Elvis and Oliver

Little Elvis has finally found a home he calls his own. But his journey there was not an easy one. Elvis was a classic semi-feral and we knew it would be hard to place him in a suitable environment.

.A semi-feral will hide and it takes lots of time and patience. Most people want lap cats or at the very least a cat you can see. So how do you convince people to take a cat that one day may be your best friend but could take years to happen?

We found him in the Marble Hill Housing project in the Bronx and he was one scared little guy. It was June and we were determined to trap as many cats as we could so they could be spayed and neutered and returned. We returned most of the adult cats and the 19 kittens we had were socialized to be adopted. Elvis was one of the first ones we found and the last to be placed.

Initially he lived in our small sanctuary where UCL President, Mike Phillips worked with him and the other kittens teaching them the ways of domesticity. Elvis was not one of the best students. After another brief stay in Mike’s apartment, Holly Staver from City Critters very kindly offered to put him and his sister Tiffany up for awhile in one of the Petco cages. Mostly he cowered in the back with the occasional hiss. His behavior, while perfectly understandable, did not make him easy to place. After a month it was clear we had to come up with another solution.

Fortunately we have friends at the Roundabout Theater and they agreed to foster him until a permanent home could be found. Don Scott Cooper, a general manager at the theater had adopted one of our first cats, Oliver, so we knew that under Don Scott’s care, Elvis would be fine as a temporary office cat. He fed little Elvis but rarely saw him. Elvis settled in behind a desk and that was that – for the time being.

Sometimes, even when you say no, you have to say yes, as Don Scott experienced. The rest of the story is his to tell!

From Don Scott:

Until Elvis, I had been unsuccessful at bringing other cats into the house. Oliver would cry, fight and hide. The last time I cared for another cat for a week, Oliver spent the entire time hiding on top of the kitchen cabinets. He wouldn't even come down to eat! I convinced myself and others that, quite simply, Oliver HATED cats.

We had been providing foster care for Elvis at our office and he was very unhappy. Elvis responded well to other cats, but was afraid of people. He spent the entire business day hiding behind a desk and would only come out at night for food and water.

We needed a place to foster Elvis over the holidays. We were running out of options and it looked like Elvis was coming home with me. I was skeptical about how these two highly emotional cats would be in the same small apartment. I dreaded the ten days I was going to suffer breaking up fights, listening to crying and losing sleep!

The first 24 hours, Elvis refused to come out of the cat carrier. When he did eventually come out it was to hide under the bed for two days. Because Elvis wasn't territorial; Oliver wasn't threatened by his presence. When Elvis did come out, he found what he had wanted -- another cat to bond with.

The two of them hit it off instantly and I was forced to eat my words! Oliver had found a cat that he could care for and play with. I'm still amazed when I see Oliver giving Elvis a bath and letting him go first at the food bowl.

How We Spend Your Donations

With the passing of tax time we would like to take this opportunity to let you know how we distribute the donations you so kindly give us to improve the lives of street cats. As most of you know we are an entirely volunteer operation – we have no paid staff members and no administrative overhead. Every dollar we get goes directly to the work we do – helping cats and our continuing efforts to help others help them.

We directly helped close to one hundred and fifty cats. Through education and advocacy we helped hundreds.

• 75% went directly to food, litter, veterinary care and running our small feral cat sanctuary.
• 15% went directly to the production of our video “Tough Love: How to Socialize Feral Kittens” and our efforts to distribute it. We have already broken even.
• 10% went directly to fundraising costs: mailings and office supplies associated with fundraising and adoption.

So far 2005 has been a good one. We received a generous grant for $5,000.00 which we plan to apply to the expansion of the sanctuary. We are also trying to spread the word about our video “Tough Love: How to Socialize Feral Kittens.”

If you are interesting in purchasing the video send us a check for $25.00 ($20.00 is tax deductible) made out to Urban Cat League and let us know if you want a DVD or VHS. Our address is Urban Cat League, PO Box 2476, Times Square Station, New York, New York 10108.

A Letter From California

While working in Los Angeles this winter, Urban Cat League President Mike Phillips was able to network with several of the Southern California feral cat groups and witness how things are done on the other coast. It all started when Mike's partner Gary found "Stache" left behind by the previous tenants of a house Mike & Gary were looking to rent in coyote country near the Laurel Canyon area of LA. Searching "online" for some help, Mike found the Feral Cat Alliance in LA and they came to the rescue. Evelyn Gray, one of their members, fostered Stache until Mike and Gary got settled. Then Stache got a successful iodine treatment for her hyper-thyroid condition. She is nearly completely recovered and will soon be ready for adoption.

Next, Mike discovered that there was a colony of feral cats in the alley beside where he was working. The PR and fundraising for the project got started and Evelyn came to our aid again with loaned traps and local information about spay/neuter for ferals. All the cats were trapped and taken to ABC-Animal Birth Control, one of LA's low-cost Spay/Neuter hospitals. Here Mike was able to watch a visiting doctor from India teach a special spay technique for feral cats. It uses a lateral (side) incision for the surgery. This allows feral caretakers to watch the healing process of the incision much more easily than they can with the traditional belly incision.

The ABC clinic also gives the keys to the hospital to local rescue groups so they can come and go at any time of the day or night to drop off or pick-up trapped cats for spay/neuter. This policy allows the hard working day-jobbers to help the cats without having to miss work unnecessarily. ABC will also hold cats for recovery for $5 per day. This is the kind of service NY caretakers need to have available since space is such a valuable commodity in NYC.

Once that project was getting under control, several kittens found there way into Mike's temporary household and they were all fostered until they found adoptions. All of this networking led to contact with the Best Friends Catnippers who were about to hold one of their Spay/Neuter clinics for ferals where Mike volunteered as a vet-tech to help out. The group routinely neuters about 100 feral cats in a morning at a borrowed vet hospital. It was all very impressively organized by the Best Friends staff. Mike shared with them the new Urban Cat League video "TOUGH LOVE, Socializing Feral Kittens," which was received with great interest from all. It's encouraging to know that there are so many compassionate people everywhere working to improve the lives of feral cats.

Wally’s Story

Wally was found laying on the curb in a busy part of Hell's Kitchen calmly watching the grid-lock traffic heading for the Lincoln Tunnel. Although only 4 months old, this orange tabby had his share of confidence. He had probably escaped from the basement of a restaurant or Deli, but there was no business anywhere nearby. Because of his care-free demeanor, he seemed the perfect match for a household with a friendly dog, older cat and a 6 foot Iguana. After a short period of adjustment, Wally was accepted into the pack. Since the elder statesman of the household was already a feline named Wally, Wally #2 was renamed Jack. Fafner the Iguana (named after the dragon in Wagner's Ring Cycle) taught Jack that his tail was not there for his amusement in one short lesson. Understanding the wisdom of respect for reptiles has been added to the worldly accomplishments of this young cat.

A warm sunbath in winter is clearly a pleasure that can be enjoyed by many different species.