My name is Haku and I live outside, but I have a place where someone takes care of me. It is called a caretaker colony. I’ve lived here for over two years, a place where I get fed every day and I have a comfy warm house full of straw to stay warm in during the cold winters.
My caretaker colony is like the other Cat Connection colonies you may have heard of, but this place was started because the lady who is my caretaker decided to help me out when she saw me. The Cat Connection supports all the caretaker colonies like this one with help trapping and providing warm houses and feeding shelters, so my food doesn’t get all snowy or wet in bad weather. At the regular colonies, different people feed each day – so we have seven feeders, one for each day of the week. At a caretaker colony, one person feeds every day, sometimes even twice a day if I’m lucky.
A few years ago, my caretaker lady trapped me! The food in the trap looked so yummy, I went in even though it was scary, and then the trap closed! I was worried, but she made me feel safer by covering the trap with a cloth, so it was more like a cave, which I like. I went to the vet the next day, someone I had never seen before. I took a catnap while at the vet, but my caretaker tells me that they gave me all my vaccines and neutered me while I was sleeping. Now I’m a calmer cat and I don’t make those awful smells that my caretaker didn’t appreciate.
After I recovered from my nap at the vet, my caretaker let me go back outside, where I’m happy. I never spent time with humans before that, so I prefer being outside where I feel safest. It is not an easy life, but the warm house makes it a lot easier. Sometimes I wait in the morning when I know my caretaker is just getting out of bed, and then she sees me outside waiting and brings me food. And sometimes when there is a lot of snow, I get room service for a day, until the snow melts a little and I want to venture out to the feeding shelter.
This sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it! I do have to share my caretaker colony with other cats, some who are just passing through, and some who come and stay a while. When a new cat comes around, my caretaker tries to figure out if it is an owned cat that one of the neighbors lets out, or if it is a lost or abandoned cat.
My caretaker traps new cats to the area, to make sure they have vaccines and are spayed or neutered, because we don’t want more little kittens who have to live outdoors. One time she trapped a cat, posted a picture on Facebook asking if anyone owned him, and a neighbor from one block away called and said she owned the cat! That is my buddy Hazelnut, who has a warm home but still comes out to visit sometimes, even though it is safer for him to stay in. But at least now he has his vaccines and is neutered. She also trapped another feral cat, who got some medical care at the vet and was neutered, before being released back at my colony.
Sometimes a tame cat comes to the colony, a cat who used to be owned but got lost or their owner abandoned them. My caretaker traps those cats and I don’t see them again – I hear they get nice new foster homes until they get adopted. By the way, they do check them for microchips and lost and found. They are so lucky! But I’m content here where I can live in my little territory, and my caretaker gives me yummy food every day. I know I can count on her and The Cat Connection to take care of me.
Just remember that if you see cats in your yard, you could get help from The Cat Connection. Contact them at 781-899-4610 or email them at info@thecatconnection.org. Just remember that they are all volunteers so it might take a day or two for them to get back to you.
