole in my soul. Even though I came home to a house full of cats after he was adopted, the house still felt so empty.

I've posted a slideshow of some of the photos I took of Sherbert while he was with me. I regret that I didn't take any more photos of him for the past couple of months.

Back in late June of this year, I received a call from one of my colleagues at the S.A. Feral Cat Coalition that she had taken a request for help from Nancy, a lady who works at the Crowne Plaze Hotel in downtown San Antonio, on the Riverwalk. The call for help was about a little kitty that was living under a huge dumpster at the hotel's loading dock. I grabbed my trap and headed to the hotel where I was met by the hotel's chef (Nancy was out of town). After searching all over I saw no sign of the kitty. The next week, Nancy was back in town and called me saying that the cat had been sighted again at the dumpster. I loaded up and headed down to the hotel again.

Upon arrival, I looked under the big dumpster and sure enough, little Sherbert was under it. I set my trap next to it and Sherbert went into it a few minutes later. Before covering the trap, I noticed that he wasn't flailing around hysterically like most feral cats would do. I tentatively put my finger into the trap to see what his reaction would be (usually not a wise thing to do) and he wasn't bothered much by it. I covered the trap and headed home with Sherbert in the back of my car.

Upon arrival, I set up a 3'x2'x2' dog crate on a table in my garage and transferred Sherbert into it. He was pretty lethargic and I was able to immediately place my hands on him and pet him. You should have seen the little guy. He was obviously emaciated and was covered in dirt and grease from being under the dumpster. I could pick him up and handle him without a problem. This was no feral cat!

As our rescue intake protocal demands, I took him straight to our vet's office for an initial checkup (exam, fecal sample, combo-test). Since he was so easy to handle, I left him at the vet's office and requested the staff give him a bath to clean him up. When I later picked him up after his bath, I saw that he had white on his paws and underside that was apparent to me before. The little guy was so scrawny and small for his age! The vet who examined him estimated he was about 10 months old. Sherbert was a pitiful little thing to look at. His had a cauliflower right ear and his left eye was clouded over, possibly from blindness.

After a couple of weeks in quarantine in the garage crate, I brought Sherbert inside to meet the other cats. He curiously met them (some who hissed at him) and started fitting into life inside. From that first day, I could set him in my lap and he would stay there. Sometimes I would fall asleep in my recliner and wake up with him in my lap. From the beginning, he would also curl up on my chest in bed at night and sleep. Sherbert seemed to be very thankful he had been rescued from his formerly horrible life, scrapping for anything to eat on the street and under the dumpster at the hotel.

Over the next few months, Sherbert became the center of attention in the house. He ate voraciously and his fur slowly filled in where it had been thin (see the photo of him on the window ledge where his fur sparsely covered his tail in spots). At feeding time, he was always right there at the food bowls, impatient while I filled them. Sherbert had a horrible gastrointestinal problem for months, most likely from the crappy diet he had suffered from on the street. Over time, his GI problems got better. In mid-July, I took Sherbert to the Animal Eye Hospital to have his left eye checked out. Dr. Bonney said he might have some vision out of it but probably not very much. He attributed the clouding to a possible puncture wound at some point in the past but said Sherbert could see fine out of his right eye and the left eye probably wouldn't bother him much.

What a talker Sherbert is! He would often stop in the middle of doing something and proclaim a loud series of Mrreowwws for no apparent reason than to vocalize his philosophy of a cat's life to whomever could hear him. Often, he would just sit on the counter and meow loudly or as he finished his business in the litter box (as if to express his satisfaction that he felt better).

It was a real joy to watch Sherbert play. Most often, he would attack a small ball (his favorite toy) by backing up across the room, wiggling his butt, and then launching himself at the unsuspecting object. He would knock them into one of the bathrooms and bat them around for hours on the lineoleum floors like a soccer ball. He also liked to play tag with a couple of the other cats and got his exercise chasing, or being chased, back and forth through the house.

I never heard Sherbert hiss at one of the other cats until the tortie kittens came along. He would often hiss at one of them and then I would see him grooming them a few minutes later. For such a little guy, his heart is as big as the universe.

I want to thank Susan for taking Sherbert into her home with her two older cats and dog. I know she will be blessed by him as I was during the short time our paths crossed.

I spent a couple of hours working outside yesterday (cleaning cat cages, pet taxis, etc.). When I came back inside and sat down at my computer, I noticed that all of the icons on my desktop had been rearranged. Aaaargh! Now I can't find the icons on my desktop without hunting and searching. I guess after I rearrange them back the way I want I will have to set the option to lock them in place.

Could this be the culprit?

Roddy Stinson's column today (4 Dec 2007) discussed a resident's dissatisfaction with feral cats in his yard in the Canyon Rim neighborhood in Stone Oak. The column warrants a response to clarify some things and provide some additional information about feral cats in San Antonio. You can read Stinson's column online at http://tinyurl.com/2mcxuj.

The homeowner's displeasure about the cats in his yard is understandable. Nobody wants cats around their house that are marking their territory, making a mess of flower beds, yowling and squalling, and generally causing a nuisance. But this is a reality in just about every neighborhood, at many businesses, apartment complexes, college campuses, trailer parks, hospitals, etc., in not only San Antonio, but in every other city and location where people live across the country. Heck, it's a world-wide problem (and so documented for years). Nobody knows just how many feral cats there are in the U.S. I've seen figures that estimate anywhere between 70 million and 100 million feral cats in the U.S. In San Antonio alone, there are an estimated 200,000 plus feral cats (based on the number of households in the city as of 2004). My guess, because of the city's history of animal issues, is that the figure is probably closer to a quarter of a million free-roaming / feral cats in San Antonio. So, yeah, it's a huge problem.

Recognizing this problem (because I experienced it first-hand like the homeowner who is the subject of Stinson's column today), I decided to do something about it and co-founded the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition (SAFCC) back in 2004. You can read more about SAFCC at their web site at http://www.sanantonioferalcats.org.

So, Mr. Homeowner in Canyon Rim, you're not alone. The first thing you need to realize is that the situation you are faced with is much the same as others face all across our community. In other words, it's a community problem now and we need people in the community to step up and help solve it. Don't expect city government to fix it alone. Government's traditional approaches (catch the cats and kill them at the pound or just ignore the problem) haven't solved the problem with free-roaming cats in the city in the past. In fact, the problem has gotten much worse over decades of failing to deal with it in an effective fashion. Your frustration is understandable, but you need to direct your ire at irresponsible people in OUR community who let their pet cats roam outside without having been first neutered or spayed. Also, be irritated at the people who move away and abandon intact cats or those who dump unsterilized cats on the steps of homes where people live who are known to care for (i.e., feed) the cats. THAT's how the problem started and continues today.

So, how do we deal with the problem? The most effective, and humane, method is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). For more information as to why this is the best way to confront the issue of feral cats, go to the source: Alley Cat Allies (http://www.alleycat.org).

I want to move along and address some things in Stinson's column that need clarification or amplification.

First, the reason the cats in the homeowner's yard are making noises (fighting, yowling, etc.) is mainly because they are not neutered. Spaying or neutering the cats will cut down or eliminate this nuisance.

I'm not sure which nonprofit group that 311 told the homeowner about that rents traps, but my guess is that the unnamed group was SAFCC. It's true they rent traps and they also sell the traps (for about $50 each, not $70 to $100 each). It's worth noting that most public animal shelters will also rent humane traps (I know the Humane Society/SPCA of Bexar County and the Animal Defense League do) and some veterinary clinics will loan out traps.

Regarding the cost quoted by unnamed nonprofit animal welfare group for neutering the cats, I'm not sure where the $40 figure originated. The SAFCC spays and neuters feral cats through the Gladys Harborth Animal Resource Center (on South Laredo Street) for just $10 per cat. The spay/neuter is actually free, the $10 is for the rabies shot (a feline distemper and ivermectin shot are also included at no charge).

Concerning the city ordinance about returning cats to a homeowner's property after being neutered and vaccinated, the CURRENT city ordinance does not advocate this. But the NEW city ordinance, currently in committee and being considered by the city council, does delineate Trap-Neuter-Return as the way to effectively deal with feral cats in "managed" colonies. It's also worth noting that implementing TNR will save the city taxpayers a good deal of money over having to house feral cats at the city pound for the required holding period and then euthanizing them.

Now, with the homeowner in Canyon Rim "dealing with the problem on his own," I hope that his way of dealing with it is a humane one where the cats won't be injured or abused. It's worth reminding him that a new state law that went into effect in September of this year makes it a felony to kill or abuse the cats in a cruel fashion (poisoning, shooting, etc.).

So, what can we do to help this individual? There are several things to try:

1. He can attend one of the monthly Feral Cat Workshops put on by SAFCC where he can learn to "deal with the problem" in a humane and more effective fashion.

2. He can call the SAFCC Help Line at 210-877-9067 and ask to speak to someone about his problem. If he doesn't get satisfaction from that, he should ask for one of SAFCC's board members to call him.

3. He should visit the Alley Cat Allies web site and search through the Resources section for ways to humanely keep cats out of his yard.

4. He could seek help from some of his neighbors who might want to step in and help. If he can find someone willing to take on the TNR effort in his neighborhood, it might be possible to gradually move the cat colony to another place where a neighbor could feed and manage the cat colony (after they're all "fixed").

5. And if all else fails, he can call me at 210-490-2415 and I will be happy to meet with him and see what can be done to help his situation. I would also be happy to come to a meeting of his neighborhood homeowners association and present some options for getting the problem under control in the Canyon Rim neighborhood.