The Colony
Chronicles
The Newsletter of
Forgotten Felines of Forsyth
Volume Two, Issue
Three
Summer 2009
Successful Microchip Identification Returns Cat to Recognized Colony
Contact
Information
Forgotten Felines of
Forsyth
302-A South Stratford Road, Box 3
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
The Catnip Café
By Susan Corcoran-Smilow
Editor's Note: The following article is written by the cousin of a local FFF volunteer. Susan lives in Staten Island, NY, and she practices TNR on the feral cats in her area.There are several feral cats around my house who come to dine at what I’ve come to call the "Catnip Café" several times a day. Even though these are feral cats, I've built a bond with them so they come closer to me than most feral cats will do. Everybody has a name and the whole neighborhood greets them by name whenever they see them. At this time the regular patrons of the Catnip Café are Cranky Frankie, Tallulah Rose, Dusty, Screech, Scarlet, Big Mamma, Fiona, Earl Grey and Harley.
They have a set routine. Every morning the patrons sit on my windowsill waiting for their breakfast, which usually consists of 9-Lives moist cat food, fresh water and several bowls of crunchy food. I usually leave them enough food to last until I get home from work. These cats know my car and they all come running as soon as I get out of the car. Then the "Cat Parade" starts with them following me to the mailbox and then to the house. On most nights, dinner is a different flavor of moist food than what was served at breakfast, but if there is left over chicken or steak, they get that instead. These are very spoiled kitties.
As soon as possible, the colony cats are spayed/neutered, have their ears tipped and are brought back to the neighborhood. On occasion, however, kittens have been born in the colony. Last year, Miss Skinny had her kittens on our patio on Memorial Day and I was the midwife. As soon as the kittens became independent we found homes for them.
The humane management of forgotten
felines (feral, semi-feral, and stray).
For the rest, who choose not to come in, I have set up shelter for them for the cold
winter months. I have even been known to cook for them on very cold nights. I am definitely the "Cat Lady" in my neighborhood and proprietor of the Catnip Café.'
Help FFF through Goodsearch and Goodshop!
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!