Fundraising Drive was a HUGE Success!

Our Trick or TREAT Matching Donation Drive is over and was a huge success!  Thank you all for "chipping in" or sending checks to make this event work.  We ended up with $1,173.50 in donations, so with the matching donation of $1000...we are set for the winter with $2,173.50.   We at WIFCaP are amazed and awed at your participation and want to thank you from the bottom of our kitty loving hearts.

This picture of Polly is just a representation of the many kitties that will be helped because you all care.  Polly  is a social girl who had to have had a home at one time.  She is friendly and gentle.  Somehow she got left by a hotel in Panora, IA and thankfully the lady there fed her.  She is #140 for getting a WIFCaP Spa treatment and we are hoping she finds a furever home soon!  Polly is Polydactyl!  She has seven toes on each of her front paws and five on each of her back paws...a total of 24 toes!!!  Very Rare!

Thank you all again for helping us help the helpless!

National Feral Cat Day 2012

Today is National Feral Cat Day and I am celebrating! Five years ago as I began every day of every week of every month  feeding a lonely feral cat named Toby, I could not have imagined that today I would be part of feeding over 50 cats on a daily basis, having helped numerous communities set up managed feral colonies, having spoken to five city councils asking for the freedom to let this method have a chance to work; having medically served over 170 cats and kittens  and spayed and neutered over 130 outdoor feral or community cats.   Western Iowa Feral and Homeless Cat Program (WIFCaP) started because two women sat together and worried about an outdoor cat named Toby, and knowing that there must be more like him that needed help..  After much research and study we agreed,  the only solution would be to start a TNR program.  The next step, how???

Not wanting to go into all the finite details of how it all came together, it suffices to say, I decided to dive in head first. alone and pretty much by myself to say " I'm committed, I'm ready and I will do what has to be done to change things."  When I found out that I couldn't get grants unless we were a 501c3 I dug and whined and figured out how to get that done.  I did it!  And it didn't cost WIFCaP, taxpayers, donors, or me a cent!

So along with several of my best friends and my sister along for the ride,  we are incorporated in the state of Iowa and we have been granted our 501c3 tax status , which means our donors can use their donations as a tax deductible expense.  We have been inspected and have passed that inspection to receive our Iowa Animal Shelter License.

We have met all the requirements of the state and the IRS  to do what we need to do to help the helpless or homeless feral and homeless cats in Western Iowa.  We do that for the legalistic reasons only.

 If you could see our hearts, none of that matters.  What matters are the huge numbers of cats that have been left to their own devices.  What matters is there are abandoned and left behind cats and kittens that have no where to go. Our passion is to manage colonies and supply food and water so that they can survive the only way they know how.  And so that their numbers do not continue to increase.

For me, the only thing that really matters is that we keep trying and keep helping and keep educating about the importance of  TNR.

We are used to hearing negative comments about our work.  We regularly hear how dumb and stupid our  method is. Mostly we hear nothing, we get "looks" or the silence that indicates no interest at all in what we are doing. So... When we hear the positive, we celebrate.  Thank you!  To Shelby Iowa for "getting it".  for understanding the method, embracing it and counting it as valid.  Thank you! To all those sweet cat people that feed outdoor cats, those who take the friendly ones that need a home, for giving them the love they so deserve.  Knowing they have found a place in your heart helps us ignore the hole they left in ours.  Thank you most of all to AVCheryl, our wonderful vets, Kris, Cheryl, Pam and Becky that help so much and understand my passion, because they too are "infected" with the same passion.  And last of all, but not least, THANK YOU to our supporters, for without them, we could not function one day!

Today, on National Feral Cat Day we celebrate feral cats!  Not that they are there, but that there are others like us that are helping them!

As Our Year Comes to a Close and a New One Begins!

The final 2011 edition of The Walnut Bureau came out last week!  On the front page, 2011 in Review included our very own Amber and Einstein!!!  

 Also chosen as a top story, was the creation of Western Iowa Feral Cat Program!

Here's a bit of a close-up of what the Bureau had to say about our program.

"Feral Cat Program Started"
Western Iowa Feral Cat Program was started in Walnut this year to provide a humane way of reducing the homeless cat population.  Best of all, it's all done with contributions.  The program receives no funding from the city, state or federal government."

  I'm so happy they included us as one of the highlights of the year.  Love how they emphasized that no funding comes from the city, state or federal government.  Like that's something to be proud of.  

This week I will be working on a year end review of our accomplishments!  I cant wait to report on all we've done!

A huge thank you to everyone that has been involved with WIFCaP in any way.  Whether it be an donation, adopting one of our lonely felines, time spent helping or even an encouraging comment on  face book.  We need you ALL.  We are hoping that you will stick with us through 2012 and beyond!  Just wait to see what we can do as we all pull together!

Tekoe's Story....

I received the following note from my friend in Florida. She has recently "rescued" a little cat that would have been doomed to be put "down", if Kathy hadnt decided to take her.


"Tekoe was my cousins 93 year old Mother's cat. Her Mother died, and I had recently had to put my dog to sleep after 15 years. My husband died almost two years ago so it can get very lonely here. I thought about another dog, but did not want to have to worry about letting it outside. I thought of a kitten, and then it smacked me in the face. What about Tekoe? I called my cousin, and asked if I could take the cat. Tekoe had been at the Vets for two months while they were trying to get her adopted. Tekoe needed me and I definitely needed her. My cousin had her front claws removed. After the healing process, Tekoe was shipped via airplane from Seattle, WA to Florida. All of this was so traumatic for the sweetheart.
This five year old little Tuxedo Cat and I bonded immediately. I am getting used to the cat type behaviors-the more I leave her be, the more she seeks me out. She has a great personality, and can be very loving when the mood strikes her. I love this little cat and am so grateful for her. Thanks for all the great work you and your community are doing for the stray kitties.
Here's a couple of pictures of Princess Tekoe."

It's compassionate and caring people like my friend Kathy that will make this little grass roots effort work. Kathy has decided to donate to our cause and I am so thankful to her.

Please share your rescued Kitty story with us along with a couple photos. We would like to share your story!