Headquarters

For you newcomers who don't already know the set up, here's how this operation works.  Christy lives in the house next to ours.  She has an outside storm-door entrance to her unfinished, old, cob-webbed basement and she does not let her (pet) cats go down there.  This is where I house the cats and run the operation.  Many people have supported me with this project.  Don (a guy from work), well actually Don's girlfriend Emily lent me a dog kennel.  Robin's mom is lending me another one.  And Terri (the neighbor next to Christy), is letting me borrow her cat cage.  I typically use the dog kennels unless I am running a full house and need to throw someone in the cat cage for a night (I've done that twice).  I have consulted some websites regarding caring for the cats in my (T-N-R adventure, this stands for Trap-Neuter-Release, and no I did not make this up).  The kennels are four feet apart and partially covered with towels to help the cats feel safe and separated far enough to reduce any spread of disease (Jake for example).  I have 3 carriers, one from Laurie (work), Mr. Minor (work), and one of my own.  Originally I thought Laurie was lending me her cat cage because this is what I asked for and the next day she brought me a carrier.  I asked another person if she had a cat cage and I got another carrier, so then I had to change my language and started asking people for "dog kennels".  (See Definitions below).  The first trap came from Randy (a guy from work who is also a "cat lady").  Then Robin and I got a raccoon trap from out at her parents' farm, and just yesterday Jami lent me a trap from a guy from her work.  The world has been extremely supportive of me managing these cats.  Christy has lent me 2 litter boxes and there is one of my own.  Christy and I have been buying the cat food and cat litter.  We have a little supply closet with everything that is needed (rubber gloves, leather gloves, newspaper, plastic bags, sponges, food/water dishes, the wet cat food, etc). 
    Things have come together since I started the project about a month ago.  Planning actually happened back in July.  Robin and I had been considering getting a dog.  When we were at the shelter I asked if there were any programs or places to get outdoor cats fixed (people in this type of business don't use the word "fixed" they say "spayed or neutered").  I had a conversation which ended in "God bless you for doing this."  I thought wow that might be taking it a little too far.  I mean "God bless me" for doing this?  It's not that big of a deal.  Well now that I am doing it, I realize it is a big deal and I know why the woman said "God bless you" and I say it to anyone who tries doing this themselves.  And, now I have to give credit to the cat ladies at work who inspired me to go along with this project.  Amy actually fosters cats and has more cats stories than anyone I have ever met.  Randy is a cat lover as well and will always ask about your cats and how they are doing.  He too is no stranger to trapping-neutering-and "adopting" cats.  He is sad that I am not finding homes for the cats, but I say "I can only do so much Randy!"  Tracy has also become a cat lady in the sense that she too has a cat colony "feral outdoor cats" in her neighborhood and has started taking them to a clinic.  So with all this cat talk at work how could I not join in the adventure.    

Definitions:
Dog Kennel: Big cage
Cat Carrier: small carrier that I use to transport that cats to the clinic and back
Trap: a non-kill animal trap
Spay: fixing a female cat
Neuter: fixing a male cat
Cat Colony: a group of cats that live together outside, they have no human owner, maybe have a cat lady feeding them.