FERAL INCOMING: Big Zeke Checks In! (#620)

Yes, Zeke has food on his nose but I'm not going to tell him... He was HUNGRY!

Zeke is an unexpected but very welcome guest here at AFAR.

He was... Well, you can't call it trapped... but more like made himself available for pick-up to one of our trappers as she was checking out a colony.

As she pulled up in her car Zeke casually walked up to her and sat next to her and basically said 

 

"Alright, I'm ready, let's get out of here."

 

At that point, the trapper had no choice but to pick up Zeke, who is enormous, and lug him into the car.

And so Zeke is now settled in for a few days here for some rest and relaxation while we get him an appointment with the vet to make sure he is healthy and ready for adoption.

He has a few scars on his back that looks like he had been bitten by a larger predator but they are healing up nicely.

That was perhaps the catalyst that made Zeke say I think I'd better get indoors sooner than later.

We are only too happy to help him because he is a sweet, cuddly, big moosh who deserves a forever home after what looks to be a couple of rough years outside.

Here are a few more pictures of Zeke...

Check back soon for adoption info!

FERAL INCOMING: Colony Of Feral Cats Lose The Only Caretaker They Have Ever Known (#619)

Here’s one of those stories you never really get used to when you run a shelter and it has happened a few times believe it or not.

This poor man belongs to a colony that was fed exclusively by an elderly woman who had them all spayed and neutered and did all the right things when you are dealing with ferals.

She is the only person they have ever had contact with and they are the only cats she ever had though they never came into her home.

The heartbreaking problem now is that the woman has passed away.

There is no one to take care of her colony and they are all completely wild, untamed, and impossible to catch as they only knew the woman who cared for them their whole lives.

This is the only one we have been able to trap so far after we were alerted to the situation.

Yet after the trapping is completed the next part is even harder as they can’t be placed in a home as they are all 100 percent feral and terrified of everyone but the woman that took care of them.  

So we are in the process of not only trying to catch the remaining members of the colony but then trying to figure out if we should relocate them to an existing colony, try to find homes with patient families, or release them back to their original spot and try to find a caretaker for them.

Updates to come.