Aaffien and Tory paid a visit to the THS today and we’re pleased to hear that “Sputnik” (now Colleen) was adopted on December 10th, 2008.

Daisy always watched anxiously in the background when we were trying to catch her little ones , but when we had them it seemed she was saying “I know you’ll take good care of them”
She was a very loving mother, a sweet , shy puss, who always came when we called for her. Rest now, my sweet Daisy, cat heaven is a good place to rest

We are saddened by the loss of our lovely Daisy who passed away on January 6, 2009.  She was a caring mother, silently providing for her young.  All of her young have been adopted and our now in loving homes. 

Daisy, a noble feral – she no longer walks alone……

Here are some shots of our furry friends taken on January 4, 2009. 

Tina (Turner) arrived at the colony in late November.  She is blind in one eye and could really use a trip to the salon.

Hemingway:  Now that Hemingway is no longer looking for love, he has been showing up for dinner.  He is the oldest of the Cherry Street clan we just adore our gentle giant. 

Scraps:  Scraps had not been sited for a couple of weeks.  We were very relieved when he showed up today for Sunday dinner. 

Ginny (Virginia) Wolfe:  Ginny is becoming more social.  Today was the closest I have ever been able to get to her.

Callie is very polite and is always one of the last to arrive at the feeding station.  Here she is peeking out from an ibeam, anxiously awaiting her turn.

Who is This?  Can anyone tell me if this is Clayton’s cat or a new arrival.

Who is This?  At first I thought this was Isaac but I don’t recall him having a striped tail.  Is this one of the cats that arrived with Tina?

Group Shots

"The Day the Colony Stood Still"

Aaffien with Lucinda on adoption day………

Winter is officially around the corner.  The following items will help keep our feline family warm and well fed over the next few months.

1. Cat Food: Donations of soft and dry food are always welcome.  If you have food that you no longer need, we can put it to good use.  If you are purchasing food, our finicky friends seem to prefer Friskies dry and any flavour of Friskies soft canned food.  Their favourite treat is tinned sardines. 

2. Vitamins: During the cold weather, we add a little ground vitamin C and fish oil to the soft food.  Feral cats are prone to upper respiratory infection and this helps keep their immune systems in check.  Vitamin C tablets and fish oil capsules would be very helpful.

3. Plastic Containers:  In order to avoid putting soft food into frozen containers, we prepare our soft food at home during the winter.  If you have 250ml or 500ml containers with lids we would be more than happy to take them off your hands.  See picture below:

*If you have ever seen an insulated container that would be suitable for soft food, please let us know.  We are still searching for a way to keep the food from freezing. 

4. Insulation: We use extruded polystyrene sheets to insulate our kitty condos and feeding stations.  If you know anyone that has extra insulation leftover from renovations please let us know.  Any size will do (picture below).

5. All Weather Duct Tape:  This comes in handy at any time of the year.  We use it to cover the jagged edges of the condo entrances.

 WHERE TO DROP OFF DONATIONS:

Sandra, one of our volunteers, is accepting donations at her studio on Queen Street East.  See below for address and map.

Change Studio

1114 Queen Street East, 2nd Floor (just east of Queen and Pape)

Open Monday to Friday: 8am to 8pm, Saturday: 10am to 2pm

If they are closed, food and containers can be left on the porch.

Tel: 416 469 2600

Map: Click on the link below…

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

We can also pick up items if it is more convenient for you.  Please contact Tory Byers:

Tel: 416 691 4746

Email: tory@wiredkingdom.com

JACKSON (POLLOCK): Black with a small white tattoo on his ear, Jackson is the clown of the colony.  He was neutered in October 2008 and has all of his shots.  He had ticks at one point and he allowed us to apply advantage to him.  He will come and greet you, let you pat him, roll on his back but is not quite ready to let you pick him up.  Jackson is our official “taste tester”  He will follow you around from bowl to bowl sampling each dish before he allows the others to enjoy.   We are confident that he could be socialized.  He needs a good home before the winter weather sets in. 

LIONEL: Lionel is Jackson’s brother.   Our handsome panther is not yet fixed and will on occasion let you pat him.  At each visit, he becomes more willing to interact with us.  He is always one of the first to show up at feeding, right in line behind Jackson.  He let’s you close when he is eating but after his fill he watches from about 6 feet away.

RICHARD: Richard is the brother of Jackson and Lionel.  We like to call this trio ”The Three Stooges”.  Unfortunately, he has a sore at the base of his tail and is the shyest of the boys.  He will come to eat when you arrive but will not let you pat him yet.  He is not fixed.

VIRGINIA WOLFE (GINNY): She is a black female with longer hair who gave birth in the late summer. All of her kittens have been captured and adopted (see pictures below). Ginny will come to eat, but keeps her distance.  She is not yet fixed.

GINNY’S KITTENS (ALL ADOPTED)

1. EMILY (CARR)

2. TUXEDO

3. OSCAR (WILDE)

4. SPUTNIK

ARROW: She is a small calico with a orange point on her head.  She is very skittish and will hide until she thinks you have left and then make her way to the feeding stations.    She was fixed and vaccinated in September 2008 and returned to the colony. Now that we have erected our ”kitty condos” we are hoping that she will move in and come and visit more often.  

MR. TIBBS:  The brother of Arrow, he is a gorgeous grey tabby sporting an attractive pair of white boots. He will come to the bowls to eat, but is quite cautious around his kidnappers.  He was captured as a kitten but managed to get out of the cage.

SCRAPS: He is a very timid orange tabby who we try to feed separately because he has not been completely accepted into the colony.  The others usually force him to leave during feeding.  He was fixed and vaccinated in October 2008 and returned to the colony.  Shortly after his return we noticed him limping on his hind paw (right side).  He recovered from his injury in November 2008 and looks quite healthy.  He has filled out and gets into to fewer “scraps” since he has been neutered. We recently placed a kitty condo in another area of the boat yard and are anxiously waiting for him to take possession of his new home.  

DAISY: She is a black and white female who had a litter of 6 in late spring.  Fortunately, we managed to capture her offspring and they have all been adopted.  In October 2008 she was trapped, fixed and returned to the colony.  Daisy is still quite skittish but she does come out to visit during feedings.

KALI: Is a beautiful calico who will come out at meal times.  She is really enjoying her new home and we often see her bolt out of her shelter when she hears the first tin of food opening.   She was fixed in October 2008.  We are not sure if she ever had a litter.  She is getting more curious and comes a little closer each day. 

QUEENIE: She is a diluted calico.   She has not been fixed and had one kitten, Princess, who we were able to trap and adopt out.  We rarely see Queenie, but we feel that she is

still around.  Queenie always looks a bit scruffy, but we managed to catch her in this photo on a “good hair day”.

PEBBLES: Is a gray and white male who is extremely shy.  He is very difficult to spot during feedings because he also tends to wait until we leave until he approaches the feeding stations.  Now that our winter shelters are close to the feeding stations we are beginning to see more of him.  He still needs to be trapped, neutered and returned to the colony. Since late November, Pebbles has been coming to the feeding stations when we are there.  He still scoots if we attempt to approach him. 

MATISSE:   She is a long haired brindled who gave birth in early November of 2008.  It seems that she has occupied a shelter we placed a little further away from the kitty condominium.  There appears to be only one kitten and to date we have not been able to capture it.  Matisse always comes out for feedings and will come fairly close to you.  She always retreats if you put your hand out or walk towards her.  Her priority these days is making sure that we do not get too close to her baby. 

(SIR) ISAAC (NEWTON):  He is a solid grey, male teenager who was named in honour of the the scientist wh0se many accomplishments included the creation of the “cat door”.  We did not see him very often until recently.  Now that the weather is colder and the shelters are nearby he does come out when the food arrives.  He always keeps his distance and at this point in time is not approachable which explains why there is no photo beneath his name.  He is not fixed.