Mommie came to me three days after my beloved Friskie Moolie-Moo passed, May 22, 2000. She came out of the fence he once brought me to look under because he saw her and her kittens and was trying to tell me about them under there. Mommie was very friendly, obviously not a feral, once lived in a home. She rubbed on my legs and responded favorably when I pet her all over and allowed me to meet her four adorable kittens. They would sun themselves on my patio but since my landlords didn’t want any kitties at all, I had to tend to them in secret.

I called many rescue, foster, and adoption organizations, none were interested in taking my four kittens. What could I do with them, surely I didn’t want to keep them! I knew they had to be neutered and spayed but how could I possibly pay for five cats to be “fixed”? And who, and how, I was at a loss in complete despair as I fed them at 5:30am every morning, and dinner at 6:30pm.. They were well-behaved but meowed heartily at feeding times and I had to keep them quiet and under cover! They started coming inside and getting used to being on my couch, bed, they were welcome due to my beloved Gorby being alone for the first time in his life.

One particular organization I called was Alley Cat Allies, and they recommended me getting low cost spay certificates and referred several doctors who would accept them.. I received the certificates in the mail and when I called the doctors, they all insisted on the shots for each which were $125 just for one of them! What a crock I thought! This isn’t helping me at all! One of the names they referred me to was Dr. Laura Gay Senk, located about 45 minutes from my home. It just so happened at lunchtime one day at work which was about an hour away from my home, I noticed a poster in a row of stores, Feral Cat Lecture. Hmmm, looked interesting, yet, I was not familiar with the area the lecture was being held in and it was at night, meaning I would not be feeding the ferals their dinner on time! I was attracted to this lecture though, and decided to attend the meeting sponsored by Long Island Cat Fanciers. I was perspiring with nerves by the time I found the arena and was early. I waited in my car and worried about my ferals at home being hungry. Finally people started arriving, and they all had fancy cats, not my cup of tea! And I thought they were all snobs, until the meeting began and they each told stories about all their ferals they were taking care of! Never judge! Finally the Guest Speaker arrived, Dr. Senk, I knew it was her immediately, she was brilliant and showed a three hour slide show all about ferals and she orated as the slides were being shown. I was riveted by her charisma! I spoke to her after the meeting, said like tons of others said to her, I have ferals, what can I do to help them. She said you must bring them in to be spay/neuter, have their shots and be tested for disease. I said huh? How? Not like they would willingly go into a carrier! She said you have to trap them, once again, huh? Have-a-Heart traps can be purchased at Home Depot, bait it with food, catch them and bring them into your house, cover them until morning and bring them into my clinic. Ok, right to Home Depot I went, brought the scary contraption home and baited it with kosher salami, fresh fish, anything smelly! One by one they went into the trap, only seven weeks old they didn’t know what I had planned for them! I packed up my car early in the morning with the traps, covered with a towel and drove them to Dr. Senk’s office, and said, you will call me if anything happens? She said what can happen? Pick them up after work. I said well what if one of them doesn’t make it and dies? She said if that happens, I will never practice veterinary medicine again. I just loved her enthusiasm and confidence! After they were fixed, two girls and two boys I brought them home to recuperate for a few days. They were wonderful in the house and my Gorby liked them too! But still didn’t I have to have them adopted? I couldn’t keep them just having lost three myself, I was in deep grief and pain. I still hadn’t had the opportunity to capture Mommie and lo and behold, she brought out her second litter to meet me soon after her first. I was so upset, now eight kittens and one Mommie! I hadn’t met her devoted husband Popi yet or her two sisters! What lay in store for me, surprise after surprise!

Once again I trapped the kittens and brought them to Dr. Senk, we were becoming friendly by now, she found the whole thing amusing, she knew before I did that they would become my family! Still I wasn’t able to trap Mommie being so busy trapping her babies. By this time my feral family would wait on the sidewalk for my car to pull up and follow me like a Mama Duck to my apartment, it was a sight to see! Everyone was fine, healthy and happy and my home was theirs too. My Gorby got along great with them all too and he was glad to have company. When I finally was able to trap Mommie and bring her home to recuperate, I was at work and she busted out of my bedroom window. I had no idea at that time, she was nursing her 3rd litter of another four kittens! Yikes! Here they were deprived of being fed her milk for two days, I was petrified they would die of starvation! And then they would have to be fixed too! This was completely out of hand, my landlords were becoming verbally nasty, what on earth was I going to do with twelve kittens, Mommie, her husband Popi, her sister Sarah and her two kittens, and assorted other ferals who came around I had fixed too!

But then, one by one they started to die. Why? Why! I would find one after the other at my door in grotesque positions and found out that my landlord was murdering them! Chicken laced with anti-freeze, agonizing deaths for innocent, healthy little babies! I just had to get out of there!  The legal department of the Humane Society was contacted for action to be taken against the landlord, and I buried, and knew I had to get out of there as fast as possible!

My fate was sealed at a corporate Christmas party in December 2002. I had a friend who had a home in upstate New York, in the mountains. I asked him, how’s your house upstate? He said empty. I said can I move in with my cats? He said sure. We took a ride to see his house, what charm and plenty of room, a wrap around enclosed porch sealed my fate! I said, I’ll take it and within three weeks, moved every single one of the kits and families to our new home where they were never to go outside again. I have been here over 3 years now and what wonderful experiences I have had with them! Now up to 20+ Katz, I know I have followed my path already chosen for me a long time ago. We are all happy living in peace and beauty, and in love.

Feral cats can become wonderful companions and I am living with proof of this each day, a little faith, hope and prayer has led the way!