The 20 Cats Sponsored by Cats in Need Cyprus

I was so happy when Cats in Need generously offered to sponsor the sterilization of 20 cats for me recently. Doing TNR and feeding cat colonies by yourself can not only be exhausting, it can be very expensive, so I was delighted and grateful when Cats in Need offered to help.  It was a big help.  And just in time, as several cats at my house were coming of age.

Cats in Need is a charity organization abroad that helps people like me doing TNR in Cyprus.  It is Cats in Need that donated my traps once upon a time, and they have helped me a lot since I began doing this in 2011. 

Please, if you would like to help Cats in Need help people like me in Cyprus, they welcome donations, and they are wonderful folks.  I get a lot of emotional support from them too, even a hug or two.  You can donate to Cats in Need here, a very worthy cause: Cats in Need

So!  Let's unveil the cats!

Here's a roundup of the 20 Altered Cats! sponsored by Cats in Need:

1. Starlight




Starlight, mother extraordinaire, who also must have received Abraham's promise of many heirs

2. Sox

Sox, who loves to do the scoop

(Speaking of which, here is a picture of Jayne from Cats in Need Cyprus visiting with the above two, Starlight and Sox, at my house before this transpired.  It wasn't planned, but they turned out to be the first two cats I altered!  I thought it was funny!  It must have been Jayne's tap!)

Jayne petting Sox with Starlight behind

3. Crackers:

Crackers in bed is a GREAT habit

4. Bouncie

Bouncie, the toe nibbler, who prefers bouncing to walking

5. Rudolph

Rudi likes to play in all the reindeer games

6. Bonnie

Beautiful ingénue Bonnie needs a pink bedroom

7. Boogie

Boogie, the precious water artist, working on her MFA

8. Vincent

Shy, head tilting charmer, Vinnie Vinnie Voo!

9. Vanna

Vanna, with her little black leather nose, granddaughter to Big Van from Sammy's, and his namesake

10. Olive

Olive Oil, because she goes down so smooth and heals.  She likes to lick fingies and has a tiny goatee.

11. Dimples

Dimples, one of the delectable Candies, who croaks like a frog

12. Innocence

Innocence, better known as Innie, the adorable loudmouth

13. and 14. were sisters, Dusty and Zelda, from the park

Dusty and Zelda, some serious dark sugar rush when they pile on to love you!

15. Bubbles




Bubbles, but I call her Baba.  Small, sassy, and in charge!

16. Godfrey




Photogenic Godfrey, found as a tiny kitten at the nearby dump, still thinks I'm a tree

17. Rainbow



Rainbow, a friendly neighbourhood cat, taught Sox the scoop

18. Alethia

My little Doris Day, Alethia, plays the acordian

19. Punky

Punky da da, perpetually surprised, wonderful mother figure

20. Cocoa

I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, she walks like a ballet dancer with great turnout.

and one for good luck :)  I got a little extra discount at the vets so I was able to do one more:
21. Stuart Little

Hi Stu! Tiny man with hooks for claws!  Likes to scare the dog!

Thank you again Sue and Jayne and Cats in Need !

Creamy Goes to California

Well, I finally found a home for a cat.  In California.  Creamy is just adorable and I can totally see why his new mom fell in love with him.  I did, too.  Someone left Creamcicle , now known as "Creamy",  at the park a while back.  He was young, still a kitten, and terrified.  But he has turned into a lover and with his irresistible charm, and darling expression, he has found himself a home with a lovely lady and her family in sunny California.  I wonder if he will be the first Cyprus cat there?  I have started a fundraiser to raise money for his expenses.  I ask if you could donate and share my fundraiser.  I would really appreciate it. 


I also ask and would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey for him.  I will be sitting on pins and needles until I know he has arrived at his new forever home safely.  This is the first time I have sent a cat abroad and it is a long journey for him.  Thank you. 

Creamy, I pray for the absolute best for you.  I love you and I will miss you.  Thank you for the time we have had together.  Thank you for coming into my life. 

Thank You Cats in Need Cyprus!

Murphy, a female from Sammy's just before release

 

I want to say a big thank you to Sue and Jayne of Cats In Need Cyprus, a registered Charity in the Isle of Man, who have pledged to pay for the alteration of 20 of the cats I care for. I am over the moon for their kind offer to help. Without Cats in Need I could not have done the work that I have done in the past. They donated my traps, and have aided me with bills over the last three years, not to mention been a shoulder to cry on and lean on and vent, as I have not many people to talk to here. 

 

Releasing Murphy

 

 

 

They help others besides me - there are many kind people here who once upon a time moved to Cyprus, some to retire in the sun, others hoping to have a better life, who never dreamed that one day they would be doing exactly what I am doing and exactly for the same reasons. They reached their limit of the suffering they could witness while standing idly by. What joy is there in the sun when others around you are suffering? I can tell you first hand it takes the wind right of your sails. I am a happier person now. I cannot relieve all the suffering but I sleep well at night knowing I am doing what I can. This is such rewarding work. 

 

Releasing Clinton

 

 

Sue and Jayne have both been visitors to Cyprus and
themselves were both moved by the plight of the abused, abandoned, sick, injured, homeless, ignored, and poisoned cats here, and that is why they started their charity. Sue and Jayne and Cats in Need Cyprus make a difference and make it possible for people like me to be in the fields and trenches doing what I do. 

 

Jayne came to visit me and meet the cats at the park and my house while she was in Cyprus recently.  Here she is showing me cat tapping on Scoopy Sox, with Cindy Lou Who at her knee, and Starlight in the background.

 

 

We are all necessary to make a change. So are all of you that come and see my pictures, who spread the word just by commenting, and give me your moral support as well as your kind donations, which for some of you I know takes food off your plate just so you can give to the cats here, and sleep better yourselves. There are those of you who write me privately and lend me your ear and encourage me, who keep my spirits up, who send me funny pictures. Those who cry with me when I lose a cat. Those who cheer with me when I finally trap one. There are the veterinarians who put up with me calling them at all ungodly hours and many times a day, who see me at my worst, who slip me medicines and offer me their services after hours. Thank you all. 

 

Petey watching me try to trap Wanda - no I haven't got her yet, doggone it!

 

 

I may not have a big crowd here but they are loyal and true and good people. Again I thank you all. Please I ask you to donate to Cat in Need Cyprus to help Sue and Jayne continue to help us. Please offer them a big thank you in the comments for visiting me while they were here, and for offering to help me and the cats I care for.

You can give to Cats in Need Cyprus at this address.

http://www.charitychoice.co.uk/cats-in-need-cyprus-77881

 

Thank you!

 

Pegs at the park

PS  You can keep up with my most recent altered cats, thanks to Sue, Jayne, and Cats in Need Cyprus kind donation, here on my Facebook page, Altered Cats Cyprus.

What I Take With Me to the Feeding Stations

 

 



My car loaded up for the feeding station rounds



I thought you might like to see what I take with me when I go to the feeding stations.  I take a lot more with me than I used to. 


I bring several bottles filled with water.  I fill them from my home drinking tap (there are two taps in Cyprus).  The cats drink so much water I cannot believe it.  The kittens drink a lot, too.  When the water bowls are empty, and I fill them, that is the first thing the kittens run to get.  It's especially important in the summer in Cyprus to supply water because there is no rain.  I do provide it all year round.



Lots of large water filled plastic bottles go with me

I used to take the kibble in separate, doubled plastic bags - doubled because one tiny cat claw and it is over for the kibble in the bag.  It was convenient because I knew how many scoops to put in each bag for each station.  But now it would ridiculous.  I would be scooping all day.  Now I put the whole 15 kilo bag of kibble in the back seat and a scooper, and fill and refill a plastic bag as I go from one station to the next.

The whole 15 kilo bag of kibble goes with me in the back seat

I take another tote bag for canned food, plates, tissues to wipe the bowls, and extra plastic bags for trash and dishes.  This tote bag came with me from America, it's from LLBean.  It's sturdy and great with all the pockets for organizing smaller stuff.

Plastic plates, tissues, canned food, plastic bags, a scooper for the kibble

I occasionally switch out the bowls at the feeding stations and bring them home for a good cleaning, so I carry some extra bowls with me, too, in case some look very dirty.

Large clean bowls for swapping out dirty ones

Also, when they are not both occupied, I keep a small carrier in the car for emergencies.  I only have two small carriers.  I could really use a couple more.  My other carriers are enormous and are for dogs, too big for the car or to actually carry.

A small carrier and a soft blanky

I often take my camera. 

My Camera

And at night I take a flashlight.  This one uses no batteries and is a wind up.  It fits perfectly between my inside upper arm and ribcage for hands free.  I have used lots of different flashlights and lanterns and this is the best.  Batteries fail at the worst times, and so do bulbs. 

A wind up flashlight for hands free at night

And I usually keep a trap in the boot of my car, a couple of beach towels large enough to cover the trap, and a peepee pad.  I keep a can of trapping bait in my camera case.

A trap

Canned fish for trapping bait

Sometimes for an occasional treat I will bring a big bottle of milk.  They like that.  I have also taken them yogurt before.  Most like it, some don't. 

A big plastic tote is best to actually carry from the car, because they are easy to clean, waterproof, and strong.  The one I use now is from IKEA and it is giant. 

So there you have it. That's what I take with me to the feeding stations. 

Oh, and this doesn't go:

Lulu

I try to make sure all the cats are out of the car before I leave the house!  Sometimes I have been surprised halfway down my home road, and have had to turn back to drop off a cat or two. 

Sometime I forget stuff, or run out of kibble, that's a bummer, but I am never very far from home. 

Trapping, Altering, and Releasing Clinton

Clinton

Clinton is a cat who came from the Sandra's feeding station.  I now mostly see him at the park.  He is a mild Tomcat who has had a bad respiratory infection since I have known him.  I suspect he may be sicker than that.  On Thursday when I went to try and trap Wanda and failed again, I decided it was a good time to get Clinton.  If he is sick I do not want him fighting with the other males at the park, and I also wanted to get him some relief if I could.

He was so easy to trap.  In fact, he kept setting the trap off by rubbing on it lovingly before he even got in it. I basically had to give him a push in there.  He continued eating his treat/bait and then realized what had happened.  He wasn't happy. 

He was so heavy when I picked up the trap, I couldn't believe it.  It was a long, staggered walk to the car for me.

Clinton in the trap in the back of my car, he's not happy

I took him in on Thursday and picked him up on Friday.  The vet gave him a very expensive long lasting antibiotic that appears to have helped him a lot.  His breathing is not nearly so rough and wet.  Also, he had been drooling a lot, and the vet found something lodged in his teeth which she removed.  He is not drooling anymore.  It was probably a fish bone, because a fisherman puts out fresh fish for the cats at Sandra's, and I still see him there on occasion. 

Loaded up to go to the vets with two cats, Clinton is in back

Starlight had to go in, too

 At the vets

The vet also said he was huge.  She said he weighed over 9 kilos.  Well, no wonder I could barely pick him up.  The traps are quite heavy just by themselves. 

When I released him the first thing he did was get his bearings.  Then he headed straight to the hill to take a very, very long peepee.  I felt so sorry for him that he had been holding it.  He never sprayed once in the trap or in my car.  He was the most respectful male cat I have ever trapped. 

Clinton on the hill just before I released him. That's Strike coming to take a look at the food I brought.

 

 

Clinton gets his bearings

 

Clinton had to peepee really bad.  So he did that for a long time :(  Poor guy.

Then he sauntered back over...

and had a snack

 

then he went and made biscuits like he always does after he eats :)

 

He stayed nearby and ate a meal of soft food I brought with me while the others around joined in for a bite, too: Strike,  Greyboy, Blabby, Topper, and Sose were there.

It was starting to get dark

It was time to say goodbye for the night.  

Greyboy walked me to my car.

Greyboy

When I saw Clinton the next day, he was looking and sounding much better than before I trapped him.

I hope this will take some stress off him, and he will be able to live a long life there at the park.  Godspeed, Clinton.  Thank you. 

Thanks, Clinton.  I love you.