The Community Cat Letter - Fall 2022

Greetings Friend of Feral Felines! …

October has arrived, and Fall is in the air. As temperatures dip and autumn decor begins to make its appearance on front porches throughout the Charlotte area, Friends of Feral Felines warmly welcomes this new season. Sweaters, colorful leaves spiraling to the ground, hot chocolate and smores beckon us to savor shorter days and cozy nights. We want to celebrate our successes with you in honor of National Feral Cat Day, which is October 16th.

Since 1998, Friends of Feral Felines has become the go-to referral throughout the Charlotte metropolitan area for community cats - those cats who have been abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Without positive human interaction, many of these cats become fearful and instinctually revert to a wilder version of the felines with whom we share our hearts and homes, thus the term "feral". Friends of Feral Felines exists to help not only cats but the people who care about them. We do this by connecting with our fellow citizens and providing them with knowledge and tools to engage in lifesaving work through subsidies that assist with spay/neuter surgeries and vaccines so they can provide ongoing care to healthy community cats and not worry about adding to the population.                             

Friends of Feral Felines offers this education and support through multiple avenues, and it's nonstop. Charlotte is the 15th largest city in the nation, and the population is approaching one million residents. Our small all-volunteer group consists of 32 dedicated people. Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control, the Humane Society of Charlotte, and Veterinarian Practices all refer anyone with a "community cat" to us, and we have become a resource for five counties. We rely solely on donations, have no paid staff and receive no county funding. Yes, the work is endless. The voice messages, the emails, the texts, the direct messages on social media - all from caring people who need help. What do we say? How do we respond? Each interaction is different, yet similar. They began something like this, "someone abandoned a cat who had a litter of kittens. Can you please help me?".

Not too long ago one of our volunteers received a call. An abandoned mama cat had delivered kittens, and this young feline family had taken up residence at the caller's home. Understandably, the caller was upset and frustrated because no one would help, and they were advised to contact us. Our Friends of Feral Feline volunteer listened and then presented a plan of action. Since the kittens were four months old, they were old enough to be spayed (or neutered) and vaccinated. An appointment with our Veterinarian partner was made. This feline family who had become a nuisance, through no fault of their own, is now coexisting peacefully with their human caretakers. Mama and her youngsters are "fixed" and vaccinated, and their adopted humans obtained and constructed a shelter to enable everyone to live their version of happily ever after. 

Here is a testimonial from our new feral feline friend: "Wow, what an experience! We have learned so much these past couple of weeks. On Tuesday, we released the last of the kittens completing our first TNR project! All are thriving and come to eat and drink, groom, and play. Thank you for educating and helping people like myself help our community cats live happier, healthier lives while helping control the feral population. Just because I can't pet them doesn't mean I don't love them. -Best, Ariana"  

Our wish is for every cat to have a loving home! Our hearts ache as we witness the suffering that accompanies the life of the homeless felines we are called to help. We push past the pain because we know the lives of these community cats have value. The purpose of this letter is to let you know we remain committed to the cause of educating the public about community cats and partnering with citizens on spay/neuter efforts to prevent further births of outdoor kittens, stabilize the community cat population, and ensure these orphan cats live healthy and happy lives as a result of compassionate caretakers.

We are asking you to please donate today. We have three areas of need:

1. Sponsor a Community Cat - $40 (Spay/Neuter, Rabies/FVRCP Vaccine, and eartip for 1 cat)

2. Sponsor a Colony of Community Cats - $480 (Spay/Neuter, Rabies/FVRCP Vaccine, and eartip for 12 cats)

3. Sponsor a Community Cat Spay/Neuter Day with one of our Veterinarian Partners - $1,280 (Spay/Neuter, Rabies/FVRCP Vaccine, and eartip for 32 cats)

Donate Link: DONATE

Please follow our work on social media via Facebook or Instagram:

https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfFeralFelines/

https://instagram.com/friendsofferalfelinesclt

Thank you for being a Friend of Feral Felines and for partnering with us on our lifesaving efforts to improve the lives of Community Cats!