Who & Where Are You?
We are a couple living in Massachusetts with a love for animals, particularly cats. We live in a decent neighborhood and our backyard seems to attract feral felines and other critters. The area is fairly quiet, especially at night, and we believe this helps with the cats having the courage to roam about the area and visit our home.
What Training Do You Have?
Honestly, None! We are just a loving couple learning as we go. Far from an animal related professional.
We do our best to help these cats live a longer, care free life with the water and nutrition they need to survive. Offering them a place to rest and play is just a bonus. In turn, we hope that they give us the joy of watching them grow and enjoy life a little more.
If we can trap for “TNR” purposes and get them checked out, we hope that they will survive longer without spreading disease and procreation, leading the quality of life standard to the next level for them and other feral cats they come in contact with.
How Did You Know Ferals Were Coming?
We have always had outdoor security cameras. They usually just recorded rabbets, skunks and opossums that passed through our yard. But one day we were going thru the videos and noticed a black cat jump up to our pool and begin drinking the dirty rain water on top of the winter cover.
This led us to place a fresh water bowl and a little food outside for him. He then began visiting almost nightly! Whether he told his friends or not, we began seeing the additional cats coming for the food as well. At that point we purchased a small outdoor feeding station and began feeding them daily with fresh water and food. Then as time went on, we talked about trapping one of the cats that seemed to have an issue with his eye “Jerry”, purchasing other items and building bigger and better feeding stations and finally adding the cat house(s) to our yard.
Why are they Feral Cats?
We call our friends Feral, since we have been unable to locate their owners. Although most seem to have been house-cats at some point, they appear to have been outside long enough that they seem to be reverting back to their natural outdoor instincts. For this we consider them Feral.
Other noticeable items help us to believe they are feral, based on a few things;
- They seem to visit at random and mostly late at night.
- They are all very skittish and take off quickly with the smallest of noise.
- We have tried to approach cautiously, but even at 2o+ feet away, they are gone in a blink of an eye.
- They are all very hungry. We are cleaning the station and leaving fresh food 3 times a day, generally between 6pm-6am.
- Some of our visitors have heavily matted hair and others seem to have long claw nails.
Why do the ferals have names?
All of the feline visitors that visit us get a name.
It is more to help us identify the ones that come to the property, and helps us when making notes on their condition as a reference. All of the names are given to them for that reason, not because we know who they are.
What Is Your Websites Purpose?
This site was set-up to just showcase and share our feral friends. Utilizing solar powered cameras, lights and other items, we hope to be able to share interesting videos and images to other pet lovers.
As we build up our website, we would like to offer LIVE Broadcast Video of our Cat Stations for others to watch in Real-Time. But that all costs money and we would like to see if this site and our social media accounts can build up to the Live Broadcast options.
How Much Have You Spent?
This is a tough question!
In short, we have spent about $600 for the Cat House(s), Warming Pad, Food Warmer, Trap, Remote Switch/Router and materials for the Food Station.
However, the 3 solar powered wifi connected cameras we use specifically for our setup is even more expensive! Especially with the service needed to provide for Alert Notifications, Video Recording, etc.. We have 2 additional wifi cameras in our back yard to monitor activity throughout the area as well. So bringing the total cameras to 5 in use, we won’t divulge the cost of those cameras or the service, but be sure it is way, way more!
As for Food, we’ll let you do the math on that one. It really is just a few dollars a day, but that also adds up pretty quick over time. And that brings us to this website, sure it isn’t that much, but it too adds to the total we spend for our feline friends.
Do You Accept Donations?
We use an Amazon Wishlist for those that are willing to help us feed and care for these Community Cats.
Your Purchase(s) and Donations allow us to set aside real cash to help cover the costs of Wellness Checks, TNR Service, Fostering and More. Every little bit helps these cats live a longer, fuller and happier life!
**We Will Never solicit or reach out to anyone for money or donations directly! Unless you had contacted us first, Please do not give anything to anyone claiming to be of/from KatKams.com! This is why we offer the Wishlist for those willing to help us along the way.
Are You On Facebook or Instagram?
Our website address is: https://katkams.com. You can find & like us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
What Kinds of food did your cats eat?
Both Daisy & Blackie liked Fancy Feast Wet Foods, in multiple flavors. They also ate Friskies dry food throughout the day. We ensured both water fountains were cleaned regularly and they only drank bottled water.
As their medical issues evolved, special wet food designed for kidney and/or urinary health was tried many times. They would try it for a day and the next would not touch it. We tried to keep their foods regular and feeding them the kidney food whenever possible. As time went on, their age and quality of life was our main concern and leading us to just enjoy whatever time we had left with them while they were still happy.
Are You Affiliated With Anyone?
The short answer, No!
We have no special ties to any other animal group, foundation, facility, hospitals or general services agency. We use the service or facility that is available and that can help us complete our needs for Wellness Checks, TNR, Fostering, etc..
Can You Help Us Trap?
No is our short answer, but we hope that our website will help guide you along the trapping process. We share as much information as we can regarding this process and hope that it works for you! We trap based on the felines’ need and the availability of appointments for TNR services. Like many areas, these services are backed up and can take weeks to get an appointment. Then we have to hope for a successful capture prior to the appointment(s).
Feel free to send us information that you may have or found helpful in your trapping experiences.
How Can I Reach You?
We offer a form on our Contact Us Page, for you to send us a message.
We love hearing from others about this website, what we’re doing for our feline friends, any tips & tricks that others have used and/or other general information and comments.
