Andy and Leslie’s Story: Oakland AvenueWe contacted Alleycat Advocats in June after noticing that our two favorite ferals, The Olsen Twins, had kittens under our neighbor's porch. Until we saw the kittens, we had been content to feed and do nothing else. Before our connection with Alleycat AdvoCats, we had not really paid attention to the ferals, except the Twins. When we started feeding with an eye toward Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), however, we learned so much about how a colony works and how caring these animals really are. The Twins both nursed the smaller kittens, Shakes and Handfoot. An adolescent feral in the colony, Zoe, cared for a previously weaned kitten, Commander Fluffypants, frequently walking him across the street and hiding him in a neighbor's yard.
Kit Lilly, a trapper from Charles River Feline Rescue who frequently works with Alleycat AdvoCats, taught us how to trap, gave us the equipment we needed, and hooked us up with Dr. Olga Iglikova from Revere Pet Clinic. Thanks to Kit, out of the nine ferals in this colony, we have now trapped six and altered five: Ashley Olsen (we had to decide which one was which), Zoe, The Dingo, Commander Fluffypants, and Handfoot. Shakes was still too little, but will be altered soon. We're still stalking Mary Kate and the males (Batman, a handsome, masked tuxedo kitty, and Magnus, an older-loooking orange tom). Meanwhile, with the kittens, Jenny Ohgi, Alleycat AdvoCats’ Foster Care Manager, helped us with the littlest ones, who had a form of palsy. We fostered them for about a month, and have since transferred them to Nancy Brooks, who takes terrific care of them. Meera Tholander, the Adoptions Coordinator then helped us to adopt Commander Fluffypants, who is turning out to be the most amazing little cat. He’s so gentle, he doesn't use his claws with us, even when he's wrestling!
Working with everyone at Alleycat AdvoCats, and with the ferals, has given our whole family the chance to see just how connected cats are to humans. These cats are where they are because humans failed them along the way, but, on some level, they still want to be near people, even if they don't quite trust us. In our efforts to help these cats, we've met some extraordinary women who have assisted us every step of the way. Even my four-year-old son has learned how to love someone very much (Handfoot) and then let her go. And, through this adventure, we've met our neighbors! After living here six years, we now know the people on our block…and have since discovered that most of them love the cats!
