Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi everyone,

We are a couple who do TNR in our little town of Bay Minette, Alabama. A local rescue, Azalea City Cat Coalition sometimes helps us find placement for the 'friendlies' we find but they are often overwhelmed. We currently support a big rescue household because rescues here are very few and far between.

We are lucky to have our local No Kill shelter help with Spay/neuter vouchers-and we are so lucky to have them. But I am wondering if there are untapped resources we don't know about.

This year has been somewhat difficult. My husband was unexpectedly hospitalized for nearly 6 months and is just now getting back to things. I had help feeding our colonies, but we had two other folks take over the feeding of one of our colonies-and we found out just today that friendly 6 month old kittens-one now pregnant-were dumped there. We are already making plans to get them neutered. 

There are just the two of us, and two volunteers-sadly, neither are really reliable. Here, cats multiply and it's like living in a truly undeveloped country-as we get one or two cats fixed-all we can do with the both of us-2 or 3 more show up pregnant. It's hard. 

I'm originally from NY, and while it was very hard there-here it's much worse. Our really kind vet that does all our neutering and spaying is 79 years old and we hope daily that he will not retire-because the only other vet here stopped taking the vouchers and the two times we used them loaded the cats up with 'extras' we couldn't afford,  so we no longer use him. 

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to deal with what sometimes feels so hard to deal with?  There are times we feel so very alone. 

Thanks, 

Deb and Jim Knowles

Bay Minette, Al

Below is a poem I've written about one of these very cats...

Minerva Waits

She is there every eve just at sunset
A tabby with green-golden eyes
She waits patiently away from the others
She's made of grace in tiger cat guise
She must have had someone to love her
Her tiny 'mews' melt my heart
But she's not so trusting these days
What upset her apple cart?

And some would call her a 'feral'
Some would call her a 'stray'
But we just call her a little soft coated

cat
Maybe she's just lost her way
We do our best to feed her
We dread leaving her here
Oh the stories she could tell
But one thing is at least crystal clear
She was loved, yes, loved in her lifetime
Someone has held her dear

Minerva allows us to pet her
She doesn't allow us see
Where she melts into the shadows
We don't know where she should be
I'd love to find her a foster
But good homes are short in supply
As we feed the sixty first cat tonight
I find myself wondering why
Would someone go to a breeder
For a kitten with markings, for sure
That money would pay for so much cat food
For cats that aren't deemed 'pure'.
As Minerva sits in an alley
The cat the 'purists' ignore

I won't give up on Minerva
Nor Jade, nor, Alphie nor Maive
I believe in the magick of cat
I believe they all can be saved
As I whisper entreaty
To my Warrior Poet so wise
I feel the answer as the tears fall unseen
For all of my wild furry guides
For one thing I know I'm sure about
They're our teachers in small furry guise.

Deb Hoffmann Knowles 'Fyrecat' inspired by Orange Ruffy, Warrior Poet

Hi everyone,

We are a couple who do TNR in our little town of Bay Minette, Alabama. A local rescue, Azalea City Cat Coalition sometimes helps us find placement for the 'friendlies' we find but they are often overwhelmed. We currently support a big rescue household because rescues here are very few and far between.

We are lucky to have our local No Kill shelter help with Spay/neuter vouchers-and we are so lucky to have them. But I am wondering if there are untapped resources we don't know about.

This year has been somewhat difficult. My husband was unexpectedly hospitalized for nearly 6 months and is just now getting back to things. I had help feeding our colonies, but we had two other folks take over the feeding of one of our colonies-and we found out just today that friendly 6 month old kittens-one now pregnant-were dumped there. We are already making plans to get them neutered. 

There are just the two of us, and two volunteers-sadly, neither are really reliable. Here, cats multiply and it's like living in a truly undeveloped country-as we get one or two cats fixed-all we can do with the both of us-2 or 3 more show up pregnant. It's hard. 

I'm originally from NY, and while it was very hard there-here it's much worse. Our really kind vet that does all our neutering and spaying is 79 years old and we hope daily that he will not retire-because the only other vet here stopped taking the vouchers and the two times we used them loaded the cats up with 'extras' we couldn't afford,  so we no longer use him. 

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to deal with what sometimes feels so hard to deal with?  There are times we feel so very alone. 

Thanks, 

Deb and Jim Knowles

Bay Minette, Al

Below is a poem I've written about one of these very cats...

Minerva Waits

She is there every eve just at sunset
A tabby with green-golden eyes
She waits patiently away from the others
She's made of grace in tiger cat guise
She must have had someone to love her
Her tiny 'mews' melt my heart
But she's not so trusting these days
What upset her apple cart?

And some would call her a 'feral'
Some would call her a 'stray'
But we just call her a little soft coated

cat
Maybe she's just lost her way
We do our best to feed her
We dread leaving her here
Oh the stories she could tell
But one thing is at least crystal clear
She was loved, yes, loved in her lifetime
Someone has held her dear

Minerva allows us to pet her
She doesn't allow us see
Where she melts into the shadows
We don't know where she should be
I'd love to find her a foster
But good homes are short in supply
As we feed the sixty first cat tonight
I find myself wondering why
Would someone go to a breeder
For a kitten with markings, for sure
That money would pay for so much cat food
For cats that aren't deemed 'pure'.
As Minerva sits in an alley
The cat the 'purists' ignore

I won't give up on Minerva
Nor Jade, nor, Alphie nor Maive
I believe in the magick of cat
I believe they all can be saved
As I whisper entreaty
To my Warrior Poet so wise
I feel the answer as the tears fall unseen
For all of my wild furry guides
For one thing I know I'm sure about
They're our teachers in small furry guise.

Deb Hoffmann Knowles 'Fyrecat' inspired by Orange Ruffy, Warrior Poet

Hi Deb,

Have you looked in to  Spay Neuter Impact Project in MS? I mapped it and it's about an hour and a half from you.   Maybe it'd be worth the trip if they could give you multiple appts and you make a day trip out of it. 

https://snipms.com/prices

Hi everyone,

We are a couple who do TNR in our little town of Bay Minette, Alabama. A local rescue, Azalea City Cat Coalition sometimes helps us find placement for the 'friendlies' we find but they are often overwhelmed. We currently support a big rescue household because rescues here are very few and far between.

We are lucky to have our local No Kill shelter help with Spay/neuter vouchers-and we are so lucky to have them. But I am wondering if there are untapped resources we don't know about.

This year has been somewhat difficult. My husband was unexpectedly hospitalized for nearly 6 months and is just now getting back to things. I had help feeding our colonies, but we had two other folks take over the feeding of one of our colonies-and we found out just today that friendly 6 month old kittens-one now pregnant-were dumped there. We are already making plans to get them neutered. 

There are just the two of us, and two volunteers-sadly, neither are really reliable. Here, cats multiply and it's like living in a truly undeveloped country-as we get one or two cats fixed-all we can do with the both of us-2 or 3 more show up pregnant. It's hard. 

I'm originally from NY, and while it was very hard there-here it's much worse. Our really kind vet that does all our neutering and spaying is 79 years old and we hope daily that he will not retire-because the only other vet here stopped taking the vouchers and the two times we used them loaded the cats up with 'extras' we couldn't afford,  so we no longer use him. 

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to deal with what sometimes feels so hard to deal with?  There are times we feel so very alone. 

Thanks, 

Deb and Jim Knowles

Bay Minette, Al

Below is a poem I've written about one of these very cats...

Minerva Waits

She is there every eve just at sunset
A tabby with green-golden eyes
She waits patiently away from the others
She's made of grace in tiger cat guise
She must have had someone to love her
Her tiny 'mews' melt my heart
But she's not so trusting these days
What upset her apple cart?

And some would call her a 'feral'
Some would call her a 'stray'
But we just call her a little soft coated

cat
Maybe she's just lost her way
We do our best to feed her
We dread leaving her here
Oh the stories she could tell
But one thing is at least crystal clear
She was loved, yes, loved in her lifetime
Someone has held her dear

Minerva allows us to pet her
She doesn't allow us see
Where she melts into the shadows
We don't know where she should be
I'd love to find her a foster
But good homes are short in supply
As we feed the sixty first cat tonight
I find myself wondering why
Would someone go to a breeder
For a kitten with markings, for sure
That money would pay for so much cat food
For cats that aren't deemed 'pure'.
As Minerva sits in an alley
The cat the 'purists' ignore

I won't give up on Minerva
Nor Jade, nor, Alphie nor Maive
I believe in the magick of cat
I believe they all can be saved
As I whisper entreaty
To my Warrior Poet so wise
I feel the answer as the tears fall unseen
For all of my wild furry guides
For one thing I know I'm sure about
They're our teachers in small furry guise.

Deb Hoffmann Knowles 'Fyrecat' inspired by Orange Ruffy, Warrior Poet