Hi everybuddy! It’s me…Zoey. Today’s National Feral Cat Day…a day to think about the kitties that live outside…y’know…the ones that look like they don’t have homes.
National Feral Cat Day was started by Alley Cat Allies back in 2001 as a way to share information and educate people about feral cats and to promote TNR…Trap-Neuter-Return.
Alley Cat Allies is the only national advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and humanely treating feral cats. Their mission is to end the killing of feral cats and lead the movement for their humane care.
Y’know, I was kind of a feral kitty…though Ernie and the orange stripey cat think I still am. I spent the first 9 months of my life as an outside kitty, living around a big building that I later found out was the Big Guy’s business. He calls it a garden center. I’m one of the lucky kitties because I got trapped…though I didn’t like that very much…spayed and brought here to live on the island. That was almost 8 years ago.
But being an outside kitty doesn’t mean you’re unlucky. Not if there are humans around that do TNR and take care of you by providing food and shelter.
As most of you know, the Big Guy now has a couple of feral cats…Chip and Slim…living at the garden center, though they don’t act very feral anymore. Chip and Slim are our TNR success story. They showed up one day about a year and a half ago and the Big Guy decided to let them stay. He and the Lady with the Yellow Hair trapped them, got them neutered and then released them back outside.
Chip and Slim have access to an unheated back room at the garden center that’s filled with bales of straw and some heated blankets. These two have quite the life…even though they live mostly outside.
This is Chip lounging in the back room…and Slim playing in the bales of straw.
Some days you gotta look hard to find Chip. Now how did he get way up there?!?
Chip and Slim are good buddies…they love giving each other headbutts. And they’re more friendly towards people, too. They like to crawl in the Big Guy’s lap and insist on pets and scritches. Chip and Slim may not have the purrfect life, but they’re well taken care of and are loved…even though they’re outside cats.
Jeez…if I had known how much fun it would be living at the garden center, I woulda asked to stay there!
If you want to learn more about feral kitties and how you can help them by promoting TNR, visit NationalFeralCatDay.org or the Alley Cat Allies website.
35 Responses to “National Feral Cat Day 2015”
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Chip and Slim are so adorable and I love how your peeps are helping them. Life at the garden center doesn’t look half bad at all!
I will help them promote any way I can!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
we love hearing about Zoey and the garden boys!! we bet the garden center hasn’t had a mouse problem in ages 🙂
That was a great post pretty Zoey and those two sure look sweet. We pray every single day that ferals get the help they so deserve.
Zoey thank goodness your memory of being feral is very very very faint…
Hugs madi your bfff
Chip and Slim have a nice protected home. People who care and watch over them and they look very happy.
We’re glad you are comfy inside and that Chip and Slim are so well taken care of by the Dad guy and his garden center peeps! You all are success stories!
Aw that’s great that those guys have a place to go out of the weather, and get some loving too! Yay for your dad!
My kitties’ mommy had to be TNRed because she was way way way too feral to stay inside, she nearly went nuts while waiting to recover from her spay! But she’s taken care of so we’re happy about that!
Chip and Slim are so adorable and it’s great that they have a place to hang hang when it’s cold outside. This is a great story!
I am so glad Chip and Slim have each other! You can tell from the photo, too, that they are good buddies .. so glad they have such a nice enclosed area where they can hang out safely.
Pet lovers please check out my homeless cat blog archives for some fun posts and archived stories about the abandoned/feral cat colony I manage.
Debby in Prescott Valley, Arizona
http://homelesscatcare.blogspot.com/
Chip and Slim are lucky guys! What a GREAT place for them to hang out and keep your Dad company…….plus I bet there are mousies and other stuff that pass thru the garden center so they probably keep THAT under control to “pay back” your Dad for giving them shelter! What a GREAT story…..and they look very happy, healthy, and like they’re BEST BUDS!
Hugs, Sammy
Chip and Slim are two of the lucky ones… and you are even luckier, Zoey, to have a comfy home inside!
What an interesting story about chip and slim. It’s good they are buddies and have each other. I guess you all and I can be very thankful we have good homes. Thanks for visiting my bloggy yesterday. It’s appreciated.
That is so great about Chip and Slim. Sounds like they have a great home. As long as they have food and somewhere to get out of the weather, they are good. We have about six or seven that stay outside all the time. But they have a barn to get into and the straw is a great place to stay warm. Tell the Dad he is a good guy in our book.
Zoey,
One of these days I’m coming to the Island to kidnap you 🙂 or would that be catnap you?
How pawsome these two kitties have someone who cares for them! Just think of the snakes, mice and bugs those two can chase and eat 🙂
Good job making sure your people look after Chip and Slim!! We all need to look after those who don’t have people and their homes!!
We saw Brian’s comment and the lady will pray for ferals to get help too. Chip and Slim sure are lucky to have found The Big Guy! It’s so nice of him to provide them a place to stay. They are so cute! Zoey, you hit the jackpot ending up in your home (even in spite of Wally) with the Lady with the Yellow Hair and The Big Guy!
Chip and Slim are very lucky cats. That is so funny that they climb up on the lattice to lounge! Thanks for taking care of them. ♥
We feel you are right Zoey. Not every cat wants to be in a home but want to be outside. They also need a warm place to sleep in the winter and if hunting is bad like during the winter….somewhere to get food and some nice scritches.
Shoko
Chip and Slim are so cute. I am so glad your folks rescued them, they look very happy.
Whoa! Doesn’t sound like those ferals are keeping it real. they just keeping it warm.
Chip and Slim are adorable and such lucky kitties! Love the photo of Chip chillaxing up there 🙂
You, Chip, and Slim are very lucky to have your humans looking out for you. And it seems to me that Chip & Slim have a really good life for outdoor kitties.
Thanks for sharing these great photos of Chip and Slim. We hadn’t heard anything about them in a really long time, and we don’t think we’d ever seen any photos. Alley Cat Allies do great things. Mom was very disappointed to find that none of the groups in our area are doing anything for or about Feral Cat Day. Pffft! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
We loved reading the story of Chip and Slim ! They look very happy, and they are lucky to have your humans who take good care of them ! Purrs
Glad they have a place to stay and someone to look out for them.
Well Zoey dat’s pawsum fur Chip and Slim. Weez weally happy fur them. But weez weally weally ahppy dat yous got gotted and now llive inside wiff Ernie and Wally. Life be much more posh fur you and weez so glad to have met you and to be yous furiends.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
I think it looks like the Garden(Center) of Eden for those sweet kitties! Looks to me like life is pretty good for them!
And no, I am not *wearing* my foods! That was to show you what goes into my tummy! (Well, maybe not all at once, though!)
Iffen we had some around here, we would help them…
Zoey, you beauty, this story of the two boys made me and mommy feel so good in our hearts, Thank you to your Dad. xxoo
What a wonderful story of the successes of TNR. Chip and Slim are just precious!
Zoey, we are so happy you found the good life 🙂 And Chip and Slim did too. They look pretty happy in “their ” store 🙂
the critters in the cottage xo
Your beans are furry special! We is glad they broughted you home and let Chip and Slim live at the garden center. You all deserve to live wonderful and safe lives.
They look very happy! We think they are living a very good life. Bless your Mom and Dad for all they do to help feral kitties, including you!