One of the abandoned cats is a tortoise shell named Liddy. She was one of the last to be trapped for spaying. For two years, no matter what we did to lure her into the trapping cage, she would not walk into it for the food prize. Finally, I hired a neighbor to build me a drop trap. Voila! Now she is spayed, never to be stressed by motherhood again.

In the spring of 2007, one of Liddy’s last litters turned out to consist of only one. Surprisingly, that kitten was a white one. With little enthusiasm left for creative naming, we called her Snowball. When she was about 6 weeks old, as she wandered into our yard, I noticed she had an eye infection. I decided to trap Snowball early for two reasons: to take her to the vet to get medicine for her eye and to socialize her for adoption.

Her eye healed quickly. Then, her true feisty nature came out as we loved, fed, handled and played with her. She played fiercely with her new toys, as well as with one of our indoor cats. They loved to wrestle! Snowball cleaned up so nicely, revealing that she was actually white with apricot-tipped ears and tail. Needless to say, her coloring and youth made her very adoptable. A wonderful lady chose her at a local rescue agency adoption event. Not only did Snowball get a quality forever home, but she also received a new name. Blanca. Since then, I followed up several times with Blanca’s owner. She is happy and doing very well.

Perhaps you can sense her wonderful personality through the photos in this post.

I plan to write more stories about the challenges and successes with managing this cat colony. Feel free to email me DTConsult@cableone.net if you have questions about the TNR process. I do not see myself as any sort of authority on the subject. Initially, I got information of TNR from AlleyCats.org And I have a wealth of experience from which to draw on to help others faced with the needs of homeless cats. United Animal Friends has helped me some with each spay/neuter and some free dry food from time to time. I spend about $90.00 a month out of my pocket to supplement that food. Some cats needed extra vet services, like antibiotics, treatments for ear mites, eye infections, and more. It has been an expensive venture. I would be extremely grateful if you feel inclined to donate, using the PayPal button on the sidebar. Huge thanks to you if you choose to do so.

Debby Taylor

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