Forgotten Ferals

NOTE: We are now on Petfinder! 

Our Mission: Forgotten Ferals is committed to the spay/neuter of feral cats and their kittens to stop the on going cycle of unwanted felines.

Our Vision: Forgotten Feral believes the TNR program will greatly reduce the population of homeless and abandoned cats. We want to be part of educating the public, performing TNR and the rehabilitation of feral kittens and young cats.

Support for our cause is solely through adoption fees and donations.

Educate yourself: Without adequate managed humane population control, as is presently the case in our cities, we now have hundreds of thousands of homeless, neglected, suffering feral cats and kittens trying to survive in our storm drains, alleys, yards, under houses, apartment buildings, industrial and public areas and workplaces, with concerned neighbors attempting to alleviate the suffering in whatever manner they can. They can be seen in our neighborhoods feeding cats and doing their best to save the kittens. It is all they can do under the difficult conditions before them. They need our compassion and help! Through attrition and aging, feral colonies gradually reduce over time. However, every effort should be made to
ensure their safety and well being and care throughout their lifetime individually and as a family.Countless persons are interested in this proven, successful, humane method of population control with long-term managed care and are willing to assist and support this very important endeavor, Eventually even the most skeptical individual will see the positive results. An intelligent, humane solution is at hand for feral cats and kittens. YOUR SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING ARE ESSENTIAL. While most feral cats cannot be adopted “into our homes”, they can be adopted “into our hearts”and we can create homes for them where they live. Untold numbers of feral cats and most feral kittens can be domesticated. Any dedicated feral cat caretaker can attest to this! Each soul must be evaluated individually and not lumped into a negative image that is unfair and breeds public
indifference, so that killing them in the shelters is OK and the only alternative they have. The majority of feral cats may not be candidates for a loving indoor home, but those who are, should be acknowledged and not swept under the rug of expediency. The more one advocates that feral cats are disposable, the more likely they are to be disposed of! It is time we elevate them to the same level of value; respect and care we give to our domestic cats and those rescued from the shelters! Just stop feeding? Anyone, who is under the impression that there will be no more cats and kittens if the feeding stops, is in for a stark reality check! National statistics bear out that one in five households feed stray cats and that people cannot be forbidden to feed feral cats and kittens and will do so under the most extreme conditions and threats to their well being. Feral cats and kittens are fed
by people who drive by at night and leave food, lunchtime handouts and anyone who sees a stray/feral cat and feels it should have food. The more you try to mandate a no feeding edict, the more food is left around for the cats, but not in designated places, so cat food is scattered all around the area in places that are unsanitary and not familiar to the cats. The cats begin to wander around the areas looking for food. They are hit by automobiles, become sickly and kittens begin to appear. People in the vicinity do not like to see this type of abuse and suffering in a previously well cared for colony and complaints are made. The area becomes out of control as there is no oversight or caretaker present. The cats will remain, as this is their home!
Debilitated and hungry cats will continue to reproduce, as will humans under similar circumstances. This becomes a no-win situation!

My Story: This site is dedicated to my little angel's  Midget and Jr. They have crossed the Rainbow Bridge and are now without  pain and suffering. Jr. is pictured above with his tongue out. He was born April 2008 to a feral mother. She brought three kittens to my door trying to show them where to get food because they were about 5 weeks. I noticed that two of the three were not normal. We brought them in and I found one was blind with one eye protruding out , one was normal and then there was Jr. He was very tiny compared to the others. As he grew his eyes started to get very big and he was not able to open his mouth to eat like a normal kitten. I had to feed him 3 times a day by hand. Jr. grew to be a 3 pd cat with very short legs. He lived to be 1 year and 3 months. He was put to rest due to cancer of the mouth. :( Midget was born around April of 2007. He was also born to the same mother. He was very short to the ground and at even 5 months the mother was still feeding him. He also had very large eyes and a short nose base. At about 6 months I noticed that he was very sick with a upper respiratory infection. I caught him and brought him in for medical attention. He got better and lived in my house as a feral for two years. He got sick with a bladder infection and was taken in for x-rays. The vet found that there were a lot of problems with his internal organs not growing right. The humane thing to do was to put him to rest. The blind kitten, Franky, is now living with my family as a very happy guy. He grew to a normal size but lost all his sight. He has been a new experiance for me! I would have never thought that a blind cat could adapt so well to every day living. These kittens were born due to the severe inbreeding of feral cats.

We are located in Kirtland, Ohio about 2 miles from the boarder of Mentor and 30 miles from downtown Cleveland. Now to the reason for the Forgotten Ferals! Taking care of these babies and to see all they went through being born and surviving in the wild and the fight for life in them, I decided that this can no longer happen! My goal was to trap the mother and have her spayed. Well..that wouldnt stop the others from having kittens and this starting again! Living beside a Metro Park where there is plenty of habitat for these feral's, with me living pay check to pay check this seemed like a loosing battle. As if a greater power new that I was ready to take on the challenge, I was sent Joni! One day she came to our community to see the cat population in hopes of helping. A few people told her about me and one day when we were both outside, we started talking about the problems and she was able to meet Jr. Joni, my new friend, inspired me to get this on a roll. I posted an add on a local site telling everyone of the feral problem. I received a lot of responses from people giving me different places to go for low cost neutering, the problem was the county's that offer help would not give me the low cost because I do not live in that county.The other problem is that a normal vet will not take on feral cats. All the phone calls and the same answer "maybe one here and there". One lady, Jill, answered my add and said she believed she could get me in the right direction. We set a day to meet and I was also introduced to Eric. They introduced me to a spay/neuter clinic, One of A Kind, in Akron, Ohio about 30 miles from my location. The people there were great and willing to help me with spay/ neutering the feral's! The drive there was worth it! I immediately started getting things I needed together for my new adventure! Cages, pet carriers,blankets, news papers, food, litter, litter boxes, gloves, mini medical kit and yes...traps. Joni bought traps to help me! I was using the regular hardware store traps. Let me just say that all the scratches and bites were worth every minute! I must say that to do the trapping properly you need to have feral cat traps! I started off with 5 cats on the first trip...boy was that a sweet smelling trip..lol The cats were done the same day and my new friend Eric would pick them up and make sure that everything went well for the first 24 hours. They then came back home with me and I keep the males for 1-2 days and the females 4-5 days. On the release date I would take them to where they were trapped and let them go. The program that I was getting help with has since ended due to the overwhelming number of cats and dogs in shelters and rescues. I am going to do my best in collecting spay/neuter funds for the coming spring to continue what I have started. To watch these cats now they seem to be more calm, they don't worry about fighting and the females don't walk around drained from having litter after litter. Most kittens do not make it to the age of 12 weeks here due to the raccoons, hawks, cars and people. The survival rate is about 1-2 kittens per litter.