Birds of a Sweater with Becky

Today we meet Becky, who began working with a colony of feral cats just last year in 2016. Caring for about 20 cats, the hardest thing that Becky has had to deal with so far is the harsh winter weather in Wisconsin. When her colony was sick and being treated, it was minus 20 degrees! Just keeping the food from freezing was a real challenge.

When I started following Becky and her Birds of a Sweater profile on Instagram, I thought her TNR efforts and handmade cat toys would make for an interesting interview. Becky holds monthly giveaways on her Instagram profile for her cat toys, and I wanted to hold a giveaway today here on the blog as well to support her feral colony. Continue reading “Birds of a Sweater with Becky”

Getting to Know Samantha Bell DiGenova

Sometimes when you meet someone they just ooze kindness and you immediately feel their warmth and generosity. That is the case with Samantha Bell DiGenova, the Cat Behavior and Enrichment Lead for Best Friends in Los Angeles.

Samantha and I are both volunteers with the Jackson Galaxy Foundation (JGF), which is how we were put in touch. She is a volunteer trainer-mentor to the participating Cat Pawsitive shelters (and I’m a volunteer writer). I was fortunate enough to meet Samantha in person when she kindly played tour guide when I visited Best Friends in Los Angeles last month.

And today, we get to learn more about Samantha and her three adopted cats.

three cats
Packard, Desmond and Yohan

Continue reading “Getting to Know Samantha Bell DiGenova”

Caring for Community Cats with Terry (and Brian!)

Brian’s Home is a popular blog hosted by mancat Brian that promotes adoption by always signing off with “Adopt cats, we deserve it!” That’s definitely a blog that’s right up our alley! But, do you know the human behind Brian’s Home? If not, prepare to meet Terry Frum today!

This coming weekend on October 16th, cat lovers everywhere will be taking part in and promoting National Feral Cat Day, a day to raise awareness about community cats, often referred to as feral cats. While we will have more on National Feral Cat Day later, I thought it was appropriate this week to highlight people who do their part to help feral cats.

Enter Terry – who has been working with community cats since 1999. While Terry primarily works with feral cats in the greater Greenville area and upstate South Carolina, he has been involved in rehoming cats and kittens throughout the entire country.

Before we meet Terry, want to know something fun(ny)? Sometimes when fellow bloggers meet Terry in person, they call him Brian. Something Terry considers to be a compliment. I wonder how Brian feels about that…

terry-and-brian
Terry and Brian

Continue reading “Caring for Community Cats with Terry (and Brian!)”

Cats of Wildcat Woods

The world of social media is wonderful for discovering cat rescue groups, individual rescuers and blogs. I first crossed paths with Cats of Wildcat Woods via Instagram. When I reached out to Cheri regarding a profile on how she helps feral cats, I finally realized that she has a blog as well, which some readers likely already know about and follow.

If you are already familiar with Cheri and her blog, I hope you are able to learn a little more from today’s profile. And if you’ve never heard about Cats of Wildcat Woods, I think you’ll find Cheri’s work inspiring.

Cats of Wildcat Woods is a small independent cat sanctuary, with mainly Continue reading “Cats of Wildcat Woods”

La Troupe in Granada, Spain

I first became aware of Olalla through her beautiful photos on Instagram. When I reached out to her about a potential photography profile, I learned more about what she does in Granada and discovered that Olalla cares for a colony of about 30 cats. While I will be featuring Olalla’s stray and feral cat photography in a later post, today we look at La Troupe and the colony of cats that Olalla cares for.

2016-08-04_LaTroupe_Featured

A Conversation with Olalla

How did you get into rescuing and caring for cats?
My first rescue was a few months after I moved to Granada seven years ago: two abandoned kittens Continue reading “La Troupe in Granada, Spain”

Where’s that Jackson Galaxy going?

I know I’m on a quick blogging hiatus (see why here), but I just had to share this with you!

2016-06-25_JG

As you know, June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month and guess what’s making this month even better? Jackson Galaxy will personally be driving over 1,000 miles to help save homeless cats for The Jackson Galaxy Foundation’s (JGF) new program, Operation Homeward Bound.

Here’s the full scoop, straight from JGF. Continue reading “Where’s that Jackson Galaxy going?”

How “Return to Field” is Saving Thousands of Lives

Linda Rodgers volunteers with several cat rescue organizations in the East San Francisco Bay Area of California, including a public animal services shelter.

At one of her favorite volunteer events called SNIP (spay, neuter impact program), Linda met the founder of Outcast Cat Help, who is the transfer partner that initiated a Return to Field (RTF) program at the local county shelter – which is how Linda came to be involved with RTF.

Being familiar with Trap Neuter Return (TNR), but having never heard of RTF before, I asked Linda Continue reading “How “Return to Field” is Saving Thousands of Lives”

The Art of Rescuing: Kayt Hester

Kayt Hester is an artist and cat lover who uses her artistic talents to help raise funds for local rescue groups in her area. Her artwork is created from bits of hand torn black masking tape and is quite unique and fascinating. Kayt also runs a pet supply store called Fussy Friends in Jersey City, NJ, where she gets to play with and help socialize the cats who are waiting for adoption from two local rescue groups. And in addition to all of that, Kayt also cares for feral cats!

A conversation with Kayt

How did you get involved in helping local cat rescues?
I am an artist with a pretty decent fan base here in Jersey City. I discovered that my cat art was popular and sold quickly. Knowing that my friends who run these local rescue groups will often spend their own money caring for their rescues, I thought Continue reading “The Art of Rescuing: Kayt Hester”

Rescuer Amanda Whitman: 500 felines and counting!

Amanda Whitman is quite the extraordinary cat rescuer and has touched the lives of so many cats in a short amount of time. Residing in Southern West Virginia and currently a Junior at the University of Charleston, Amanda is a pre-professional biology major, hoping to attend vet school soon. With no plans of stopping her cat rescuing efforts, Amanda is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 rescue.

A conversation with Amanda

Amanda WhitmanHow did you get into rescuing? 
I first started rescuing on February 1st, 2015. I saw on the Facebook page of a rescue group that eight cats were in our local high-kill pound awaiting euthanasia. I looked at their heartbreaking photos and said to myself this isn’t the end for them. I contacted two rescue groups, who agreed to help me by each rescue taking four cats. I haven’t stopped since Continue reading “Rescuer Amanda Whitman: 500 felines and counting!”

Feral Cat Colony with Donna

Donna K. has been working with a colony of feral cats in Northeast Ohio for the last three months. And in those few short months, the 12 cats that she has been able to TNR are now happier and healthier. She still has a few more to go, but Donna is determined and committed to TNRing the rest of the group, along with providing continual care and food.

A conversation with Donna

How did you come into caring for the colony?
Driving by this area twice a day, I kept noticing what I thought was one white cat. I stopped to feed it and put out a shelter and that is when three came out of hiding. A few days later, I stopped and found the owner of the property/building and I inquired about the cats. He then told me there are about 12-14 cats. I have documented at least 21 cats living there. Continue reading “Feral Cat Colony with Donna”