I became a caretaker of feral cats in 2007. A stray female cat came to my house in the winter of 2006,  and she had two kittens with her. She was almost starved, full of worms and she would eat anything. My granddaughter named her Jewels. She had a litter of kittens in late March; they were hidden in my neighbor’s barn. Her kitten that she brought with her had a litter of kittens in late May. Something happened to that momma cat, as her six kittens, only a few days old, were found by my neighbor. So, to make a long story short, my neighbor and I raised these six kittens and found homes for all of them.

During this time, Jewels started to bring her kittens out. There were five solid white, very wild kittens. My neighbor’s husband said that they had to go. I trapped two of them and took them to the shelter, where I was told that they would probably be euthanized. I was so upset, but I learned later that they were put up for adoption. Then I learned about Alley Cat Advocates and, with the help of volunteer Jan Arnold, we trapped two of the kittens and her older kitten. They went to the Quick Fix. Jewels went to my vet.

In the winter of 2011, I began to notice all these young cats coming to eat with Jewels and her two grown kittens. I started counting. I saw 14 cats. I contacted Alley Cat Advocates and got on the waiting list for the Big Fix. We got in the April 2012 Big Fix. Just in time, two of the cats were almost ready to have kittens. One large male was hurt. His name is Fuzzy Face, and his life was saved by Alley Cat Advocates. They did surgery on him a number of times and kept him in rehab for two months. He is now an indoor kitty, and he is very spoiled.

I volunteer my time to Alley Cat Advocates because I am very grateful for what they have done for the cats that I care for and for all the other cats that they help.

Volunteer Barbara Ray