"Ferállie", 
The Feral Cat

Medi-Cal Recipients Can Get 3 Cats "Fixed" for FREE!

A List of Local Vets Who Participate in This Program!

For More information...

More Photos of Ferállie are Coming Soon!  Stay Tuned!  In the Meanwhile, You Can Meet Some of Our Other Residents at The Dog House:

Ferállie {the name we gave her} came into our lives in October of 2000.  A stray, feral (wild) cat, she had been trapped by local volunteer, June Neptune, in a live-trap around the Anderson area of Northern California (one of about a dozen feral kittens in that area that day).  Ferállie was taken by June to a local vet where she was "fixed" and given her first series of kitty shots.  Ferállie's right ear was clipped during surgery to let anyone who saw her later know that she was feral kitty who had already been trapped, fixed, and released.
June then brought Ferállie over the office where Mommy-Mare works, and asked if the kitten could stay there throughout the day while June tended to other feral cats.  A feral kitten, Ferállie wasn't used to being around humans, wasn't domesticated, and was anxious to run away.   By the end of the day, Mommy-Mare had bonded somewhat with Ferállie, and decided to take the kitten home with her.  
Ferállie stays outside, but is supplemented with food, water, and shelter as she needs it.  Otherwise, Ferállie remains feral -- a wild cat that doesn't bond well with humans... But fixed and vaccinated, Ferállie cannot reproduce or spread disease in the wild. She can be the wild kitty she is without causing harm to other cats, or bringing more feral kittens into the world. 
Live-trapping, spaying/ neutering, and vaccinating feral cats (who are then released back into "the wild") has proven to be the most effective and humane way (short of actual adoption) to deal with the issue of feral cats.  Some people believe that the cats should simply be eliminated, trapped and killed: a cruel answer when one considers that these cats wouldn't be running around wild, reproducing, or spreading disease, if the humans who were responsible for them being around in the first place had taken their responsibility seriously.  

It's not the cats' fault they're in the predicament they're in: IT'S THE FAULT OF IRRESPONSIBLE HUMAN BEINGS. 

Besides, it's been proven through several studies that killing feral cats doesn't reduce the population effectively. There are always enough feral cats around to continue to reproduce.  Live-trapping them and sterilizing them, returns the "fixed" cats to defend and maintain their territory -- thus keeping out other feral cats -- yet keeps the population down (because "fixed" kitties, obviously, can't have other kitties).  Live-trapping and eventually releasing the fixed and vaccinated feral cats, is also a more HUMANE way of dealing with them, rather than simply killing them outright. 
Feral cats are also an effective link in the environmental chain of life.  They keep down the population of vermin (such as mice, rats, and snakes), which is their secondary (and in some cases even primary) food source.

In California, the spaying and neutering of feral cats is FREE!.  
The California Veterinary Medical Association has received a grant of $3.2 Million from Maddie's Fund to neuter or spay feral cats. 
You may be able to pick up live traps at your local veterinary clinic, animal shelter or Humane Society.
When the feral cat is taken in to the vet for spaying/ neutering, ask the vet to also check the animal for ear mites and intestinal worms.  Most vets who participate in this program will do the check-up for free, and give the cats their first set of vaccinations.

Medi-Cal recipients
 can now have three (3) cats (feral or domesticated) spayed or neutered for FREE thanks to a grant of $300,000 from Maddie's Fund.  Just take in your Medi-Cal card when you take in your cat(s) and ask about the free program.

In our Local Area, there are many vets who participate in this feral cat program.  Some of our favorite include:

Shasta Lake Veterinary Clinic
(This is where The Dog House pets go for care.  We love Dr. Harvick)
4522 Shasta Dam Blvd.
Shasta Lake City, CA 96019
(530) 275-8871

ALLCats Veterinary Hospital
455 Lake Blvd., Redding, CA
(530) 244-CATS

Gateway Animal Clinic
(down by where Mommy-Mare works
 at the foster are agency)
2951 McMurray Drive,
Anderson, CA 96007
(530) 365-4521

For more information about the feral cat program, the National Feral Cat Network, TNR (trap, neuter, return) write to:

Alley Cat Allies
1801 Belmont Road, N.W.
Suite 201
Washington, DC 20009
USA
Phone: (202) 667-3630
Fax: (202) 667-3640
or visit them on line at
AlleyCat.Org