Community Outreach for Community Cats

Community Appeal Letters are a great way to promote your cause in your neighborhood, and it’s even better if you can spread your message in your neighbor’s preferred language. I’ve been passing out about 50 flyers every time I go jogging now to help promote free spay/neuter surgeries from Tree House’s clinic, as funded by a PetSmart grant for our area zip codes. Running around the neighborhood on foot, while taking time to stop at people’s homes and talking to them on the street, makes you really notice the area.

This tabby and white cat was rubbing all over the posts in the yard while waiting by her red front door.

Hey, I think I've heard this one before... What's brown, white and red all over?

She went right up to me for a pet.

But I'm still not going to leave this yard for now.

A neighbor came out and said the cat is the other tenant’s pet, but he is not sure if she is fixed, and he said they let her in and out all of the time. He told me he’d help “spread the word” when I gave him a flyer. Even if this cat is a pet, and she may be already fixed, I’m still going to consider this a possibly colony of outdoor and feral cats that may need help. And so the Red Door Colony is born. 

A red door is known to be as a symbol of a safe haven. We painted our own front door red years back, and haven’t changed the color since. I remember one cold winter day in 2008 I opened the front door and a huge tabby ran right in. So maybe these cats recognize colors. He was already eartipped, but I have no idea who TNR’ed him. Since he was so friendly, I got him admitted to a no-kill shelter.

Hi, so I heard you like cats.

Actually that cat looks a lot like my cat, Mowpa, and he even fooled for a moment. Mowpa has his own Facebook page.

Anyways, what red doors mostly remind me of is Red Door Animal Shelter, a local no-kill shelter for cats, rabbits and dogs. They do not have a TNR program. But they are the only shelter around here that take in domesticated rabbits and have a great resource page explaining on how to rescue, or not, various wildlife. Most people that I know that rescue cats and dogs also have some wildlife rescue stories.