this program is to reduce the over-population of cats in the county.  Local vets and shelters have to put down a couple of thousand cats each year -- many of whom could be adopted, except for the flood of feral kittens that people bring them each year.  We estimate that around 90% of the domestic cats are spayed or neutered -- but very few of the feral cats.  It's not difficult to see where the kittens are coming from -- and why so many cats and kittens have to be put down each year.  We're doing what we can to reduce that flood.

Thanks to the volunteer help of Bill Dergis, we've begun providing winterized feral cat houses for those caregivers whose colonies have no natural shelter.  Although feral cats are not particularly bothered by the cold winter temperatures -- recall that cats were primarily outdoor animals until Ed Lowe introduced "Kitty Litter" some 50 years ago -- they do need protection from wind and wet to avoid hypothermia.

Dear Friends,
Our first year in cat welfare has been one of non-stop learning.  We started out last Spring with our Older Cats for Older People program -- take in companion cats from the elderly who could no longer care for them -- and foster them out to other elderly who could.  We soon learned that was easier said than done -- many more were coming in than going out.  With so many kittens available, even the elderly wanted kittens!  So where were all those kittens coming from?  And we discovered feral cats.  And started to understand the problem -- the cat birthrate in the county (mostly due to ferals) far exceeds everyone's ability to adopt them out -- there simply aren't enough homes for them.  That's when we shifted our focus to ferals and our Feral Colony Assistance program.

We haven't forgotten our initial program.  We're hoping our new facility will help us adopt out more of these older cats.  And there's much more we want to do in helping people keep their cats.  But for now our focus must remain on the ferals -- limiting their numbers through sound colony management while respecting their right to live out their lives in the way they have become accustomed -- outdoors.  Let's join together in 2001 and reach a humane resolution to this problem!  Best wishes.
Kitty Zimmer