Tricked With A Treat... A Halloween Kitten

Nothing like trapping a black kitten on Halloween. Please meet Boo. A spooktacular kitten trapped at the Bridgeport Short 28 Colony tonight.

Tortellni The Cross Eye Kitten

This is Tortellini sometimes called Noodle. He's a kitten from our Bridgeport Short 28 Colony project. I LOVE cross-eyed cats. Look at this face. How can you not melt?!?!?! This cute kitten is now off the streets and in a home due to TNR/TNA. We are so happy to provide him with that. Please consider donating so we can continue to help cats & kittens. https://www.crowdrise.com/whiskers-and-tails-rescue-foundation #crosseyed #kittens #home #rescue #giveback #getinvovled #volunteer

Trapping=TNR, No. Trapping+Managing=TNR, Yes.

There are many levels to Trap-Neuter-Return, and most of us know that a lot goes into it. It's not just about setting a trap and boom catching a cat. It's about so much more. It's about the preparation, raising the funds, figuring out transport, recovery, and lots, and lots of community outreach amongst other things. Most people talk about just the TNR part. But most people fail to talk about and do one of the most important things that comes with TNR, and that would be the maintenance.

Although the actual prep and trapping in TNR may be difficult, it's also the easiest and honestly the only thing that most people do and than they move on. However, along with the trapping you are also supposed to maintain and manage the colony. This means continually checking in on these colonies or with the caretakers to make sure the colony is being cared for properly. Sure it's awesome to trap 5oo cats or a ton of colonies, but if you aren't checking in on them and the cats aren't being taken care of, well then you're not doing the cats justice.

We continuously check in on our colonies and our caretakers and the colonies that we have taken over that others walked away from. We make sure to observe what is going on, especially with the changing seasons. At some of the colonies, we noticed that the food that was placed for the cats has been being eaten at a faster rate so we wanted to see what was going on. We know that with fall, comes raccoon season. Raccoon season is generally from November to February. We decided to place a trail camera at a few of the colonies to see if what we suspected was true, and it's also a great way to see if any new cats have joined the colony that need to be TNR'd. We placed the camera at each colony for a week so we could track any patterns. This video is one of our colony findings. We had 100's of photos that were taken, but decided to just put together a few in the video.

As you can see, at this colony we do indeed have 2 raccoons. Since raccoons primarily love fruit and nuts. We will be setting up a 2nd feeding station well away from our colony to deter the raccoon from coming into the cats' feeding area. We also want to respect the wildlife diet of the raccoon and cat food is generally not good for them. We also learned from this video that we have 3 new cats that have joined the group and come daily to just eat. So we will be putting a plan into place to get them their TNR services.

Trapping=TNR, No. Trapping+Managing=TNR, Yes.

Three More Cats Trapped At The Manistee 130 Colony

Three more cats were trapped at our Hegwish Manistee 130 colony last night. These cats are currently at Anti-Cruelty Society getting their TNR vetting. That makes a total of 11 cats that we have trapped and vetted at this project. I'd like to introduce you to Cry Baby, Toffee, and Rusty. Wish us luck on getting the last one. Go team Whiskers & Tails!

Happy National Feral Cat Day! Celebrating By Building Feral Cat Shelters

Happy 2016 National Feral Cat Day!!!! In Celebration of it, WTRF held a feral cat shelter building event yesterday at the Chicago Community ToolBank. We built 70 feral cat shelters (that's 140 bin totes total) for our community cats. These aren't your typical ordinary feral cat shelters. These shelters are double bin and are insulated with 4.5" house insulation and straw so they are able to withstand our harsh winters. They end up weighing over 10lbs, so no need to worry about them blowing away, especially in the Windy City. 

 

 

Community Cats are just that, a part of the community, and it's so awesome when members of the community come together to help each other. We are truly able to move mountains when we all come together. I'm so touched that our community is like family.

We would like to give special thanks to Mark Van Camp, General Manager at Lowe's for donating 40 of the single 30gln bins, to all the community members who gave monetary donations that allowed us to buy the supplies needed, to Alisha, The Executive Director of Chicago Community Toolbank for offering her space and allowing us to host our event at her facilities, to the Chicago White Sox Volunteer Corps for coming out to help us build our shelters, and last, but not least, a Super duper Special thank you to our forever awesome Whiskers & Tails Rescue Foundation volunteers who NEVER let us down, you never cease to amaze us. We can never truly tell you guys enough how special you are and how much you guys rock!

Because of ALL of you, so many cats lives' will be saved this winter. These houses will provide them with the protection they need and they will now have a safe place that will keep them warm. Thank you, every single one of you!!!! Yesterday, we made a huge difference.

Much love from our hearts to yours,

Whiskers & Tails Rescue Foundation

Four More Cats Trapped At The Manistee 130 Colony

We trapped 4 more cats at the Manistee 130 Colony last night. These beautiful babies went to The Anti-Cruelty Society today for their TNR vetting services and now are on their way home for recovery. Meet the next 4 members of this fur crew; Patches, Pumpkin, Oreo, and Gizmo.

 

 

Hegewisch, A Cry For Help

We received a call from a man who lives in Hegewisch about a month ago pleading for TNR help at his mom's house. His mom is in her 80's and they care for a group of 12 cats who reside in their yard. His pleads were so heartbreaking that of course we agreed to help them and came up with a plan, even though the Hegewisch area is so far from us. We drove out to the location to meet with them, assess the situation, and bring them all the supplies so we can pre-bait traps. The cats live in their yard which is beautiful. The cats are so well cared for at this location (as you can see in these pics). They are truly loved which made us even happier. We saw a total of 12 of them. They were solid greys, buff oranges, dilute calicos, long haired grey and whites, and torties.

The son and sister who are in their 50's constantly told us over and over again how grateful they were that we were helping them. They told us that they went to the Ally Cat Allies website and contacted every TNR group in the Chicagoland area that was on the TNR group help list and they consistently got the same answer "We don't do that area, it's too far". The sister, who has cancer, drove all the way in from Downtown Chicago so she can learn all about TNR and how to trap. We spent a good hour and half with them teaching them how to trap, what to do for recovery etc. They were so excited and we were so excited that we could help this family and the cats.

Well this past Friday, we brought in the first 4 cats from this colony for their TNR services at ACS. Please meet some of the members of the Hegewisch Manistee 130 Colony; Lucky, Pebbles, Snookie, and Tootsie.

LeMoyne 33 Colony, TNR Saved Their Lives

We saw a request for help in the Humboldt Park area not far from where we are located so we jumped in to help right away. We contacted the resident of the property where these cats stay and set up a plan to come out in just 2 days. When we arrived on location and with speaking with the feeder, we found out that she had just previously called Animal Care and Control for help because one of the cats was injured. Thankfully the field officer from ACC was unsuccessful trapping any of these cats. If these cats were trapped and brought into CACC, they would have been euthanized. These cats are feral and not adoptable so they would have been put to death. We were so happy to be able to step in and intervene and save these cats' lives. We trapped these cats all in one day and we got their TNR vetting services at ACS on Tuesday. We contacted Animal Care and Control and let them know that we took care of this situation and they can close it on their books. These cats are now healthy and safe and allowed to live out the rest of their lives. Please meet the LeMoyne 33 Colony; Bernie, Peanut Butter, Pete, and Raven.

We WON Driver! We WON!

Driver Today Enjoying Life In His New Home!

TODAY IS ONE OF THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!!!!! I'm actually crying. I just got off the phone with the State's Attorney, (she called me because I have attended every court case and kept in close touch with them through out this case) to inform me the most amazing news that I ever heard. I'm shaking.

The judge decided to have court today on the Leon Teague/Driver case since Leon was in custody and Leon Teague pleaded guilty to the charges against him of animal torture and aggravated cruelty. The judge gave Leon 3 years!!! 3 years. Yes you are reading that right!!!! This is huge in Cook County. The judge also recommended that Leon be a part of a Boot Camp program to try to help rehabilitate him and his ways, but if Leon does not choose to do the program then he will just do his whole 3 years sitting in jail. I cried when she gave me the news (still crying), and then I thanked her and her team for all their hard work that they put in to this case. I told her change is happening in Cook County.

A few thank yous are in order.... I want to thank the State's Attorney and their team for pushing this to the limit. To the arresting Officer Mark who has been there with me hand in hand. To Judge Burns for the having balls to stand up and not throw this case out like others do and making justice served. To Abby from F&C for being the bad ass that she is and taking Driver in when I called her and getting Driver the care that he needed to give him the life that he deserves. And thank you to my best friend and partner in crime Melissa for not even batting an eyelash when I asked her to go out there with me to help rescue Driver, without you Mo this sentencing would not have happened today.

I feel like another dream has come true today. You will never understand how much this means to me. Today the voices of these animals have been heard. See something, say something, do something. WE WON DRIVER. WE WON!!!!!!!

Heather xoxox

Leon Teague / Driver Court Update, Now In Custody

Let's start this week off with some good news. As you know from my last update regarding the Leon Teague/Driver case when I attended court, Leon didn't show up to court on Aug 2nd and a warrant was issued for his arrest. I can update you today by telling you that he is now in custody as of Sept 29th. Never Forget. I Won't. Fight For Justice.

When You Walk To The Store And You Are The Cat Whisperer

Of course when I was walking home from a cat trapping project site, I just came across this girl. For a life time we have joked that I can't leave my house because I am the cat whisperer or the cat piper. They just find me. I found this girl on the street of my block. I had never seen her before. She was ravenous and although I usually carry cat food on me, this time I had just dropped it off at the our new TNR project site. Luckily, the place where I saw this cat was a door down from my corner store. I walked in to the corner store and bought a can of cat food and asked for a plate. They are quite used to me feeding and caring for the cats in the area so I told them what I was up to. Her body showed signs of starvation. She was quite skinny. She woofed it aka meowed the food down, so I knew she hadn't eaten for days or longer. All my traps were currently out as we were working on several projects. However, I remembered that I had one left. So I ran home and grabbed it all the while thinking will I be able to trap her because I just gave her a 5.5oz can of cat food? Well the answer to that was yes. When I came back a few minutes later, her food that I had gave her was all gone, and I loaded the trap with more and she was so hungry she walked right in to eat it. Success! I brought her home and scanned her for a chip to see if she was a lost cat, there was no microchip. I posted ads on Lost Cat Illinois and contacted the neighbors. I, nor they, have ever seen her before. After the legal amount of hold time, we brought her to the vet and had her checked out and had her updated on all of her vaccines, etc. She has been gaining weight day by day and her appetite is healthy. She is the sweetest cat as can be and she loves other cats. We can't wait until she finds her forever home. I want everyone to meet the most precious Petal who is currently up for adoption. 

Providing Food and Shelter For An Abadoned Colony By Another...

About 4 years ago, I got a call from a friend informing me about an alley with a colony that had close to about 15 or so cats in it. The story goes that apparently a member from another shelter started on the project, abandoned it, and never finished it up. I was asked if I would be willing to help TNR it since it was close to my house. I said sure thing. Not many people trap or practice TNR in winter. I always do. The cats are looking for food and its great to get AHEAD of kitten season to prevent it rather than deal with it when it comes.

Thankfully, the area was an enclosed protected one, so we were able to prebait traps. I set up traps, all aligned next to one another, and in other sporadic places in the yard. We laid tarps down on the ground and placed newspaper and straw in the traps and then placed tarps over them to make them cozy and warm. The cats were fed out of the zip-tied open traps for a week and then we went back and cut the zip-ties on the night we planned to trap and placed food in all of them. Within seconds all of our traps were filled with cats.

This picture is back from 2010 when I first got the call about these cats. 

Back in 2010 when I trapped the remaining cats from this project that another shelter walked away from

I pre-baited the traps for a week and zip-tied them open. On my trapping night, I cut them and voila all the traps were filled with cats. I made my traps cozy with straw and surrounded it with tarps for warmth since it was winter.

Our Feeding Station 5years later

We provide the new old man caretaker with food every other week and leave it on his porch for him

We are so happy to see that there are still cats at this location that we had TNR 5-6 years ago. Some of the colony moved on, but now that we provide food etc the rest have stayed and as you can see are healthy. Manage, Manage, Manage.

There use to be an old man who lived in the apartment building next door who fed the cats. Through the years, I would consistently ride my bike down there to check on everyone and noticed there weren't many cats left and I never saw the old man. After inquiring with an another elderly man tenant, I found out the other old man moved and this man started to take over feeding the cats. Well he was feeding them Spanish beans and rice. As we all know, older people are on a fixed income and cannot afford the basic needs. From that day forward, we have been providing the man with cat food every other week and place it on the porch for him. We also provided him with a feeding station. The cats are his family and the cats are an integral part of the neighborhood. Again, I can't state enough, it's not just about TNR its about making sure the cats are taken care of after. Here are a few pictures from the trapping 4 years ago and from pictures of food that I just dropped off to him again yesterday along with a picture of one of the cats who is still there today who was trapped 4 years ago. We are so happy to see there has never been a non ear tip cat at this location since.

Bridgeport Short 28 Colony 5 More Cats Trapped

Last night we went back to the Bridgeport Short 28 colony to trap. We were able to trap 5 more cats from this location who are currently at The Anti-Cruelty Society​ getting their TNR services. This makes a total of 16 cats that we have trapped here in the past 2 weeks and we still have a bunch more to go. A special thank you to Sayre​ and Alexandra​ for coming out to help me trap last night, and for Alex helping to recover some of these cats and a special thank you to Jamie​ for helping transport these furballs. You gals rock and this seriously couldn't have happened without any of you. Thank you. Now I would like for everyone to meet our newest trapees; Norman, Monte, Tom, and Lace.

Respecting Life. When Art Is Not Art

I find this to be so disgusting that I am in tears while writing this. For a person, who spends her life celebrating the life of ferals and teaching the community to respect and embrace our feral/stray/community cats this just utterly breaks my heart.

To call this art, is absurd. I don't want to hear that art is in the eye of the beholder. This is not. This is just plain disrespectful and a selfish act of an individual who wants press. How someone can think this is okay is beyond me.

So many of us live our lives trying to make things better in this world for the animals. On a consistent basis, trying to teach and open people's minds and hearts to what compassion is. To truly believe that this world can change and we can live in a world that loves and causes no harm to. Are we naive? maybe. But we fight everyday to try to reach that end goal. No matter how badly we get knocked down.

When I see the daily abuse of people just walking away and not batting an eye and to see this just crushes my soul bit by bit. I truly have no words. There is just nothing to understand about this at all.
I'm sorry my dear sweet feral, you deserve better than this. WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ON THIS LINK BELOW ARE DISTURBING  AND AGAINST OUR BELIEF AND MISSION THAT WE WILL NOT POST THEM HERE. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/taxidermy-cat-handbag-sparks-outrage/

Respecting Life, When Will People Learn This Is Not Art

I find this to be so disgusting that I am in tears while writing this. For a person, who spends her life celebrating the life of ferals and teaching the community to respect and embrace our feral/stray/community cats this just utterly breaks my heart.

To call this art, is absurd. I don't want to hear that art is in the eye of the beholder. This is not. This is just plain disrespectful and a selfish act of an individual who wants press. How someone can think this is okay is beyond me.

So many of us live our lives trying to make things better in this world for the animals. On a consistent basis, trying to teach and open people's minds and hearts to what compassion is. To truly believe that this world can change and we can live in a world that loves and causes no harm to. Are we naive? maybe. But we fight everyday to try to reach that end goal. No matter how badly we get knocked down.

When I see the daily abuse of people just walking away and not batting an eye and to see this just crushes my soul bit by bit. I truly have no words. There is just nothing to understand about this at all.
I'm sorry my dear sweet feral, you deserve better than this. WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ON THIS LINK BELOW ARE DISTURBING  AND AGAINST OUR BELIEF AND MISSION THAT WE WILL NOT POST THEM HERE. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/taxidermy-cat-handbag-sparks-outrage/