Our primary goals are:
- Spay/Neuter Feral Cats
- Colony Management
- Pull "adoptable" cats and "tameable" kittens from colonies for adoption
- Educate/Assist the public with all aspects of Feral Cat Colony Management
- Public assistance with food for feral cat colonies
Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County practices the TTVAR-M method of feral cat control. Trap, Test, Vaccinate, Alter,
Return and Maintain
Through this method, cats are humanely trapped, tested for Feline Leukemia, given a rabies and FVRCP vaccination, ear
tipped, and altered, then returned to their colony where they are fed and watered daily. Tame, adoptable adult cats
are removed from the colony and placed into our Adoption Program. Kittens under the age of three months are also
removed, placed in foster care for taming and then brought into our Adoption Program for placement into a lifelong home.
It is our experience (as well as many other feral cat management organizations throughout the country) that the
TTVAR-M method of feral cat control is the only long-term, humane solution for controlling the overpopulation of
feral cats. With proper colony management, feral cats do not suffer and can live long past the expected mortality
rate for cats who are just left to fend for themselves in the wild. We are still caring for cats in colonies that
were first altered when our program began in 1990.
FERAL CAT ALTERING
The following are services our organization provides with regard to altering and managing a group of feral (wild) cats.
- Information - FFSC provides information on how to trap, where to rent a trap, which veterinary practices will accept
feral cats and alter them for a nominal fee and information on how to manage a feral cat colony.
- Spay/Neuter Assistance‹Once a month FFSC holds spay/neuter clinics for feral cats only. Trapping and transporting is
done by the client. FFSC will fix, test, vaccinate and ear tip the cat(s). The requested donation is $30.00 per cat, but
this fee is negotiable depending upon the number of cats and the situation. This is not a free clinic.
If once a month is not realistic for the situation, we set the client up with one of our participating veterinarians for
the altering procedure. Again a donation of $30.00 per cat is requested for this service. FFSC pays the balance. This
$30.00 also includes vaccinations, testing for Feline Leukemia and ear tipping for identification purposes.
- Trapping Assistance‹If the client is physically unable to do the trapping and transporting, then Forgotten Felines
will set them up with a Volunteer Trapper who will come to the home or business and assist in the process. Again, a
$30.00 per cat donation is requested for this service and it includes testing, vaccinations, and ear tipping. It should
be noted that assistance such as this is dependent upon volunteer availability. Upon receipt of the Colony Report Form,
our Trapping Coordinator will provide the client with an estimated wait time for this service.
COLONY MANAGEMENT
In the past, FFSC volunteers would provide Colony Management to anyone requiring this service. After twelve years of
assisting the public, we no longer have the volunteer manpower available to provide this type of assistance. Although we
(FFSC Volunteers) still maintain a large number of colonies throughout the county, at this time we are only able to assist
people who are able to continue the colony management themselves. We do, however, provide specific guidelines on "how to"
successfully manage a colony and whenever necessary will assist the public with any problems related to colony management.
See Suggested Guidelines for Colony Management
ADOPTION PROGRAM
At it¹s inception, Forgotten Felines was strictly a trap and alter organization. Very quickly, however, our trappers
realized two things. One, that some of the cats living in these feral colonies were, in fact, tame and secondly, that
if they could capture the kittens prior to three months of age they could be tamed down. Hence, our Foster/Adoption Program was born.
This is what our Foster/Adoption Program looks like today:
- We place a total of 300 cats/kittens per year.
- We have a dedicated FFSC Adoption room at the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter where our adoptions take place.
- We have one part time staff member and an FFSC Veterinarian dedicated to caring for our adoptable cats/kittens and managing our Volunteers.
- We hold foster care health clinics once a week to examine and treat foster cats/kittens in our adoption program. These are held at a local veterinarians office, staffed by our Veterinarian and five extremely dedicated and devoted volunteers.
- We have a phenomenal crew of Foster Parents who take on feral kittens, sick and injured kittens, and adult cats waiting to enter our adoption ward.
- Volunteer Kennel Assistants, Cat Cuddlers and Adoption Counselors take care of the cats in our adoption ward 365 days a year.
EDUCATION
We educate and assist the public via:
- Information Sheets/Brochures
- Web Site - www.forgottenfelines.com
- Thrift Shop - Pick of the Litter
- Shelter Adoption Room
- Telephone Inquiries
- Information Tables at Special Events
FOOD ASSISTANCE
Our biggest expense every month is cat food. FFSC supplies 65 people with 252 bags of food each month. A portion of these
people (40%) are FFSC volunteers caring for FFSC maintained colonies. The balance (60%) are members of the public who were
offered assistance with feeding their colonies when FFSC first started serving the community. Today, this is not a service
that we advertise as being available to the general public. Should someone request assistance in this way or we are made
aware of a specific need for help, the situation is evaluated on a case by case basis.
THRIFT SHOP - PICK OF THE LITTER
From 1990 through 1997 Forgotten Felines was an all-volunteer organization. In October of 1997, however, an FFSC Board
Member, Michelle Gleed opened Pick of the Litter, a Thrift Shop to give Forgotten Felines a consistent funding source. Pick
of the Litter was run by a full time manager and a part time assistant manager. In January of 1998, the organization,
Forgotten Felines, hired it¹s first employees. Today with the Thrift Shop taking full responsibility for paying salaries,
FFSC has the following employees:
- Executive Director - Full Time
- Trapping Coordinator - Part Time
- Foster/Adoption Program Coordinator - Part Time
- Volunteer Coordinator - Part Time
- Clerical Support - Part Time
In addition to the staff members, 200+ volunteers help us to carry out our mission.
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