WELCOME!

Welcome to the feral cat cause, this website is for those people who care about feral cats, wildlife, and making a positive difference in any corner of the world for animals and people. I ask that you look around, see what this is all about, learn a little about feral cats and maybe even help out. Anyway, I specifically created this website out of necessity for feral cats in Carbondale Illinois and surrounding areas. I have tried a few different avenues with little success and decided to embrace the 21st century and get online!

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Let me introduce myself, my name is TJ. I have lived in Carbondale Illinois for around five years, attenting Southern Illinois University or SIUC, working on my Zoology degree and Psychology minor. Four and a half of the five years I have lived in Carbondale have been in either dorms or apartments nearby campus. I was never really exposed to the problem of feral cats until I worked at an animal shelter in a neighboring town. Even then I did not see the true magnitude because the shelter housed twice as many dogs as cats.

The Mobile Home Park

 This all changed when I Moved to a more rural setting. To finish off my last semester by myself I decided to go the cheap route and rent a mobile home on the outskirts of town. I will never forget the day I moved in. There were maybe twenty or thirty cats and kittens in the nightime heat lying in the roads and on peoples porches. I first thought to myself wow they have alot of cats. Later I found out they were all strays. I was compelled to do something. I could tell by my landlords tone this feral cat problem had been going on for quite a while, and they never really had the time or resources to deal with it. When they did the cats would resurface quickly as if they never made any headway. So with her permission I decided to help out the people, and the feral cats in a humane fashion. Of course I had no idea where to start and even less money. This particular feral cat colony is estimated to exist between three or four mobile home parks and encompasses maybe 40-50 acres with around 200 cats in that space. There is no current management plan underway for these cats. When I moved in I knew that I would probably be it. 

My Plan

 I have wanted to get all the friendly cats, kittens, and socializable cats sterilized and treated for any illness, then found homes. The remaining less tame and feral cats I have wanted to sterilize all of them, and treat for any illnesses or parasites, and periodically check on the colony as time goes on and manage it accordingly, hopefully to the point where it will be very small. The only thing stopping me now is funding.

So Here I Am Now

I realized if I want to make some kind of impact for these cats I should get online.