When we started helping with TNR on the Kitchen Colony in October, Ruby was there to greet us every time we visited.

She would rub up on our legs and beg for pets. Patrice, the colony caregiver, said Ruby showed up this past July and she wanted to find her an indoor home since she was so friendly. The other colony cats would also bully Ruby when she came to feed. It was not a great situation for her.

We have no idea where she came from but she was already ear tipped. When we trapped her, Joann took her to Roscoe Village Animal Hospital to scan for a microchip but she did not have one. Joann never put her back outside. Instead, she fully vetted her. Ruby was estimated to be about eighteen months old, tested negative for FIV/FeLV, and was updated on all vaccinations and parasite treatments. Her vet bills totaled $640.

Ruby stayed in Joann’s place as a foster. She acclimated into Joann’s home almost immediately. We believe she used to be an indoor cat.

We looked for an adopter and reached out to shelters.

When we reached out to Harmony House, a cageless no-kill shelter, they agreed to almost immediately admit Ruby into their adoption program. Because the process was so quick and seamless Joann made a donation. We are so grateful for their help with Ruby!

If you’d like to donate to help us cover Ruby’s vet care, you can do so through Paypal at [email protected]

Since we started TNR on the Kitchen and KFC Colonies in September our total vet bills went up to around $4000.  Joann and Patrice paid for the majority of these costs out of their pockets, and a $1000 so far was covered with your donations.

Fingers crossed that Ruby will find her new home through Harmony House very soon!

Hattie was a part of the Kitchen Colony, and was way too friendly to stay outside. She would run right up to all of us for pets, starting from the first time we met her. Her long-haired coat is absolutely gorgeous, and it was impossible not to oblige. Someone outside could easily harm her because she was so trusting.

The other colony cats would also pick on her, and not let her eat. Patrice, their colony caregiver, was pretty concerned about her well-being.

After Joann fully vetted her and fostered her for a bit, Harmony House agreed to admit Hattie into their adoption program. She is still available. She is pretty shy there, which therein lies the conundrum that caregivers face – cats behave differently in different scenarios. Hattie may be a little overwhelmed by all of the cats and activity around her in a new surrounding. She is cared for beautifully there, and when we visited her, the other cats all wanted to make friends. But you can see Hattie is a bit nervous with all of them around her.

Harmony House is a wonderful facility and a really fun place to visit. This cross-eyed cat there caught my eye especially.

There’s a beautiful view from the outside as well.

We’re grateful to this day that Harmony House agreed to help Hattie so quickly. We hope Hattie will be adopted soon.

The KFC Colony lost their home. The junkyard they hung out in is cleared out, and no one feeds there anymore.

The good news is that eight adult cats from there were adopted into indoor homes, and the five kittens are still being fostered now by Joann.

The other good news is that Joann found a colony caregiver, Patrice, a few blocks away who has seen some of the remaining cats visiting her feeding station.

The feeding station is located behind a restaurant, off of a bank parking lot. So I called this the Kitchen Colony.

Patrice has been doing TNR at this site since 2004. She doesn’t keep track, but she thinks she has vetted almost 100 cats from here. A lot of the cats were friendly and she found homes for them, and found homes for their kittens. This is unfortunately one of those areas where a lot of people let their intact cats out.

I wasn’t surprised as that was also going on at the junkyard a few blocks away. The Joyce Division Colony is also a few blocks away, and most of those cats were friendly when I did TNR there starting in 2010. Patrice also knew about that colony. She said she had been begging Joyce for years for her to do TNR on the cats. She said Joyce would feed all of them and play with their kittens outside. Again, unfortunately, this is a pretty common scenario. Then she said that one day Joyce told her a woman came by and fixed all of the cats. Obviously that was me, and we couldn’t believe we were finally meeting each other years later. I had always asked Joyce if she ever knew anyone that feeds but she wouldn’t tell me about anyone else. It was so great to connect the dots and finally meet.

The restaurant and bank gave Patrice permission to feed and care for the cats here for years now. The restaurant especially likes the cats because they help keep the rats away. It’s a perfect scenario as they feed right behind their dumpsters, which normally would attract rats because of the food debris.

Patrice also set up shelters at this site under tarps.

It was a great time to meet Patrice because she was worried about winterizing her shelters even more. I gave her a few new shelters to switch out with the old ones.

Joann and I immediately agreed to help her because the site is pretty overwhelming. Patrice already had three kittens from this site in foster care. There’s a mix of all kinds of cats here, and it’s pretty confusing. Some are already TNR’d. Some are not. Some are friendly. We spotted a pregnant female. There’s a sick black cat that we would like to trap for vetting. There are more kittens.

We set up traps several nights this month at the feeding station, and in people’s yards.

We even tried a drop trap one of those nights. Joann was there so often that the bank security guard told her he was going to have her car towed!

So far we have trapped three female cats and two kittens.

Ruby was first. She is the colony ambassador. She is friendly and all of the colony cats pick on her. She kept rubbing up against our legs.

Her ear was already tipped, but because she was not chipped, we have no idea who TNR’d her. Joann fully vetted her at Roscoe Village Animal Hospital for $390 and has been fostering her ever since in her home. She is FIV-/FeLV-. If you are interested in fostering or adopting Ruby, please contact me at [email protected]

Sally was also trapped the same day. She is the mother of the kittens that Patrice already had in foster care. Her TNR and FIV/FeLV test at PAWS Chicago was $41. She tested negative!

Joann tried fostering her indoors as well, because she follows Patrice all around outside.

Sally was miserable at her house, and acted feral. We returned her back outside. It is clear that she is just bonded to Patrice. It’s funny because Sally always spies on us from a safe distance.

But once Patrice is alone, she just follows her. Patrice texted us last night and said she couldn’t take it anymore and crated Sally in her garage. She is trying to see if she can acclimate her indoors.

We also trapped Birdie and her two kittens. Birdie went in one trap, and the two kittens went together in the other trap. Birdie is feral and was TNReturned. Her TNR package and FIV/FeLV test at PAWS was also $41 total and she also tested negative.

Patrice fully vetted and boarded Birdie’s two kittens for $420 at her vet, Family Pet Animal Hospital. Meet Clara and Darren.

My friend Elissa from Rockstar Pets agreed to socialize and foster them. It’s already working.

If you are interested in fostering or adopting Clara or Darren, you can also please contact me at [email protected]  They are FIV-/FeLV- and still need additional vetting.

In the meantime we will continue to TNR this colony!