In 2002 my wife and I moved to a ramshackle rental house outside Wilmington, NC. We brought our four indoor cats, and settled ourselves in for a new chapter in our lives. We didn't plan on becoming the caretakers for a feral cat colony, but it happened, as apparently it often does, with one intrepid feral exploring new possibilities of food, shelter and love, and when she finds it, others follow her lead. In our case it was a beautiful, indomitable calico my wife dubbed Callie. She didn't last long; either a dog or a fox got her. But others had followed, and we, being very welcoming and entirely ignorant of how feral colonies worked, started putting food out for them.
Before long we had a dozen ferals ("spillover," we later learned, from a nearby colony whose caretakers had become increasingly lax over time in caring for their charges) living in our barn, our pumphouse, the broken-down stables behind our house, on our deck, under our house, and for a few brave and friendly souls, on our front porch. Of course, we had the inevitable "kitten explosion," and our numbers soared. With double and then triple the numbers of mouths to feed, we began learning about colony management, including the most important aspect, TNR, which we did as diligently as we could.
The number of feral cats we had spiked as high as 70 at one point, but we've worked hard to stabilize our colony, and right now our colony is stable at about 35 cats, almost all spayed or neutered (we have a couple of VERY trap-savvy jokers out there) and mature. The ages range from a very few "younguns" of 1-2 years old to several who are 14 or 15. The median age, I would guess, is between 8 and 10 years old.
Our plan was to wait the colony out, let attrition do its job, and move after the last of our ferals had passed away, or we found an alternate method to ensure the last few survivors would be cared for. Our home was a ramshackle mess when we first moved in, and it hasn't improved with age. We would have left long ago, but the cats required that we stay, and stay we have. However, that is all changing now.
Change comes like a freight train
Monday morning I saw a "Rezoning Notice" posted near our home, and my wife began investigating the notice. We are the last residential structure in a small area that has gone commercial over time, and we know developers have had an eye on our property for a while. Until now, our landlord has always insisted he would never ask us to move, that he would only consider selling the property to a commercial developer after we chose to leave. Until now, he's been as good as his word. Unfortunately, he was recently diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer. He may have only a few more months to live. He wants to sell the property as soon as possible to ensure that his family has as much money as possible to live on after he passes away. We understand that completely. But it puts us in a hell of a bind.
We have been stricken over the last few days with anxiety, anger, and overwhelming fear for both our indoor cats (a menagerie of 10, all rescues from our outside guys) and the larger outdoor colony. It's going to be tough to find a solution for ourselves that includes our cats, but we will not accept any solution that requires abandonment (unthinkable) or mass euthanasia (also unthinkable). We've started to work on solutions: we're combing the realty offerings for rentals and purchasable homes that we can afford and fit our needs (no success yet, but we've just started to search), we've reached out to the cat rescue organization we work with (they can rehome maybe 10 of the ferals in a cat sanctuary about 40 miles away), and we're going to the zoning meeting to ask for more time (doubtful we can get the rezoning request denied, the developers here are all big buddies and it is very doubtful they will turn down one of their own to suit two "crazy cat people," but maybe we can get a delay).
So that's where we're at. And we need some assistance, your assistance if you can.
Request for help. It’s all for the cats.
I'm reopening the GoFundMe I've done for the last two years for help in "winterizing" the outdoor shelters. I was holding off until after New Year's, but I didn't anticipate any of this. We desperately need money for, well, everything: getting the cats to the new property, building or refitting an outdoor enclosure for them once they get there (if we just bring them to the new place and dump them outside, they will run away and almost certainly die; we need to keep them inside a confined space until they get acclimatized and over the shock of leaving the only home almost all of them have ever known), the usual care and feeding expenses, moving ourselves and our indoor guys to the new home, and more that I can't even anticipate as I write this. Anything you can donate would be so much appreciated.
We need advice on the process of rehoming a feral cat colony.
We're reaching out to area animal rescue and support organizations, but if you know of anyone who can offer assistance in any way, shape or form, we would love to get in touch with them.
If you know any realtors or rental organizations or anyone in the area in and around Wilmington who might be able to find us a suitable place to rent (or buy, though our credit is probably too screwed to actually buy a home), please let me know. I will get in touch with them.
What don't I know? What am I not asking about? Some of you have been through similar situations. I'd love to tap the wealth of your experiences.
I know some of you aren't in a position to offer anything besides your support and well wishes. Believe me, those are more than welcome and very, very much appreciated.
It galls me beyond belief to ask for anything. Linda/PDNC just left us and her sister is in need. So many others have medical or financial needs that are so important. But I can't NOT ask, not when my cats are at such extreme risk.
Anything, whatever you can do, Mrs. Max and I appreciate. It's all for the kitties.
Help Save our Outdoor Cat Colony -- GoFundMe
Friday, Dec 30, 2016 · 1:12:47 AM +00:00 · Black Max
You guys are fantastic. I’m tearing up looking at the GoFundMe page. I told my wife via text, and she responded saying she’s crying while driving home. You don’t know how much I appreciate you all. Such a great start.
Friday, Dec 30, 2016 · 2:43:15 AM +00:00 · Black Max
Some people in the comments have said they’d rather use PayPal than GoFundMe. Here’s how:
mtuck4242 AT gmail.com
Thanks again, y’all. I am overwhelmed by the sheer generosity that this community has ALWAYS shown. You guys are a blessing.
Friday, Dec 30, 2016 · 2:45:09 AM +00:00 · Black Max
Writing over the double edit about PayPal. I am a bit ashamed to say that I have given my landlord very short shrift in this diary. His name is Ron, and he’s been a very good friend to us and our cats over the time we’ve been here. He deserves better than to have his life cut short by cancer. His is a huge loss.
Friday, Dec 30, 2016 · 5:30:29 PM +00:00
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Black Max
Flying update. Haven’t visited the diary since early in the AM, and I’m now heading out the door for work. The generosity of this community is beyond words. My wife and I are floored. Thank you. More later when I’m able to do more than just make random comments from my phone. :)