The Power of Yes - Removing Barriers

Ok so here is the thing growing up my family ran what you might call a semi secured cat colony. We had a total of 6 acres 3 fence on 3 sides open on the back it opened in to 3 areas unfence running at a right angle to the fenced acres. In this part all along the length width how ever you want to look at it were all fenced back yards for the houses the next road over. On our roads side most homes had fenced back yards as well. All along the area between these 2 roads was 100s of acres of woods. What we did was trap spay neuter and relocate cats from dangerous areas including 2 local shopping centers 1 where there were 3 schools directly across from the shopping center. These dangerous locations resulted in a large number of cats being hit and killed tnr/tnvr did not really exist at this point nither did no kill shelters for the most part as this was decades ago.  I want to take this all to the next level not just a outside secured semi secured or unsecured managed colony but a full blown rescue building fenced in property easy access for cats to roam freely between the building and the fenced giant catio. Along with isolation rooms for cats just post op to recovery in safety a space to work with a individual feral to get them adoptable along with everything else. I have a couple hurdles. 1 is well finding the specific grants 2 getting the grants to pay for it all and also just starting a 501 c3 itself. I already have land in mind through our land bank her which is honestly quite cheap i know of 3 lots near me that total .5 acres and larger available plots (more of them a little further from where i live) . I am not specifically asking for funding at this point but hey i am not above accepting the funding to pay for the land and to get all the paper work in order if someone wanted to do such a thing. 

I have a great deal of experience trapping for tnvr and working successfully with feral cats getting them to a point where they are not only adoptable but thrive as in door cats. My experience with actually working with them is extensive navigating the hurdles to starting up such a thing well that is where my problem is! You can find me on facebook as Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group Again i am just now starting all of this i am not yet a 501 c3 Thanks for any help any of you can offer me with this! 

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Nanaki Seto
owner
Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group
OH
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Welcome, Nanaki! How wonderful that you saw a problem and are putting your time and resources into finding a solution. Please lean on the people in this forum for help. A resource that might be helpful is Legal Zoom, for getting your nonprofit status. 

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Allison Cardona
Director
Wallis Annenberg Petspace
------------------------------

Try number 2 

Yeh i was already thinking about legal zoom or other for that portion. Honestly that part and the land is not even that big a issue yeh i need to find some sort of grant as my total cost for land and app could push a few gand even though my contact promises me i would be top of list in the application there is still a chance it does not get approved for a given plot / plots and it is a non refundable 200 per plot fee. Once those 2 things are taken care of my immediate next step is fencing to fence it all in. To give you a idea of issues faced by our furry friends here about 50ish miles a little less than that from me 2 cats have shown up been spotted with blow gfun darts 1 looks home made the other from the non captured kitty is unknown but looks mass produced. Another incident in the same general area is a guy who is trapping cats then releasing at various sites and using them for target practice! Some of the cats in the second case are quite li=kely tnr cats in fact many of them probably are he might be responsible for both cases of animal cruelty we do not know yet. It is one of the biggest reasons i use a nick name vs my real name online. I have no problem giving it out in dms and such most times just not in you know public forums LOL See i do somethings others can not and have had threats made against me do to it. I advocate for the cats (well animals in general) and not the owner. If a owner is abusive or neglectful i will make sure the pet is out of that situation by any legal means possible. I know there are grants in other states that can help a new animal related charity go from start to finish from applying for 501c3 to final construction and all things in between i know a couple out of state rescues that did so. But while searching i keep coming up dry because of all the crap let us match you with grants for the low low price of just 100 500 1500 2000 bucks type nonsense. It drives me insane trying to find the real info with all the garbage sites! 

Oh and i might as well make a cute kitty cat post to LOL Her name is Adina she is a semi feral / feral kitten sub 6 months old she is progressing very well from feral to loving we had a nice little play session last night she was fighting and flipping and flopping around with a cat teaser wand and having a great time even showing her belly as she kicked the poo out of the ball on the end of the teaser. She takes food from my hand treats  and does so with great care. See when i was growing up we had a managed semi secured colony and i worked with the true ferals the big mean multi generational ferals that had in some case been on their own for 2 years or more with no human interaction and in one case no cat interaction. They are like my specialty you might say.  I have been bit scratched and all of that it is never their fault it is mine when this happens i miss read their signals or push things to fast well i use to but it can also happen on accident move to fast startle them etc it happens. I do not give up on them though i might change tactics and if a feral never gets to the point where they can be adopted well they will get their best possible and long life i can give them. 

My one cat sally has really taken to her she stays close and calms my other cat Dora when dora well when Dora acts like herself LOL Sally will place her self between Dora and adina to calm Dora to act as a buffer sally is a bit brown tabby lady a tripod kitty adopted from my local shelter she also lost her tail to the same car that took her right rear leg. She is technically a tabbico bilute in coloration most hidden in her tabby pattern.  Adina was part of a large scale tnvr project that involved 7 total rescues i worked with riggi's rescue a total of 57 kitties were vaccinated and spayed neutered in total from that project over 20 of the cats were placed with various rescues adina came from furl 2 forever she was one of the last caught and the first adopted or nearly the first hehe.  

------------------------------
Nanaki Seto
owner
Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group
OH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-13-2026 06:29 AM
From: Allison Cardona (she/her/ella)
Subject: Working towards starting a rescue for cats specifically for ferals and semi ferals and other hard to place cats

Welcome, Nanaki! How wonderful that you saw a problem and are putting your time and resources into finding a solution. Please lean on the people in this forum for help. A resource that might be helpful is Legal Zoom, for getting your nonprofit status. 

------------------------------
Allison Cardona
Director
Wallis Annenberg Petspace
------------------------------

Just a heads up if you follow the reply link from emails and try to post a reply it will not work no error it just wont post 

------------------------------
Nanaki Seto
owner
Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group
OH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-13-2026 07:48 AM
From: Nanaki Seto
Subject: Working towards starting a rescue for cats specifically for ferals and semi ferals and other hard to place cats

Try number 2 

Yeh i was already thinking about legal zoom or other for that portion. Honestly that part and the land is not even that big a issue yeh i need to find some sort of grant as my total cost for land and app could push a few gand even though my contact promises me i would be top of list in the application there is still a chance it does not get approved for a given plot / plots and it is a non refundable 200 per plot fee. Once those 2 things are taken care of my immediate next step is fencing to fence it all in. To give you a idea of issues faced by our furry friends here about 50ish miles a little less than that from me 2 cats have shown up been spotted with blow gfun darts 1 looks home made the other from the non captured kitty is unknown but looks mass produced. Another incident in the same general area is a guy who is trapping cats then releasing at various sites and using them for target practice! Some of the cats in the second case are quite li=kely tnr cats in fact many of them probably are he might be responsible for both cases of animal cruelty we do not know yet. It is one of the biggest reasons i use a nick name vs my real name online. I have no problem giving it out in dms and such most times just not in you know public forums LOL See i do somethings others can not and have had threats made against me do to it. I advocate for the cats (well animals in general) and not the owner. If a owner is abusive or neglectful i will make sure the pet is out of that situation by any legal means possible. I know there are grants in other states that can help a new animal related charity go from start to finish from applying for 501c3 to final construction and all things in between i know a couple out of state rescues that did so. But while searching i keep coming up dry because of all the crap let us match you with grants for the low low price of just 100 500 1500 2000 bucks type nonsense. It drives me insane trying to find the real info with all the garbage sites! 

Oh and i might as well make a cute kitty cat post to LOL Her name is Adina she is a semi feral / feral kitten sub 6 months old she is progressing very well from feral to loving we had a nice little play session last night she was fighting and flipping and flopping around with a cat teaser wand and having a great time even showing her belly as she kicked the poo out of the ball on the end of the teaser. She takes food from my hand treats  and does so with great care. See when i was growing up we had a managed semi secured colony and i worked with the true ferals the big mean multi generational ferals that had in some case been on their own for 2 years or more with no human interaction and in one case no cat interaction. They are like my specialty you might say.  I have been bit scratched and all of that it is never their fault it is mine when this happens i miss read their signals or push things to fast well i use to but it can also happen on accident move to fast startle them etc it happens. I do not give up on them though i might change tactics and if a feral never gets to the point where they can be adopted well they will get their best possible and long life i can give them. 

My one cat sally has really taken to her she stays close and calms my other cat Dora when dora well when Dora acts like herself LOL Sally will place her self between Dora and adina to calm Dora to act as a buffer sally is a bit brown tabby lady a tripod kitty adopted from my local shelter she also lost her tail to the same car that took her right rear leg. She is technically a tabbico bilute in coloration most hidden in her tabby pattern.  Adina was part of a large scale tnvr project that involved 7 total rescues i worked with riggi's rescue a total of 57 kitties were vaccinated and spayed neutered in total from that project over 20 of the cats were placed with various rescues adina came from furl 2 forever she was one of the last caught and the first adopted or nearly the first hehe.  

------------------------------
Nanaki Seto
owner
Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group
OH
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 01-13-2026 06:29 AM
From: Allison Cardona (she/her/ella)
Subject: Working towards starting a rescue for cats specifically for ferals and semi ferals and other hard to place cats

Welcome, Nanaki! How wonderful that you saw a problem and are putting your time and resources into finding a solution. Please lean on the people in this forum for help. A resource that might be helpful is Legal Zoom, for getting your nonprofit status. 

------------------------------
Allison Cardona
Director
Wallis Annenberg Petspace

Hello.  I would start by getting your 501(c) (3) established.  I am in California, but I helped our rescue, Fresno TNR, become a 501(c)3 and had no experience.  If you are interested, I could share some resources with you on how I started.  I would also see about recruiting some good friends who would like to be on your board.   Once you can get your 501(c)3 established, you will be eligible to apply for grants.   Good luck, and let me know if you want any help.    

Kris, Fresno TNR

------------------------------
Kris Thompson
Secretary
Fresno TNR
CA
------------------------------

Oh i need all the help i can get this part of things is all very new to me. The most i ever did was get a small business lic years ago so any resources including info on various national grants that exist would be a huge help! 

------------------------------
Nanaki Seto
owner
Blackfoot the cat rescue and animal advocacy group
OH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2026 05:37 PM
From: Kris Thompson
Subject: Working towards starting a rescue for cats specifically for ferals and semi ferals and other hard to place cats

Hello.  I would start by getting your 501(c) (3) established.  I am in California, but I helped our rescue, Fresno TNR, become a 501(c)3 and had no experience.  If you are interested, I could share some resources with you on how I started.  I would also see about recruiting some good friends who would like to be on your board.   Once you can get your 501(c)3 established, you will be eligible to apply for grants.   Good luck, and let me know if you want any help.    

Kris, Fresno TNR

------------------------------
Kris Thompson
Secretary
Fresno TNR
CA
------------------------------